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Shell and Petronas Win Rights to Develop Giant Iraq Oilfield
Majnoon oilfield goes to Anglo-Dutch and Malaysian consortium in second auction of oil assets since 2003 invasion
A consortium led by Shell has won the rights to develop the giant Majnoon oilfield at the second auction of Iraq's oil rights since the 2003 invasion.
Shell joined with Petronas to submit the winning bid for the Majnoon oilfield. (Photograph: David Sillitoe) The auction for about a third of the country's known reserves quickly surpassed last summer's sale, with Majnoon the largest field on offer in the current round. A group of oil companies led by China's CNPC struck a deal to develop the Halfaya field.
There are 10 fields being auctioned over two days under tight security at the Iraqi oil ministry's headquarters. Last summer's auction saw a single deal struck despite eight fields being on offer.
Shell and Malaysia's state-run oil company, Petronas, beat another consortium consisting of France's Total SA and China National Petroleum Corp for the rights to Majnoon, which has estimated reserves of almost 13bn barrels of oil, compared with 4.1bn for Halfaya.
A total of 45 firms are vying for 20-year contracts to develop the 10 fields, spanning from northern Iraq to major fields in the Basra region in the south. Among the bidders are Britain's BP, America's Exxon Mobil and state-backed companies from Asia.
The deals are crucial for Iraq, which relies on oil for 90% of its government budget and sorely needs international companies' help in boosting production and revamping its dilapidated oil sector. Iraq has the world's third-largest known oil reserves.
Although the security situation has improved since the 2007 surge of US troops, the auction takes place against a background of attacks in Baghdad that killed at least 127 people on Tuesday and raised questions about the ability of Iraq security forces to stem the violence as US troops depart.
Opening the auction, Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, played down the significance of Tuesday's attacks. "There is no security deterioration in Iraq even if a security violation took place here," he said.
The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, flew into Iraq to discuss security concerns. In a meeting with Maliki he expressed his condolences for the Baghdad bombing and offered any assistance the country might need.
26 Comments so far
Show All"A consortium led by Shell has won the rights..."
'Winning the rights' is such a nice way to describe what Shell has done to Iraq.
It's like saying that Jeffrey Dahmer won the right to rape his victims, or that Count Dracula won the right to drain someone's blood.
Fair and square?
What I find interesting is the name "Majnoon" means "crazy" in arabic.
How ironic.
Shell and Petronas Win Rights to Develop Giant Iraq Oilfield
---------
I guess that means we won the war!!
YooHoo!
Yippee!
Mr. Cheney's Secret Energy Task Force has it's Mission Accomplished.
Nouri al-Maliki, played down the significance of Tuesday's attacks. "There is no security deterioration in Iraq even if a security violation took place here,"
---------------
Yogi Berra couldn't have said it any better.
I refuse to buy 'plunder' gas.
NOW, It's " Mission accomplished."
you beat me there !!!
I saw the topic headline and knew exactly what I was going to write.
Big Oil et al. drooling and wringing hands: "Yes, my Precious"
May the long-suffering Iraqi people chew both the oil company personnel and their mercinary US military protectors to ribbons. Boycott any and all Shell Oil Company products!
Poet
Hey That's MY oil!!
"dilapidated"? My foot!!
NEW LAW all Oil should belong to the people of the country were it is found .YES Nationalize
Shell needs to come up with a new advertising campaign to promote their windfall, something more astute than the old classic Esso, "Put a tiger in your tank"...
How about a hooded Iraqi standing crucified-like on a crate of Shell oil bottles whilst being yelled at by an American soldier shouting, "Yeah, sheik it baby!"
Put a deformed iraqi baby in your tank!
prasie be! this means true democracy, at last, for the Iraqi people, right?
alot going on right now in a little corner of northern europe...while Copenhagen hosts a world conference on reducing these emissions, the Dutch go after the very stuff we shouldn't be burning? somebody should walk over there from the conference on their lunch break and raise an eyebrow or two...
Shell is co-owned by British concerns as well.
The next time you stick that nozzle in your gas tank
just remember the real cost per gallon.
- 1.2 million Iraqi civilians dead.
- 2.5 million Iraqi refugees homeless.
- 4,000+ American troops dead (not counting Afghanistan)
- 10's of thousands of veterans missing limbs or disfigured, or suffering from PTSD
- a country whose cancer rate has quadrupled because of depleted uranium use by the US
Each and everyone of us have blood on our hands every time we fill up.
Now to ease the burden on the U.S. gas guzzlers, Madeleine Albright should be interviewed by Barbwa Walters, Diane Sawyer or on 60 Minutes with a sign of your statistics and final suggestion, Cosmicharlie, off to the side.
Madeleine Albright will have a nice white hankie and be rubbing her hands from time to time with it. Then the camera focuses on the sign with your statistics and suggestion, and the interviewer reads off the items.
Camera spins to Interviewer and Madeleine, and the Interviewer says: That's a high number of casualties, Secretary Albright. Do you have any comments?
Camera moves to Madeleine Albright, and Madeleine smiles sweetly and says: "Yes, quite a few unfortunate casualties, but they were necessary. Considering how important oil is to the United States' economy and the economy of Iraq now also, we think it was worth it."
/cm
good one Cee- glad there are other people who remember that episode about the sanctions and will NEVER forgive or forget. what a monster.
And so after all, we have learned along the way, that indeed "let me be clear about this"it was not about WMD or terrorists but oil and many many knew from the get go.
It is now known that the price for these barrels of oil was indeed expensive. On both sides lives and loved ones have been blown to bits. Countries and cultures have been destroyed or set onto each other. We will face our disabled soldiers from this war for years to come on the streets of our cities.
Of course in our capitalistic system when one of the world's three largest oil supplies is suddenly opened back up and the companies ramp up production as they say they will then the supply of oil will increase, RIGHT? So in a free market, the price will drop, RIGHT? The soils of war will be a lowering of the price of gas at the pump helping us in our depression. Lowering home heating fuel and the price of groceries that are shipped many miles, RIGHT?
So there it is America the spoils of war, oil. You paid for it. You supported it with your little magnetic ribbons. You gave up your sons and daughters. What you gonna get?
You lost your fame and good name. What are you going to get? More importantly, was it worth it?
So that's great news, only one dead or maimed US soldier for every billion dollars made Shell corporation, and who needs to count the Iraqi dead and wounded.
The poor man fights the rich man's war. But before he goes to the front lines, he is pumped up with patriotism. And "supporting the troops" comes to mean "keeping them in the trenches".
The terrible fact is that these companies could have obtained almost the same rights without a war.
There you go! Seems as if they have forgotten the words, " Can we buy that oil?"
How did our oil get under their sand?