At the Iraq oil auction

[sirs]

<<I don't see why Lukoil was even at the table if spoils of war were to be divided. Your supposition makes no sense. >>

They invaded Iraq for its oil but they can't admit that.  They gave the country a new constitution that abolished socialism and the state ownership of the national resources.  Then they got their puppet government to start auctioning off the oil concessions.

If they won't admit that they invaded for oil, but nevertheless wind up with every single concession sold by their puppet government, how could they possibly deny (a) that the invasion was for oil and (b) that the Iraqi "government" is their puppet and not a sovereign power?

They gotta let foreigners get SOME concessions for appearance' sake.  The proof of my theory isn't going to be found at the start of the sales, but at the end of the sales.

MUST FIT TEMPLATE.......MUST FIT TEMPLATE.  SOP....All other facts to the contrary must be rationalized or ignored

[Amianthus]

That's one auction.  As I predicted months ago, the first auctions will go to foreigners and the U.S. will keep its head down, later more American buyers will appear at the auctions.

Err, what "later auctions"? This was the second auction, and there are no plans for any more.

Where does your prediction stand now?

[Michael Tee]

<<Err, what "later auctions"? This was the second auction, and there are no plans for any more.>>

Wait and see if there are more or not.

<<Where does your prediction stand now?>>

It's completely validated.  Before the war, socialism and public ownership of the national resources were written into the Iraqi Constitution.  Now that's all gone and the oil wells and/or the drilling concessions have been auctioned off to foreigners.  I don't subscribe to either of the newsletters I linked to, and as I said, the MSM are avoiding the entire subject like it was radioactive.  Nowhere can you find any MSM summary of the winners and losers of the two auctions.  Although of course there is no shortage of information on the really important subjects of the day, like the Tiger and his bimbos, and a concession that goes to Lukoil is easy enough to find.

Furthermore, when Lukoil wins a concession from an American puppet government, you'd have to be a wizard to wade through all the side agreements, public and private, that Lukoil has entered into with other majors to see what U.S. interests have been served. 

I think the bottom line is that you will never know and I will never know who got what out of this war, but the end result is that today foreigners have bought up what used to be the unique heritage of the Iraqi people.

[Amianthus]

Wait and see if there are more or not.

Are new oil fields going to magically appear?

[Michael Tee]

Are you trying to tell me that in two auctions the "Iraqi" government auctioned off the whole of the nation's oil resources?

[BT]

You claimed the US invaded Iraq for it's oil.

And the auctions do not bear out that claim.

[Amianthus]

Are you trying to tell me that in two auctions the "Iraqi" government auctioned off the whole of the nation's oil resources?

All ten oil fields, yes. Production on them, once it's at full speed, will rival Saudi Arabia.

[Amianthus]

Are you trying to tell me that in two auctions the "Iraqi" government auctioned off the whole of the nation's oil resources?

And, actually, they didn't "auction off the oil resources" - Iraq retains ownership of the oil, they were bidding on the charges to extract the oil. As the article states: "Russia's Lukoil, CNPC, and RoyalDutchShell accepted fees of between $1.15 and $1.40 for every barrel they produce" - that's what the company will be paid for each barrel they extract, with the balance of the sale price going to the Iraqi government. Several of the oil fields were also reserved for future development, but the Iraqi government has already said that they will reserve those for development by their own domestic industry.

[sirs]

<<Err, what "later auctions"? This was the second auction, and there are no plans for any more.>>

I think the bottom line is that you will never know and I will never know who got what out of this war, but the end result is that today foreigners have bought up what used to be the unique heritage of the Iraqi people.

Nice shifting of the goalposts

[Plane]

I would expect it to be tough to fix an auction that was open to all of the oil companys in the world.

I think the Iriquis simply drove a hard bargan , demanded a large share and did well for themselves.

Why do Americans need a bigger margin of profit than they could have gotten in these deals?

Doesn't seem as if our guys were really trying.

[Michael Tee]

<<You claimed the US invaded Iraq for it's oil.

<<And the auctions do not bear out that claim.>>

Of course they bear out the claim, and very obviously too.  Before invasion, no auctions of the nation's oil resources.  After invasion, all auctioned off to "multinationals."

A huge share of what used to belong entirely to the Iraqi people has now been auctioned off to foreigners.

We will never be able to penetrate the layers of agreements, contracts, sub-contracts, financing, etc. that these "multi-nationals" construct between themselves, in fact we won't even get a comprehensive list of the apparent winners and losers of the auctions themselves, unless we subscribe to industry newsletters, but we do know this:  What used to belong to Iraq prior to the invasion now no longer belongs to them.  The oil that the Americans came to steal now no longer belongs to Iraq.

[BT]

What used to belong to Iraq prior to the invasion now no longer belongs to them.  The oil that the Americans came to steal now no longer belongs to Iraq.

I believe you should rethink that statement. If the Iraqi's have no claim on the oil they have no rights to auction the fields. They have no claim to demand a per barrel royalty.

[Plane]

How do you sell your cake and eat it too?

[Michael Tee]

<<Only American company Exxon is among the bidders, and their bids are all as partners with the Patronas group of Malaysia (so they wouldn't even reap full profits.)>>

Pathetic.  You don't seem to realize that the bids are nothing but the first stage in the exploitation process.  Do a google search, for example, on "Petronas exploration blocks' and you'll see that Petronas contracts out to other companies (including Talisman, a Canadian company I happen to own some shares in) and the first page of the search results alone indicates that Petronas has subcontracted out in Sudan, Ethiopia, the Ogaden, Indonesia and other places as well.  There are many pages of search results.  No doubt Iraq will join the long list of places in which Petronas has subcontracted out exploration blocks to other oil countries for exploitation.

So the Americans were smart enough not to have their companies push to the front of the trough at feeding time.  Sure as hell fooled you.  

The story you missed is that the natural wealth of Iraq was auctioned off to foreigners, "mulitnationals," in fact, who are dividing up the spoils as we speak.

[Michael Tee]

<<And, actually, they didn't "auction off the oil resources" - Iraq retains ownership of the oil, they were bidding on the charges to extract the oil. As the article states: "Russia's Lukoil, CNPC, and RoyalDutchShell accepted fees of between $1.15 and $1.40 for every barrel they produce" - that's what the company will be paid for each barrel they extract, with the balance of the sale price going to the Iraqi government. >>

That is auctioning off the oil resources.  Pre-invasion, all the profits went to the Iraqi government, now they are shared with foreigners who bid for their shares at auctions.  Where is the actual contract printed?  I will bet that there is plenty of fine print giving the foreigners all of their "expenses" and "costs" in getting the oil up for sale - - "costs" and "expenses" that as defined by them and by them alone will enable them to recover much more than the $1.40 per barrel mentioned as fees.

These deals are highly complex.  A summary such as the one you quoted is virtually meaningless. The list of auction winners and losers is still nowhere to be seen, and its absence from the MSM in itself is highly meaningful. 

<<Several of the oil fields were also reserved for future development, but the Iraqi government has already said that they will reserve those for development by their own domestic industry.>>

They can say anything they like, they can even say they are independent and sovereign, but we all know better.  The decision to hold fields in reserve was probably that of the big oil companies, not anxious to flood the market with more product at this time, jockeying for maximum price when the fields are opened.  When those fields go into production, we'll see which group of foreigners is awarded the concession.