Thread: Iraq/Dinar News Until 5/31/2007 7:15 PM CST..

Originally Posted by HyiperOne

Sorry for saying this but actually he is talking past tense

HyperOne, please elaborate. The one-liners are not providing too much validity to your argument. To me this is exciting news, but if you are going to rebut the "published" translated article, you have to give a little more. And a supporting translated link.

I agree with Hyiperone...I ran that one phrase through a different translation site and it says...."explaining that the central bank is the one that issued the new currency and for it the decrease does not want."

Cheers!
DayDream

It's All About Oil

Wednesday May 23, 2007 -- Summary and Notes from Congressman Kucinich's One Hour Speech Before the United States House of Representatives On Administration's Efforts to Privatize Iraq Oil

The Iraqi "Hydrocarbon Law" is an issue of critical importance, but has been seriously mischaracterized and I want to provide the House of Representatives the facts and evidence to support the concerns I have expressed.

As you know, the Administration set several benchmarks for the Iraqi government, including passage of the "Hydrocarbon Law" by the Iraqi Parliament. The Administration has emphasized only a small part of this law, the "fair" distribution of oil revenues. Consider the fact that the Iraqi "Hydrocarbon Law" contains a mere three sentences that generally discusses the "fair" distribution of oil.

Except for three scant lines, the entire 33 page "Hydrocarbon Law," is about creating a complex legal structure to facilitate the privatization of Iraqi oil. As such, it in imperative that all of us carefully read the Iraqi Parliament's bill because the Congress is on the record in promoting oil privatization.

This war is about oil.
We must not be party to the Administration's blatant attempt to set the stage for multinational oil companies to take over Iraq's oil resources.

The Administration set several benchmarks for the Iraqi government, including passage of the "Hydrocarbon Law" by the Iraqi Parliament.

And many inside the beltway are contemplating linking funding for the war in Iraq to the completion of these benchmarks, including passage of the "Hydrocarbon Law" by the Iraqi Parliament.

The Administration has once again misled Congress by mislabeling the draft law as an oil revenues distribution law, just as the Administration misled Congress about the Iraq war.

The war in Iraq is a stain on American history. Let us not further besmirch our nation by participating in the outrageous exploitation of a nation which is in shambles due to U.S. intervention.

The fact is that except for three scant lines, the entire 33 page "Hydrocarbon Law," is about creating a complex legal structure to facilitate the privatization of Iraqi oil.

Analysis of Iraqi "Hydrocarbon Law" Section by Section:

The Feb 15th, 2007 draft was made available, not because the Iraqi government released it, but because the Kurds released it.

This version passed the Iraq Cabinet, and was referred to the Parliament.

The legislation contains only three sentences in regards to the fair distribution of oil, but do not resolve any of the issues facing this challenge. The legislation simply requires that future legislation be submitted for approval. Thus, this legislation does not even meet the President's benchmark.
The legislation ensures that the "Chief Executives of important related petroleum companies" are represented on the Federal Oil and Gas Council, which approves oil and gas contracts. This is akin to the foreign oil companies approving their own contracts.
The legislation ensures the Iraq National Oil Company has no exclusive rights for exploration, development, production, transportation, and marketing. The Iraq National Oil Company must compete against foreign oil companies with rules that benefit the foreign oil companies.
The legislation gives the Iraq National Oil Company some control of developed oil fields and "rights to participate" in undeveloped oil fields in Annex I and II, but these Annexes have never been made public.
The legislation gives the Iraq National Oil Company temporary control of the oil pipelines and export terminals, but then directs the Federal Oil and Gas Council to turn these assets over to any entity with no further instructions. The opportunity for a foreign oil company to have control over the Iraqi oil pipeline and export terminals would give that company enormous control of the Iraqi oil market.
The legislation demands that "contracts must guarantee the best levels of coordination" with the Oil Ministry, Iraq National Oil Company, the regions and oil companies. The legislation mandates that undeveloped oil fields be developed quickly and oil companies are given explicit authority to "collaborate."
The legislation does not require contracts to be published for public review up to two months after the approval.
The legislation provides up to 35 years of exclusive control over oil fields for foreign oil companies.
The legislation provides for a preference to Iraqis for jobs and services, but only if these benefits do not place extra costs or inconveniences on the foreign oil companies.
The legislation states that disputes between the State of Iraq and any foreign investors will be submitted for arbitration to an international court and will not be decided upon by an Iraqi court.
The legislation has four appendices, whose contents remain secret:
ANNEX NO. 1: PRESENT PRODUCING FIELDS ALLOCATED TO THE IRAQ NATIONAL OIL COMPANY

ANNEX NO. 2: DISCOVERED (UNDEVELOPED) FIELDS ALLOCATED TO THE IRAQ NATIONAL OIL COMPANY

ANNEX NO. 3: DISCOVERED (UNDEVELOPED) FIELDS OUTSIDE THE OPERATIONS OF THE IRAQ NATIONAL OIL COMPANY

ANNEX NO. 4: EXPLORATION AREAS
The appendices will effectively make clear which oil fields will be controlled by the Iraqi National Oil Company and which are open to foreign control of oil companies.

Iraqi Parliament and Citizens of Iraq had minimal input in draft oil law, while as the U.S. government and international oil companies had significant influence

Middle East Economic Survey. VOL. XLIX. No 12. 19-Mar-22007. IRAQ. Open Letter From Iraqi Oil Experts To Parliament. At the same time that we wished that public opinion and the non-governmental organizations were allowed to review the draft of the law, as well as the oil cadres that are specialized in this aspects, to study and enrich it before it is submitted to your esteemed council to discuss its enacting, we would like to emphasize our opinion that there was a rush in its issuance under the present complicated circumstances prevalent in our dear country.

Analysis: Iraq Oil Union Has Storied Past. Ben Lando, UPI. March 29th, 2007. The unions were kept in the dark, as were most members of Iraq's parliament, until the draft law was leaked to the media. Even then it was still out the reach of most of Iraq's citizens.
What does the draft Iraqi oil law actually do

Except for three scant lines, the entire 33 page "Hydrocarbon Law," is about creating a complex legal structure to facilitate the privatization of Iraqi oil.

How will Iraq share the oil?. In the US, the demand that Iraq pass an oil law is a 'benchmark' that is becoming a flashpoint. Gail Russell Chaddock. The Christian Science Monitor. May 18, 2007.

The actual draft law has nothing to do with sharing the oil revenue," says former Iraqi oil minister Issam Al Chalabi, in a phone interview from Amman, Jordan. The law aims to set a framework for investment by outside oil companies, including favorable production-sharing agreements that are typically used to reward companies for taking on risk, he says.

"We know the oil is there. Geological studies have been made for decades on these oil fields, so why would we let them [international firms] have a share of the oil?" he adds. "Iraqis will say this is solid proof that Americans have staged the war ... because of this law."

Iraq Oil Law Details Untouched Fields, Blocks -Document. Hassan Hafidh. DOW JONES NEWSWIRES. 4 March 2007.
Iraq's draft hydrocarbon law, the centerpiece in the development of the country's shaky oil industry, details dozens of untouched oil fields loaded with proven reserves and scores of exploration blocks that may prove a magnet to international oil companies, according to a document seen by Dow Jones Newswires.

Some Iraqi Politicians Urge Rejection of Draft Oil Law. Hassan Hafidh. Dow Jones Newswires. March 10th, 2007.
The law, if passed, is expected to open the country's billions of barrels of proven oil reserves, the world's third largest, to foreign investors.

Our Man In Iraq. Daphne Eviatar, American Lawyer. April 25th, 2007

Under the new law, the Iraq National Oil Company would have exclusive control of only about 17 of Iraq's approximately 80 known oil fields.

The law would also allow the government to negotiate different kinds of exploration and production contracts with foreign oil companies, including Production Sharing Agreements, or PSAs. Energy lawyers favor these because they allow oil companies to secure long-term deals and book oil reserves as assets on their company balance sheets.

Under the proposed law, foreign companies would not have to invest their earnings in Iraq, hire Iraqi workers, or partner with Iraqi companies.

Iraqi officials insist oil law won't favour U.S. Morning Star Online. January 28th 2007.
The proposal would provide for production sharing agreements that would give international firms 70 per cent of the oil revenues to recover their initial investments and subsequently allow them 20 per cent of the profits without any tax or restrictions on the transferring of funds abroad.

Time to Do the Math in Iraq. Ted Nace. April 18, 2007. CommonDreams.org
The most notable feature of the law is a revival of an exploitive type of contract widely used prior to the rise of Arab nationalism in the 1960s, known as a production sharing agreement. Although the Oil Law uses an alternative term, "exploration and production contract," the effect is the identical. The new arrangement would allow the bulk of Iraq's reserves to be controlled by outside oil companies, privatizing what has until now been a nationalized resource under the auspices of the Iraq National Oil Company. It specifies the royalty that will be paid to Iraq: "12.5 percent of gross production, measured at the entry flange to the main pipeline." And as if the rest of the law were not already explicit enough, Article 35(A) reiterates: "Holders of exploration and production rights may transfer any net profits from petroleum operations to outside Iraq after paying taxes and fees owed."

Crude Designs: The Rip-Off of Iraq's Oil Wealth. Greg Muttitt. PLATFORM. 2005.
· At an oil price of $40 per barrel, Iraq stands to lose between $74 billion and $194 billion over the lifetime of the proposed contracts (2), from only the first 12 oilfields to be developed. These estimates, based on conservative assumptions, represent between two and seven times the current Iraqi government budget.

· Under the likely terms of the contracts, oil company rates of return from investing in Iraq would range from 42% to 162%, far in excess of usual industry minimum target of around 12% return on investment.

March 13, 2007 Op-Ed Contributor. Whose Oil Is It, Anyway? ANTONIA JUHASZ
TODAY more than three-quarters of the world's oil is owned and controlled by governments. It wasn't always this way.

Until about 35 years ago, the world's oil was largely in the hands of seven corporations based in the United States and Europe. Those seven have since merged into four: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP. They are among the world's largest and most powerful financial empires. But ever since they lost their exclusive control of the oil to the governments, the companies have been trying to get it back.

Iraq's oil reserves - thought to be the second largest in the world - have always been high on the corporate wish list. In 1998, Kenneth Derr, then chief executive of Chevron, told a San Francisco audience, "Iraq possesses huge reserves of oil and gas - reserves I'd love Chevron to have access to."

A new oil law set to go before the Iraqi Parliament this month would, if passed, go a long way toward helping the oil companies achieve their goal. The Iraq hydrocarbon law would take the majority of Iraq's oil out of the exclusive hands of the Iraqi government and open it to international oil companies for a generation or more.

In March 2001, the National Energy Policy Development Group (better known as Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force), which included executives of America's largest energy companies, recommended that the United States government support initiatives by Middle Eastern countries "to open up areas of their energy sectors to foreign investment." One invasion and a great deal of political engineering by the Bush administration later, this is exactly what the proposed Iraq oil law would achieve. It does so to the benefit of the companies, but to the great detriment of Iraq's economy, democracy and sovereignty.

Since the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration has been aggressive in shepherding the oil law toward passage. It is one of the president's benchmarks for the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a fact that Mr. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Gen. William Casey, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and other administration officials are publicly emphasizing with increasing urgency.

The administration has highlighted the law's revenue sharing plan, under which the central government would distribute oil revenues throughout the nation on a per capita basis. But the benefits of this excellent proposal are radically undercut by the law's many other provisions - these allow much (if not most) of Iraq's oil revenues to flow out of the country and into the pockets of international oil companies.

The law would transform Iraq's oil industry from a nationalized model closed to American oil companies except for limited (although highly lucrative) marketing contracts, into a commercial industry, all-but-privatized, that is fully open to all international oil companies.

The Iraq National Oil Company would have exclusive control of just 17 of Iraq's 80 known oil fields, leaving two-thirds of known - and all of its as yet undiscovered - fields open to foreign control.

The foreign companies would not have to invest their earnings in the Iraqi economy, partner with Iraqi companies, hire Iraqi workers or share new technologies. They could even ride out Iraq's current "instability" by signing contracts now, while the Iraqi government is at its weakest, and then wait at least two years before even setting foot in the country. The vast majority of Iraq's oil would then be left underground for at least two years rather than being used for the country's economic development.

The international oil companies could also be offered some of the most corporate-friendly contracts in the world, including what are called production sharing agreements. These agreements are the oil industry's preferred model, but are roundly rejected by all the top oil producing countries in the Middle East because they grant long-term contracts (20 to 35 years in the case of Iraq's draft law) and greater control, ownership and profits to the companies than other models. In fact, they are used for only approximately 12 percent of the world's oil.

Iraq's neighbors Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia maintain nationalized oil systems and have outlawed foreign control over oil development. They all hire international oil companies as contractors to provide specific services as needed, for a limited duration, and without giving the foreign company any direct interest in the oil produced.

Iraqis may very well choose to use the expertise and experience of international oil companies. They are most likely to do so in a manner that best serves their own needs if they are freed from the tremendous external pressure being exercised by the Bush administration, the oil corporations - and the presence of 140,000 members of the American military.

Iraq's five trade union federations, representing hundreds of thousands of workers, released a statement opposing the law and rejecting "the handing of control over oil to foreign companies, which would undermine the sovereignty of the state and the dignity of the Iraqi people." They ask for more time, less pressure and a chance at the democracy they have been promised.

Continued
ZNet |Iraq | It's All About Oil

Originally Posted by rvalreadydang

المركزيThe insistence to continue the monetary policy of the Central Bank
25/05/2007Business and Economy-25/05/2007

قال.He said the Iraqi Central Bank Governor Sinan Al-Shabibi that the goal of monetary policy is to achieve price stability and be done by enhancing the effectiveness of the work of all sectors in order to meet the social needs of goods and services, and explained that the Central Bank is issuing new currency and did not want to fall, and there are important economic implications behind the monetary policy, especially at the level of stability in Iraq economically. NEW NOTES???

و .Shabibi and pointed to inflation, which rose to record rates in past years have witnessed relatively stable in this year amounting to 45%, and the Central Bank has succeeded in forming a high cash reserve amounted to 21 billion dollars. he is a good sum could in turn contribute to the creation of a stability reassuring.

و .And statements come in light of the opposition expressed by the broad economic circles, particularly in the private sector, as well as experts and spe******ts about the tight monetary policy, and tried to prevent the activation and revitalize economic sectors because of raising interest rates to more than 23%. and the rate is unprecedented in any nation at the regional and global levels, The inflation indices to be calculated incorrectly, so that the results seem positive formality while inflation rises in practice as prices remained volatile for the major commodity groups involved in the account.




المصدر : الملف برس - الكاتب: الملف برسSource : file-Presse writer : file Press

اصرار على مواصلة السياسة النقدية للبنك المركزي

Is he talking about lower denoms??? Notice he doesn't say replacing currency he says issuing, it has to be the lower denoms!!

WELL WELL WELL
(mi mi mi mi mi mi la la la la la la)

Originally Posted by Lunar

Whatever here is the article sgs refers to in post #129



Baqer Jabr Al : we equate the Iraqi dinar dollar
27.06.06 This is not a new article
Baghdad-Yasser acting Secretary-haven

Finance is operating tens of thousands of unemployed and delivery Retirement Law

The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank a proposal to lift the value of the Iraqi dinar Iraqi returning to normal, and is this proposal and supported the World Bank. This announcement l (morning), Finance Minister Jabr Al statement said : We have suggested to the Governor of the Central Bank raising three zeroes on the Iraqi dinar and the lifting so that the value of the dinar was equal to the dollar

He pointed out the determination of financial authority to convene a meeting next month comprising experts and spe******ts in finance and the Central Bank of Iraq and Commercial Bank in order to do so.

The boat in a comprehensive interview with the morning on the government's economic programme that the year 2007 will witness the preparation of the budget the quality is the first of its kind in the history of Iraq under a government elected will determine where the new features of the economic plan.

The Minister also spoke about the ministry's intention to complete the Retirement Law nearest public an opportunity to create opportunities for new investment that contributes to the operation of tens of thousands of unemployed referring to the study of unification of the hierarchy and that the procedures required time.

The Baqer Al Minister of Finance supported the initiative of the Prime Minister of dialogue and national reconciliation and expressed the belief that the language of dialogue is the best way to the base to solve all the political issues at stake in the country and unify efforts benevolent towards preserving Iraq's unity land and people.

He said that the Ministry of Finance has allocated funds to pay compensation to those affected by terrorist operations, With the government will be launched within the next year thousands of civil servants at this time to support the implementation of the ministry investment plans Territories and attention we will encourage the private sector leading to the creation of new job opportunities in all parts of Iraq.

This morning, the transcript of the interview published in a number expanded later.

Translated version of http://www.alsabaah.com/

yup, get yer dancin shoes on kiddies, its time to rock and roll the caymens!!!! (first dibs on the big suite!!)

Originally Posted by cooldolphins

How is this past tense?

Thats what the translation is saying and it is wrong, look I hope as you all that this could be new dinars, but it is not, this is just wrong translation, he meant that the CBI is the issuer of the new currency.
Arabic is my native lang, so I know what I read.

yup, get yer dancin shoes on kiddies, its time to rock and roll the caymens!!!! (first dibs on the big suite!!)

Originally Posted by noced71

HyperOne, please elaborate. The one-liners are not providing too much validity to your argument. To me this is exciting news, but if you are going to rebut the "published" translated article, you have to give a little more. And a supporting translated link.

I am not using any translation service as Arabic is my native language and sure my translation will be better than any other online service, and this statment didn't mention anything about issuing new dinars, sorry for that but we have to go over this.

Originally Posted by HyiperOne

Thats what the translation is saying and it is wrong, look I hope as you all that this could be new dinars, but it is not, this is just wrong translation, he meant that the CBI is the issuer of the new currency.
Arabic is my native lang, so I know what I read.

Thanks for your input and in my opinion we could use someone that reads these articles at face value, well at least the duck needs someone. I use to ask for a link but i have learned that links are no better than the friggin rumors.

again thanks

Originally Posted by stargate-sg13

Susie thanks for a better translation. My comprehension of these articles is very low I'm afraid. My brain and my eyes can't take it much longer.

actually, we are gettin the final curtain call right now. enjoy it!!