IRAQ : THE SPOILS OF WAR ARE NOW BEING DIVVIED UP

The decades long pursuit of Iraqi oil is now at an end.

Bids have been submitted for contracts to bring Iraqi oil to the global market. The first contract has just been awarded, and guess who it went to? British Petroleum.

It's all a farce. We've bombed Iraq over decades, with depleted uranium, over non-existent WMDs, to reduce the population and their will to resist an imperial oil grab.

And now today, Iraqis are encouraged to celebrate as some US military forces leave while their oil is being handed over to BP (which started out as Anglo-Persian Oil Company and then became the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company).

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), "Iraq holds more than 112 billion barrels of oil - the world's second largest proven reserves. Iraq also contains 110 trillion cubic feet of natural gas".

And not forgetting all that lovely sand.

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From http://blogs.ft.com/energy-source/2009/06/30/live-oil-companies-bid-for-iraqs-oil-fields/

BP and CNPC have won the right to help Iraq develop the Rumaila field. The UK and Chinese companies beat ExxonMobil, the US oil company, which had partnered with Petronas, the Malaysian oil company. BP clinched the contract when it agreed to reduce its fee per barrel from $3.99 to $2.

Today marks the beginning of a long-awaited journey. Braving sand storms and the continued violence on Iraq’s streets, oil executives have come to Baghdad to make their bids. It is the first time since nationalisation four decades ago that international oil companies will be allowed back into the country.