Thursday, August 16, 2007
Kidnapped deputy oil minister was in charge of Iraq's oil exploration and production
Kidnapping
(UPI) -- The Iraqi oil official kidnapped with four others Tuesday was in charge of Iraq’s exploration and production, a key role especially for a Sunni, and a stark reminder that even the most needed aspect of Iraq’s economy -- oil and the wealth it brings in -- is not immune from the horror of today’s Iraq. Abdel-Jabar al-Wagaa, a deputy minister and top assistant to the oil minister, was taken by a group of men in official uniforms and vehicles.
There is no confirmation on the assailants, including whether these were from any Iraqi security force or militias dressed up. Militias carried out a similar raid earlier this year at the Iraqi Finance Ministry. Tuesday’s raid occurred in the afternoon, taken from their neighboring apartments in a housing complex of the State Oil Marketing Organization, where the other officials worked.
Former Oil Minister Issam al-Chalabi told UPI Wagaa, named deputy minister in 2004, may be a target because of his position, because he’s a Sunni and not a Shiite Arab, or because of the tribe he hailed from, the Jibouri tribe from Mosul. “Nobody can tell but it could be a combination of all these reasons,” Chalabi said. “This is really bad,” a U.S. official familiar with Iraq oil issues told UPI on condition of anonymity. “This is a blow to the Oil Ministry. He was one of the few remaining Western-educated technocrats.”
As a Sunni, Wagaa was in the minority in the new Shiite-dominated government in Iraq. Shiites make up the majority population in the country but were deprived of respective leadership roles under Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. Sunnis have been routed out and excluded from the government, despite their expertise in technical issues, especially oil.
Wagaa’s position in the ministry was of heavy importance. The senior deputy minister in charge of upstream, all production, exploration, drilling and the North and South Oil Cos. were under his watch. He also had a role in the ongoing training sessions of oil officials and workers with international oil companies. Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- much of which are not being pumped -- and experts believe nearly as much to be discovered.
At least three of the four others kidnapped held high-level roles in the Iraqi company that sells the crude, the SOMO. Iraq sent an average 1.6 million barrels per day of oil to international market last year, bringing in more than $31 billion, which filled more than 90 percent of the federal budget. Mahdi al-Naqib was in charge of researching what type of crude was available and who it should be sold to; Salah Abdul Qadar was the director general for selling oil to Europe; and Kamel al-Ob’eidy was a top-level SOMO public relations official. UPI could not determine the identity of the fourth abductee.
No one has officially taken responsibility for the act. Media accounts and officials are hinting at blaming the Mahdi Army, or rogue factions of it, which are led by Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr. The incident took place near Sadr City, a poor Baghdad neighborhood of millions. But it could be a cross sect hit, by Sunnis, or any number of actors in the violent power struggle unfolding in Iraq and other parts of the country. Details remain sketchy still. The uniforms may be police or Interior Ministry forces, both of which are infiltrated by loyalists to Shiite militias of the Badr Corps, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, one of the most powerful political parties in Baghdad and partner to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa Party.
Considering the high profile of those captured, it likely was not a random snatch. The perpetrators could have been allowed into the compound because they appeared to be official, or bribed their way in. Less than three months ago armed men in police uniforms took five Britons from a Finance Ministry building, which is near the SOMO compound. They’re still missing, as are many taken in a mass kidnapping Nov. 14, when the Mahdi Army was blamed for donning Interior Ministry garb and invading the Ministry of Higher Education. Wagaa’s kidnapping is the highest-profile job since last year, when in two separate instances the directors general of both the North Oil Co. and State Oil Projects Co. were kidnapped. Neither has been found.
Labels: Abdel-Jabar al-Wagaa, Badr Corps, Deputy Oil Minister, Issam al-Chalabi, Jibouri tribe, Kamel al-Ob’eidy, Mahdi al-Naqib, Mahdi Army, Salah Abdul Qadar, SOMO, State Oil Marketing Organization
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Economist - oil law designed to benefit U.S. oil companies
Oil
(Al Jazeera) - A draft law being considered by the Iraqi parliament would enable US companies to take control of Iraq's oil industry, oil experts in the country say. The proposed bill, approved by the Iraqi government in February after months of wrangling, opens the country's oil sector to foreign investors 35 years after it was nationalised.
"The law is designed for the benefit of US oil companies," Ramzy Salman, an Iraqi economist who worked for the Iraqi oil ministry for 30 years, said. "If approved, it would take things back to where they were before the nationalisation of Iraq's oil in 1972." But he said the situation would be reversed when Iraqis regained their "true sovereignty".
Salman said: "If there is something that should be worked on, it is the [Iraqi] constitution. "The constitution contains serious gaps in terms of who is in charge of the oil and its revenues ... [despite the] oil in Iraq being under every Iraqi river, desert, marsh and farm." The new law, if approved, would authorise production share agreements (PSAs), which offer huge profits for foreign oil companies.
PSAs are normally ideal for poorer countries exploring virgin lands or wanting to extract oil from fields where the resource is well below the surface and are designed to protect investors from the risks involved in such exploration projects. But Iraqi oil experts say investors face virtually no risk, as the country's oil is the cheapest to extract worldwide, and is of such a high quality that it sells at a premium on world markets.
Issam al-Chalabi, Iraq's former oil minister, said PSAs were completely inappropriate for Iraq. He said: "An oil barrel in most of Iraq’s oilfields costs between 50 cents and one dollar to extract. Iraq's fields are also proven, and investing in them is risk-free. "These kinds of agreements are normally given when there is a risk, as the case in Sudan, Yemen and several other countries, where companies invest money with great risk that they would not find oil, or they find difficult to extract oil."
Al-Chalabi said PSAs were a highly profitable formula for oil companies and in many cases they were granted for "political reasons". "Iraq's PSA with the Chinese and Russians gave a profit percentage less than 10 per cent when the oil barrel price was around $25, but now the barrel is over $60 which means the percentage of 12.5 per cent is too high," he said.
Dhafir al-Ani, an Iraqi member of parliament, said: "The proposed oil law is the best possible in the current situation. "However, if there are some gaps in it, then the reason is the constitution, which contains several controversial issues and needs to reconsidered." Al-Ani agreed with Salman that the proposed law was a "political" deal to strengthen US allies in Iraq.
"The law is designed for the benefit of US oil companies," Ramzy Salman, an Iraqi economist who worked for the Iraqi oil ministry for 30 years, said. "If approved, it would take things back to where they were before the nationalisation of Iraq's oil in 1972." But he said the situation would be reversed when Iraqis regained their "true sovereignty".
Salman said: "If there is something that should be worked on, it is the [Iraqi] constitution. "The constitution contains serious gaps in terms of who is in charge of the oil and its revenues ... [despite the] oil in Iraq being under every Iraqi river, desert, marsh and farm." The new law, if approved, would authorise production share agreements (PSAs), which offer huge profits for foreign oil companies.
PSAs are normally ideal for poorer countries exploring virgin lands or wanting to extract oil from fields where the resource is well below the surface and are designed to protect investors from the risks involved in such exploration projects. But Iraqi oil experts say investors face virtually no risk, as the country's oil is the cheapest to extract worldwide, and is of such a high quality that it sells at a premium on world markets.
Issam al-Chalabi, Iraq's former oil minister, said PSAs were completely inappropriate for Iraq. He said: "An oil barrel in most of Iraq’s oilfields costs between 50 cents and one dollar to extract. Iraq's fields are also proven, and investing in them is risk-free. "These kinds of agreements are normally given when there is a risk, as the case in Sudan, Yemen and several other countries, where companies invest money with great risk that they would not find oil, or they find difficult to extract oil."
Al-Chalabi said PSAs were a highly profitable formula for oil companies and in many cases they were granted for "political reasons". "Iraq's PSA with the Chinese and Russians gave a profit percentage less than 10 per cent when the oil barrel price was around $25, but now the barrel is over $60 which means the percentage of 12.5 per cent is too high," he said.
Dhafir al-Ani, an Iraqi member of parliament, said: "The proposed oil law is the best possible in the current situation. "However, if there are some gaps in it, then the reason is the constitution, which contains several controversial issues and needs to reconsidered." Al-Ani agreed with Salman that the proposed law was a "political" deal to strengthen US allies in Iraq.
Labels: Dhafir al-Ani, draft oil law, Iraq, Issam al-Chalabi, production share agreements, PSAs, Ramzy Salman, U.S.
