So much for that "liberator" loyalty from the Iraqis to the United States, the oil minister reported that serious discussions for a $1.2 billion dollar deal with China is in the works to develop Ahdab oil field. Western oil companies have been salivating over the oil in Iraq and expected to get all of it, but that hasn't been the case, much to chagrin of those that donated so much to Bush for that desired outcome.
From RawStory:
The announcement came after a meeting between Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani and China's ambassador to Baghdad.
No further details were released, but if the deal is signed it will be the first Saddam Hussein-era oil deal to be honored by the new Iraqi regime.
In 1997, Saddam's government signed an agreement with the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., despite United Nations sanctions that barred direct dealings with Iraq's oil industry.
That is perhaps the most significant aspect of this story, that a Saddam-signed contract is being honored. Now that he has been gone for over five years, foreign companies are starting to clamor for their oil. With demand rising exponentially (as in China) sources of oil, especially those that are easy to extract are sought out with greater intensity. Just like any other rich developed nation, China is going to do whatever it takes to get raw materials and is not afraid to make themselves look bad in order to do it, as we've seen many times already and especially in Darfur.
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