Going Back

BAGHDAD — Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.
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Sensitive to the appearance that they were profiting from the war and already under pressure because of record high oil prices, senior officials of two of the companies, speaking only on the condition that they not be identified, said they were helping Iraq rebuild its decrepit oil industry.

For an industry being frozen out of new ventures in the world’s dominant oil-producing countries, from Russia to Venezuela, Iraq offers a rare and prized opportunity.

By ANDREW E. KRAMER, NY Times
Published: June 19, 2008

"At ExxonMobil, we know our business has a direct impact on many lives. The oil and gas we produce — and the technologies we have developed — make it possible for millions of people around the world to light and heat their homes, fuel their vehicles, and power their businesses.

Energy helps economies grow and individuals prosper, and is essential to modern society. Fulfilling this need for energy is the foundation of our business and a source of motivation for our company’s 81,000 employees."
Letter from the Chairman; ExxonMobil.com

Iraqi oil fields burning. link

"So where is the oil going to come from? Governments and the national oil companies are obviously controlling about ninety per cent of the assets. Oil remains fundamentally a government business. While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the Middle East with two thirds of the world‘s oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies, even though companies are anxious lor greater access there, progress continues to be slow."
Dick Cheney, from a speech at the Institute of Petroleum, 1999


"My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will -- that will then prevent us -- that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East,” McCain said.
MSNBC.com May 2