Radical Noesis - Thinking outside the box

The report details plans promoted, and partially instituted, by the U.S. and Britain to privatize Iraqi oil through "production sharing agreements" (called PSAs). PSAs have been used since the 1960s to keep ownership of oil reserves in states' names while turning over control of those reserves to oil companies. The contracts may last up to 40 years, and:

"generally exempt foreign oil companies from any new laws that might affect their profits. And the contracts often stipulate that disputes are heard not in the country's own courts but in international investment tribunals, which make their decisions on commercial grounds and do not consider the national interest or other national laws. Iraq could be surrendering its democracy as soon as it achieves it."

The report states that if one assumes a $40 a barrel price for oil, Iraq stands to lose $74 to $192 billion. Since oil is well above that price and likely to increase, the money Iraq stands to lose could be much higher. The PSAs could also result in profits of ""42% to 162%" for the oil companies.

This process was started by the Iraqi Provisional Authority under U.S. influence, and the contracts are being formalized for implementation shortly after the Iraqi elections in December of this year. This would effectively commit Iraq to the exploitation of its oil reserves for up to 40 years.

The "Crude Designs" report includes detailed discussion and documentation of U.S. interest in controlling Iraq's oil - as well as the rest of the Middle East - in the face of peak oil, and stretches back to Cheney's comments in 1999.

"In a speech to the Institute of Petroleum in London in 1999, Dick Cheney, then CEO of oil services company Halliburton, commented:

“By 2010 we will need on the order of an additional fifty million barrels a day. So where is the oil going to come from? ... While many regions of the world offer great oil opportunities, the Middle East with two thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies.”5

To this analysis, he added a note of frustration: “Even though companies are anxious for greater access there, progress continues to be slow”.

The report details how PSAs work and how they are being maneuvered in Iraq - including the placement of key figures such as Ibrahim al-Ja' alani and Ahmed Chalabi into positions to effectively control Iraq's oil reserves. It discusses in detail, plans from before and after the invasion of Iraq. The picture pained is not unexpected. Basically that the "war" was indeed for gaining control of the third largest known oil reserve, and a firm presence in the midst of Middle East and Southern Asian oil nations.

It is important to note, that while the picture is of control of oil, that the focus is ensuring massive profits to oil companies. This is an important distinction, as the likely justification should these plans become broad public knowledge, is that the U.S. needs to control the oil for its own national interests.

The Center for Media & Democracy "Source Watch" project has a good sourced discussion on the "Future of Iraq Project." The focus of the activities and planning under this umbrella indicate much more focus on economically controlling Iraq than creating a "democracy."

Among the sources listed in the Source Watch report is the Future of Iraq Portal. This is an excellent resource for a wide array of "reconstruction" information, as well as current news and information on what is happening in Iraq.

The "Crude Designs" report and other information above, reflects that the administration is and was well aware of peak oil. However, that the focus of addressing that - particularly in relationship to Iraq - was one of massive profit and not the doomsday scenario peak presents.