[Peace-discuss] Americans kill and die for oil profits

[C. G. Estabrook]

[My spell-checker wants to replace "Pickens" with "sickens."  Seems about right. 
--CGE]

	October 22 2009
	U.S. Oil Tycoon Pickens says U.S. firms 'entitled' to Iraqi oil
	By Tom Doggett
	Reuters

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens told Congress on 
Wednesday that U.S. energy companies are "entitled" to some of Iraq's crude 
because of the large number of American troops that lost their lives fighting in 
the country and the U.S. taxpayer money spent in Iraq.

Boone, speaking to the newly formed Congressional Natural Gas Caucus, complained 
that the Iraqi government has awarded contracts to foreign companies, 
particularly Chinese firms, to develop Iraq's vast reserves while American 
companies have mostly been shut out.

"They're opening them (oil fields) up to other companies all over the world ... 
We're entitled to it," Pickens said of Iraq's oil. "Heck, we even lost 5,000 of 
our people, 65,000 injured and a trillion, five hundred billion dollars."

President Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw U.S. troops in Iraq.

"We leave there with the Chinese getting the oil," Pickens said.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told a Washington conference on 
Wednesday that his government was happy with the energy auction it held earlier 
this year. The auction was the first chance for foreign oil firms to compete for 
Iraqi oil since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

"We're pleased with scale and participation of the IOC (International Oil 
Companies) and the transparent and public competition," Shahristani said at a 
U.S.-Iraq business and investment conference.

BP and the Chinese oil company CNPC were the only firms to win a contract in 
Iraq's bid round this summer, the first chance for foreign oil firms to compete 
for Iraqi oil since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Seven other oil and gas 
fields failed to attract bidders on the terms Iraq offered.

But a consortium headed by Italy's ENI (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) said 
last week it signed a deal to develop the giant Zubair field for a remuneration 
fee of $2 a barrel. At Iraq's oilfield auction in June, the consortium refused 
to go below $4.40 a barrel.

Two consortiums are still competing for a deal to develop the even larger West 
Quran oilfield. They are Russia's LUKOIL (LKOH.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) and 
ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and another consortium headed 
by Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research). (Reporting by Tom Doggett, 
additional reporting by Simon Webb; editing by Jim Marshall)

Source: Reuters