UK-Chinese firms sign [1st] Iraq oil deal [since the 2003 invasion]

[Turborama]

Source: Al Jazeera English

UK oil company, British Petroleum and the China National Petroleum Corporation have signed Iraq's first major new oil deal since the 2003 US-led invasion. The contract signed on Tuesday is to develop the country's southern Rumaila oilfield, one of the world's biggest.

=snip=

But Isam al-Chalabi, the country's former oil minister, criticised the deal, saying it had opened the country up to further exploitation by foreigners and that ordinary Iraqis would not benefit.

"It is one of the biggest mistakes that the current government is making," the former oil minister told Al Jazeera.

"If they needed technical support for the revamping of the reservoir, they should have gone to service-providing companies, not international oil companies. Now they are coming to Rumaila, one of the largest-ever producing fields in the world, and soon you will hear from other companies who are also going to catch other fields, like Zubair, the West Qurna, Majnoon and the rest."

=snip=

No trickle-down

Al-Chalabi said: "Iraqis will certainly not benefit from the oil revenue, the government is going to take the money and spend it the way they want. These companies claim they are going to use local labour, but they definitely will not. For example, the Chinese CNPC, with the al-Ahdab field in central Iraq, have brought every single labourer from China and now they are working together with BP to exploit the Rumaila field and I am sure they will be doing the same thing."

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/11/2009113133829848817.html

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Iraq oil wealth eludes poor - 03 Nov 09

The Iraqi government has been busy signing a series of billion-dollar deals with major international oil companies who are attempting to gain access to Iraq's vast oil wells.

But in poverty-stricken areas of the oil-rich southern city of Basra, residents say they have not seen any of the wealth generated by the deals.

Instead, they have complained of widespread unemployment, frequent power outages and wells filled with septic water.

Owen Fay reports: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2O2LGKLVW4

[montanto]

1. Hmmm, you mean this isn't going to turn out

the way we thought?

[xc8mip]

2. simply crazy

but maybe Chinks fork the money at front..........

[Arctic Dave]

3. I have been saying this from the beginning of this armed roobery.

"If they needed technical support for the revamping of the reservoir, they should have gone to service-providing companies, not international oil companies. Now they are coming to Rumaila, one of the largest-ever producing fields in the world, and soon you will hear from other companies who are also going to catch other fields, like Zubair, the West Qurna, Majnoon and the rest."

If Iraqis think they will be getting any of the jobs they are sadly mistaken. These companies will outsource their work just like any of the other fields they develope. Can you say Halliburton.