Why the rush for offshore drilling?
puremagic
Posts: 1,907
The Oil companies have laid claim and are now dividing up Iraq's oil fields. That ='s instant oil flow, which should translate to instant drop prices at the gas stations. We'll see.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080619/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_oil_deals
Iraq nears first major oil service deals
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 27 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Iraq is close to signing oil service deals with several major Western oil companies in an effort to boost its output capacity, the country's oil ministry said Thursday — the first major Iraqi contracts with big Western companies since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The deals, once signed, are something of a stopgap measure to help Iraq begin to increase production until the country is able to approve a new national oil law — now held up by political squabbles among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
But they also could mark the beginning of an important long-term toehold by big Western companies into Iraq's potentially lucrative oil industry, by giving the companies a bidding advantage over other companies in the future.
Iraq's oil ministry spokesman would not name the companies set to get the deals.
But last December, four major companies — Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC, ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. — submitted technical and financial proposals for the five oil fields and received counterproposals from the Iraqi side.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil, plus Total, were the four major companies close to signing deals, along with Chevron and some smaller companies.
Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the names would be announced June 30, after the proposals are sent to the Iraqi Cabinet for final approval.
BP did not immediately return calls seeking comment, and officials at Paris-based Total SA refused Thursday to comment on the report or on any of the company's activities in Iraq. A London-based spokesman for Shell, Adam Newton, said negotiations were ongoing but he declined to release more details, saying they were confidential.
The other two companies could not immediately be reached.
In March, Iraq's Cabinet gave the nod to the Oil Ministry to sign the deals worth around $500 million each. Baghdad hopes to eventually add another 600,000 barrels per day of output to its current 2.5 million barrels per day.
Jihad, who would not discuss details of the contracts, said the deals will be for two years, renewable for a third. The Times reported that the deals were essentially made for the first two years on a no-bid basis.
In the third year, the contracts would be opened to competitive bidding — but the original holders would have an advantage in that bidding, through a clause that would allow them to match bids from competitors to retain the work, the Times reported. It cited the Iraq country manager for a major firm, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Such a deal would give the original holders of the no-bid contracts an important competitive advantage precisely at the time when Iraq's oil industry would be most likely to take off. It also is occurring at a time when access to undeveloped oil fields is highly prized — as companies seek new sources of production in a tight and expensive oil market.
Oil prices were at about $136 per barrel in trading on Thursday.
The predecessors of the four "majors," as they are called, first had a presence in Iraq in 1920 when they were the original partners in Iraq's Petroleum Company. They lost their licenses when the oil industry was nationalized in 1972.
Iraq sits on an estimated 115 billion barrels and it also has an estimated 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, according to the ministry.
Iraq's oil law, one of benchmarks set by U.S. administration to achieve progress toward national reconciliation, will regulate the work of foreign companies in the Iraqi oil sector. But it is stalled over who will have final authority to manage the country's oil and gas fields
Another ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information is sensitive, said Shell wants to develop the Missan and Kirkuk oil fields, while BP is interested in Rumaila, ExxonMobil in Zubair and Chevron in West Qurna stage 1.
The official added that the Australian BHP Billiton has joined talks through Shell, while French Total has joined through Chevron.
Anadarko, leading a consortium of Vitol Holding and the United Arab Emirates' Dome, has also joined these talks to develop Luhais oil field, he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080619/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_oil_deals
Iraq nears first major oil service deals
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 27 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Iraq is close to signing oil service deals with several major Western oil companies in an effort to boost its output capacity, the country's oil ministry said Thursday — the first major Iraqi contracts with big Western companies since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The deals, once signed, are something of a stopgap measure to help Iraq begin to increase production until the country is able to approve a new national oil law — now held up by political squabbles among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
But they also could mark the beginning of an important long-term toehold by big Western companies into Iraq's potentially lucrative oil industry, by giving the companies a bidding advantage over other companies in the future.
Iraq's oil ministry spokesman would not name the companies set to get the deals.
But last December, four major companies — Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC, ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. — submitted technical and financial proposals for the five oil fields and received counterproposals from the Iraqi side.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil, plus Total, were the four major companies close to signing deals, along with Chevron and some smaller companies.
Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the names would be announced June 30, after the proposals are sent to the Iraqi Cabinet for final approval.
BP did not immediately return calls seeking comment, and officials at Paris-based Total SA refused Thursday to comment on the report or on any of the company's activities in Iraq. A London-based spokesman for Shell, Adam Newton, said negotiations were ongoing but he declined to release more details, saying they were confidential.
The other two companies could not immediately be reached.
In March, Iraq's Cabinet gave the nod to the Oil Ministry to sign the deals worth around $500 million each. Baghdad hopes to eventually add another 600,000 barrels per day of output to its current 2.5 million barrels per day.
Jihad, who would not discuss details of the contracts, said the deals will be for two years, renewable for a third. The Times reported that the deals were essentially made for the first two years on a no-bid basis.
In the third year, the contracts would be opened to competitive bidding — but the original holders would have an advantage in that bidding, through a clause that would allow them to match bids from competitors to retain the work, the Times reported. It cited the Iraq country manager for a major firm, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Such a deal would give the original holders of the no-bid contracts an important competitive advantage precisely at the time when Iraq's oil industry would be most likely to take off. It also is occurring at a time when access to undeveloped oil fields is highly prized — as companies seek new sources of production in a tight and expensive oil market.
Oil prices were at about $136 per barrel in trading on Thursday.
The predecessors of the four "majors," as they are called, first had a presence in Iraq in 1920 when they were the original partners in Iraq's Petroleum Company. They lost their licenses when the oil industry was nationalized in 1972.
Iraq sits on an estimated 115 billion barrels and it also has an estimated 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, according to the ministry.
Iraq's oil law, one of benchmarks set by U.S. administration to achieve progress toward national reconciliation, will regulate the work of foreign companies in the Iraqi oil sector. But it is stalled over who will have final authority to manage the country's oil and gas fields
Another ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information is sensitive, said Shell wants to develop the Missan and Kirkuk oil fields, while BP is interested in Rumaila, ExxonMobil in Zubair and Chevron in West Qurna stage 1.
The official added that the Australian BHP Billiton has joined talks through Shell, while French Total has joined through Chevron.
Anadarko, leading a consortium of Vitol Holding and the United Arab Emirates' Dome, has also joined these talks to develop Luhais oil field, he said.
SIN EATERS--We take the moral excrement we find in this equation and we bury it down deep inside of us so that the rest of our case can stay pure. That is the job. We are morally indefensible and absolutely necessary.
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Plus it still has to be refined somewhere and I can only imagine a new modern refinery say in the Pensacola area would be more efficient than the dinosaurs in Texas City.
It's a pretty complicated issue really. It's not as simple as conservatives or liberals are making it.
It doesn't make much sense to me to go poaching other countries resources without exploring that which is in our own backyard.
I guess I would say... why not?
they are already sitting on a lake of oil that could yield 13 billion barrels in the old naval reserve west of ANWR, but they have capped the wells and are now asking for more land to drill on. Why not pump out oil where you've already got the land leased and drilled? This is enron all over again. restrict supply, inflate prices, and then put out the product at the higher price.
It's also a political ploy to shift blameto the democrats for high oil prices instead of puttign it squarely on the Bush admin and their horrible fiscal policies that have created the weak dollar, which is a much bigger culprit in the price per barrel in US dollars than any alleged supply shortage, which there really isn't any. When was the last time you saw lines at a gas station? on the contrary, domestic usage has declined while prices shyrocket. and don't think that these prices are being demanded everywhere. Venezuelans pay about 12 cents per gallon. Iraquis pay about the same, yet American troops filling up humvees in Iraq pay what we pay. how fair is that?
remember that the price per euro is about 77 per barrel. and that the dolalr which was once worth more than the ero, is now worth less, hence the higher price in dollars as compared to euros. and the other thnig they hardly ever mention is the role of the big investment banks that lost their asses speculating on the housing market and are now trying to make up their losses speculating on oil. Inflated specuation and the weak dollar are the main reasonsd we pay over $4 a gallon. plain and simple.
"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
- Ben Franklin
"Life Is What Happens To You When Your Busy Making Other Plans" John Lennon