Iraq revives Saddam oil deal with China
By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing and Steve Negus, Iraq, Correspondent
June 23 2007 03:00 – Financial Times http://tinyurl.com/2od2r6
Baghdad has revived a contract signed by the Saddam Hussein administration allowing a state-owned Chinese oil company to develop an Iraqi oil field, the Iraqi oil minister told the Financial Times in Beijing yesterday.
Hussein al-Shahristani also said Baghdad welcomed Chinese oil company bids for any other contract in the country through a “fair and transparent bidding process” to be laid out in the new oil law under discussion in Iraq’s parliament.
China National Petroleum Corporation, the country’s largest oil company and the parent of listed group Petrochina, signed a deal with Iraq in 1997 to develop the al-Ahdab oil field. The field is one of the first to be offered to foreign investors since the 2003 US-led invasion.
What else can Bush Neocons screw up?
China has a tremendous demand for oil, and a capable petrochemical industry – the government of any oil-producing state would be foolish to ignore a bid from them.
Comment by B.Kevorkian — October 11, 2005 @ 9:58 am
Its their oil, we don’t control who they sell it to. Just like we don’t tell the Saudis who to sell to.Or anyone else in OPEC. And no one in the Clinton administration objected to this deal in 97.
Comment by smsmith500 — October 11, 2005 @ 2:38 pm
Can you blame them? Maybe the’d change their minds if we made some sort of concilitory gesture–like giving their country back to the Iraqi people.
Comment by crabby_blindguy — October 12, 2005 @ 1:26 am
Everything they touch.
And why would Iraqis be angered?
And why would the US people become hateful of the people of Iraq? “oh, my god — it couldn’t be because we moved in bringing democracy to them. And in the process of giving the “gift” we proceeded to blow everything up and setting up the situation of civil war. Now what will we do? Walk away from the carnage and let the Iraqis clean up.
Comment by Rick V — October 14, 2005 @ 7:38 pm