The United States and the Iraqi Oil Prize

If the Iraqi Government is to sign production sharing agreements with foreign oil companies at an oil price of 40 dpb, Iraq stands to lose between $74 billion and $194 billion in revenue, over the lifetime of the proposed contracts (25 to 30 years), according to a study issued by the US Global Policy Forum in November. Also, if the price of oil remains the same as it is now, that is, 60 dpb, the loss will be greater. According to the study, production sharing agreements involving 60 out of the 80 known fields will be signed, thus allowing these multinational companies to control about 60 percent of the proven crude oil reserves. If Iraq truly holds 200 billion barrels of undiscovered reserves, according to the Iraqi Oil Ministry’s estimations, foreign companies will consequently control more than 85 percent of Iraq’s oil reserves.

Asharq Alawsat