In Iraq, a call for foreign partners

[Judi Lynn]

In Iraq, a call for foreign partners
The Associated Press

Published: September 11, 2006

ABU DHABI A top Iraqi official has called for partnerships with international companies to bolster his country's oil industry, saying Iraq's emergence as a "secure petro-democracy" could quell rampant sectarian violence.

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, a Kurd, conceded that disputes between local officials and the central government over who controls oil proceeds were one of many obstacles. But he expressed hope that oil would be a "unifying force for Iraqis rather than a resource to fight over."
(snip)

Iraqi leaders are nearing agreement on a long-awaited hydrocarbon law that could usher in huge investments by foreign companies in Iraq's oil sector - and eventually rescue the country from deepening chaos, Saleh said.

The deputy prime minister said he expected Parliament to approve by the end of the year the law setting ground rules for managing Iraq's huge petroleum reserves. "This will open Iraq's oil sector for investment," Saleh said. "It takes partnerships with international oil companies."
(snip/...)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/11/business/oil.php

[Tempest]

1. Iraq will never be a "secure petro-democracy"

Not as long as billions in oil sale revenues are disappearing into a black hole.

[daleo]

2. He means "insecure petro-kleptocracy".

He has a bad case of reverse bizarro neo-con talk.

[lpbk2713]

3. Kind of like the Nigerian E-Mails I receive now and then?

Awfully nice of them to want to make me rich but I always discard their E-Mails.



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