U.S. Helped Western Companies Divvy Up Iraqi Oil

A group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest fields in Iraq, American officials say.

The disclosure, coming on the eve of the contracts' announcement, is the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq's oil to commercial development and is likely to stoke criticism.

In their role as advisers to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, American government lawyers and private-sector consultants provided template contracts and detailed suggestions on drafting the contracts, advisers and a senior State Department official said.

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Comments

[aturner18]

Let the oil flow my way.

[larryfishkorn]

Wow, so, like, all those tv pundits who poo-poo'ed the very notion that the Iraq invasion was strictly for oil were wrong. Here's the proof, yet instead of talking about a war of aggression by the Cheney Administration, the airheads on Morning Joe would rather talk about... who's more patriotic.

[GeraldineFerraro]

whoooo hoooo! yea! finally! lets git some oil people! I need to fill up my semi so I can haul my boat to the lake!

[Mercedes]

Let's see now.. Before Bush invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein had kept big OIL companies out of Iraq for 36 years.

Saddam is out, then, all of a sudden, experts from Exxon-Mobil, Shell, Chevron, and British Petroleum are coming into Iraq to work for FREE, to show the Iraqis how to get OIL out of the pipelines, during the past two years.

Now, these big OIL companies are being allowed in to "help" Iraqis to get the OIL out of the pipelines, BUT this time they want to be paid for it and sign long-term contracts.

So, for two years of not charging Iraq a dime, now the big OIL companies are in Iraq TO STAY. These two years of volunteering to show Iraq how to use an OIL pipeline will now cost the Iraqs TRILLIONS of dollars in lost profits for their country.

Bush doesn't want to influence Iraq into making any deals with these big OIL companies. So, what was the reason again for Bush to invade Iraq???

[NoFactsJustTruth]

I'm betting the Iraqi Parliament would also like to sign some 'contracts' ...on the Oil Minister that betrayed them.

[FredOCal]

This is not a surprise. Iraq was the first resource war of the 21st century. We will never leave. Our government's job is to protect business, and our troops will be protecting their interest in Iraq for years to come. What would be surprising would be if any president would change that policy. I don't believe that will happen. McCain admits as much, but Obama has shown through his votes to continue war funding that he will do the same.

[oxygen]

how can the iraqis after being so abused by the americans have anything to do with them - they should look to china for a strong curency, nearby transportation issues, and china's massive industrial capacity which could quickly and much more efficiently and productively help the iraqis "rebuild" their counties the americans bombed into the stone ages -- why bring up bad blood and the americans if you are starting over and want to sell oil to someone - I am certain the chinese would use the oil more efficiently, be more thankfuyl for the contracts, and have a stronger currency and goods to trade for the oil and services than the fat arse americans do ten thousand miles away

[JCTaylor]

Who is going to critisize this