[A-List] US imperialism: Iraq, France, Russia, China

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Sharing the oil is key to a deal
IAN BRUCE Analysis
The Herald, 7 November 2002

THE key to calming French and Russian fears over the White House's hard-line
approach to a UN security council vote on Iraq later this week, is the
post-Saddam control of the country's vast untapped reserves of oil.

Moscow, Paris and to a lesser extent Beijing all have vested interests in
multi-billion-pound contracts to develop and maintain fields which contain
the world's second-largest source of crude after neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Russia's Lukoil has the largest potential stake, with a 23-year deal worth
£2bn to exploit the West Qurnah field. France's TotalFinaElf is negotiating
to develop the Majnoon field and its 30 billion barrels of black gold.

China's state-owned national petroleum corporation has a contract to repair
and bring back on stream part of the Rumailah production area damaged in the
1991 Gulf war.

All three governments suspect that toppling Saddam and installing a
US-controlled military administration would lead inevitably to a carve-up of
the oil riches among American corporations to the exclusion of their own
firms.

The importance of Iraq's embarrassment of underground riches has now become
George W Bush's best bargaining chip in the tortuous negotiations over the
wording of the final UN resolution as a probable prelude to war.

James Woolsey, former director of the CIA, favours dangling the carrot of
involvement as an incentive to follow the US line.

He said: "France and Russia have oil companies and interests in Iraq. They
should be told that, if they are of assistance in moving Iraq towards decent
government, then we'll do the best we can to ensure that the new
administration in Baghdad and US companies work closely with them.

"If they throw in their lot with Saddam, or oppose his downfall, then it
could be difficult to the point of impossibility to persuade the new,
democratic Iraqi government to work with them."

Faisal Qaragholi, an oil engineer who directs the London office of the Iraqi
National Congress, the umbrella opposition group backed by the US, added:
"We will review all existing contracts. Our oil policies should be directed
by a government elected by the Iraqi people for their benefit."

Viktor Kremenyuk, deputy-director of the USA-Canada institute in Moscow,
said last night: "Resolving the Iraq problem is all about the rivalry
surrounding the country's oil bonanza. How it is managed is the key."