Iraq Signs ($17 billion) Gas Deal With Shell, Mitsubishi

[Turborama]

Source: AP Via Salon

— Iraq on Sunday signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. to tap natural gas in the south, one of the biggest agreements by the OPEC member to develop an energy sector battered by years of neglect and war.

The $17 billion deal forms a joint venture to gather, process and market gas from three oil fields in the oil-rich province of Basra. That gas, pumped in conjunction with crude oil, is currently burned off — or flared — due to lack of infrastructure.

The 25-year joint venture is called Basra Gas Company. Iraq will hold a 51 percent stake, to Royal Dutch Shell’s 44 percent and Mitsubishi’s 5 percent shares. The gas will be used mainly for domestic energy needs, but there is also an option for exports.

=snip=

Shell CEO Peter Voser told reporters that Iraq is now a “…substantial part of Royal Dutch Shell’s portfolio in the Middle East.”

Read more: http://www.salon.com/2011/11/27/iraq_signs_gas_deal_with_shell_mitsubishi/singleton/

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"Iraq burns off almost half of the 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas that it produces."

I can't even imagine how big 1.5 billion cubic feet is, but reading about that sort of green house gas emission PER DAY just from wastage blows my mind and freaks. me. out!

[TBF]

1. Mission accomplished. nt

[DCBob]

3. Royal Dutch Shell is a Dutch/UK company and Mitusbishi is a Japanese company.

And the oil is to be used mainly for domestic purposes according to the article.

How is that "mission accomplished"?

[TBF]

5. Read response #2 - if you still have any questions about global capital pls. get back to me. nt

[DCBob]

7. So you would prefer Iraq to repay us the 1 trillion in oil profits?

[TBF]

18. The point is that capital is global, no one who owns a multi-national company really cares

where they live as long as they continue to make the profits. The "mission accomplished" is that the Imperialists bombed the countries to get what they wanted, and now they have it. And so it goes ...

[DCBob]

19. I thought the US had a grand scheme to rape Iraq's oil wealth?

You would think it would be US oil companies getting these contracts.

[TBF]

23. If you thought that you were misinformed - capital is global. But I do believe you know that. nt

[Odin2005]

24. Nationality is meaningless for the Ruling Class, they are all buddies.

[russspeakeasy]

2. THE WINNER AND NEW WORLD CHAMPION IS ....SHELL !!

U.S. taxpayers pay $1 trillion and Shell wins $billions.
A sucker born every minute.

[DCBob]

6. So what oil company would you prefer make this deal?

[russspeakeasy]

8. Unlike you, Bob, I don't pick 'em, I just announce 'em.

[DCBob]

20. You seem upset we spent $1 trillion and arent getting the spoils.

[russspeakeasy]

21. Actually what upsets me is using our blood and treasure

to see to it that multi national corporations are able to pay their stockholders increased dividends.
As for the oil, it goes to the highest bidder, no matter the original source, or the company that assumes ownership.
The profits (the spoils as you refer to them) could be put to better use than increasing the already massive oil companies profits.
One silly idea might be to bring those "spoils" home to rebuild the infrastructure that was neglected "because we couldn't afford to modernize it". In that small way, some of those troops that were killed or maimed might have some validation.

[DCBob]

22. Please dont forgot who started this disaster about 8 years ago.

and dont forget who is trying to get us out without making it a bigger disaster.

[lovuian]

10. You got that right

use our children's lives and our money in the trillions
to secure Shell's gas rights

and isn't that what this is all about

[naaman fletcher]

11. From a strategic standpoint

It doesn't matter too much as long as it is one of the big western firms.

[BiggJawn]

4. Hey, wait, wasn't that *OUR* gas and oil?

Oh, boy, start a war with the Netherlands!

[Seedersandleechers]

9. Read the article

"ExxonMobil has recently been embroiled in controversy after it became known that the company had signed a contract with the Kurdish regional government — and not the Oil Ministry in Baghdad — to develop oil fields in northern Iraq."



ExxonMobil is a Texas oil company.

[plumbob]

14. It's actually a New Jersey company.

http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/investor_governance_incorporation.aspx

Just to keep things straight. Texas takes enough on the chin without being blamed for everything.

[Seedersandleechers]

16. From the article I read this

" He declined to comment on what penalties the Texas-based company might face." So I'm guessing they are based in Texas but owned in New Jersey. Sorry, but as a whole I don't blame Texas for anything.
:hi:

[Marnie]

12. Burning off the gas at the well site of an oil drill has been normal

procedure s1nce day one of the drilling of oil.

The gas wasn’t cost efficient to collect so it was burned off.

Some of the early manned satellite photos of earth was of the light produced by gas being burned off in the other wise largely dark night of the mid east and of costal drilling.

[Islandlife]

13. Sounds like a great source of easily accessible energy

No point in lingering on the energy opportunities burned off over the years, but.......what a thought. If we are able to harness the excess natural gas, it would seem a crime not to.

[plumbob]

15. Burning anything during drilling would be insanely dangerous.

That's what blowout preventers are for: to make sure nothing escapes the wellbore during the drilling process.

In the 1950s, it was common to flare off the gas from a predominantly oil well, but that was after completion. I haven't seen a gas flare in 46 years, and I live in the middle of the biggest oil and gas field in North America and have all my life. I worked in the wellhead business for 20 years, installing and servicing equipment at the wellsite.

These days, I'm enjoying the 6.6 cents per kwh for electricity that I'm getting from the wind generators in the area, now the largest wind field in the US. Oil production in this country peaked in the early 70s, and I will enjoy having nearly none produced at all in the near future, and nearly none burned for any type of fuel at all.

[TomClash]

17. This should be entitled: "The Return of the IPC"

Shell was a member of the IPC, the oil oligopoly that largely developed and controlled Iraq's oil fields after WWII until Saddam.

This is the principal reason the US went to war in Iraq - to SECURE oil. It dovetailed nicely with Christian fanaticism, the glories of Empire, the wishes of Saudi Kings, neo-con fantasies and keeping others out of the playground.