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01/11/2006:

"US sees Iraqi oil production choked for years"

Iraq has vast hydrocarbon potential that could rival major producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, but United States government analysts are predicting that Iraqi oil production development will remain thwarted for years to come.

Its enormous reserves of an estimated 115-billion barrels of proven crude are the world's third largest after those of the Saudi Kingdom and Canada.

As of December 2005, Iraqi net oil production was averaging a modest 1,9-million barrels per day (bpd) according to the latest country report on Iraq compiled by the US government's Energy Information Agency (EIA).

This is well below production levels of an estimated 2,3-million bpd in January 2003 just before the US-led military operation to bring down the Saddam Hussein regime.

The December number is also well below the near 3,5-million-bpd production level prior to Iraq's 1990 invasion and seven-month occupation of Kuwait that led to the 1991 Gulf War.

"Most analysts believe that there will be no major additions to Iraqi production capacity for at least two-three years, with Shell's vice-president recently stating that any auction of Iraqi's oilfields was unlikely before 2007," said the EIA report released late in December 2005 and carried on its website.
mg.co.za

William Blum: Iraq is Open for Business

The sign has been put out front: "Iraq is open for business." We read about things done and said by the Iraqi president, or the Ministry of this or the Ministry of that, and it's easy to get the impression that Iraq is in the process of becoming a sovereign state, albeit not particularly secular and employing torture, but still, a functioning, independent state. Then we read about the IMF and the rest of the international financial mafia -- with the US playing its usual sine qua non role -- making large loans to the country and forgiving debts, with the customary strings attached, in the current instance ending government subsidies for fuel and other petroleum products. And so the government starts to reduce the subsidies for these products which affect almost every important aspect of life, and the prices quickly quintuple, sparking wide discontent and protests.[1] Who in this sovereign nation wanted to add more suffering to the already beaten-down Iraqi people? But the international financial mafia are concerned only with making countries meet certain criteria sworn to be holy in Economics 101, like a balanced budget, privatization, and deregulation and thus making themselves more appealing to international investors.