Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 01/01/08 - 14/04/08

Analysis: Oil part of Iraq-Iran War Talks

A senior Iraqi delegation in Iran isn't directly focused on recent allegations of misconduct in the Iraqi oil sector -- including an Iranian takeover of some fields -- but rather settling cross-border rows leftover from war two decades ago.

Although oil disputes were expected to be a portion of the agenda, Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Labeed Abbawi told United Press International the main issue is a disputed border -- agreed to in 1975 and violated in the Iran-Iraq war, during which a half-million people on both sides were killed.

Another legacy of the war are unexploded mines on land and -- along with sunken ships -- in the troubled Shatt al-Arab waterway, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet in southern Iraq and flow toward the Persian Gulf. The Shatt al-Arab became the line of demarcation between Iraq and Iran.

"I think this is an issue that has mired the relationship for many years before, and we want to settle this ... once and for all … for better relations between Iran and Iraq," Abbawi said.

Iranian and Iraqi media reports from the meeting say a technical agreement was reached over the 1975 Algiers Accord and the sides will work to implement new accepted borders.

"Of course, there are some areas which are disputed areas which have some oil wells but the main thing is not the wells but the border line," Abbawi said. "A delegation from the Ministry of Oil would be discussing the oil wells with the Iranians at a later stage."

Iran and Iraq have the second- and third-largest proven oil reserves in the world. Iraq is highly underexplored, and initial predictions are that its reserves may surpass Saudi Arabia's.

Faraj Moussa, the deputy chief of Iraq's Commission on Public Integrity, earlier this month accused Iran of taking over 15 oil wells in the south, forcefully blocking Iraqi workers' access and pumping oil back to Iran through a yet-to-be-built pipeline. What's clear is that much is unclear, from the allegations to the government's response, most of which is embedded in media accounts.

Although such claims have been simmering for at least a year, according to sources UPI spoke to, a thorough investigation into charges against Iran and a smuggling racket has been called for but never acted upon. Corruption is considered endemic in Iraq, and billions of dollars a year are believed lost in the oil and fuels black market. Moussa has blamed specific political parties in Iraq. He was removed as acting chief and is now widely dismissed by political leadership.

Iraq's Foreign Ministry then said it forwarded a letter of warning from Iraq's Oil Ministry to Tehran to stop any activity on oil fields in dispute.

Iraq Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told the Voices of Iraq news agency, "There are no Iranian forces in the region," following a visit to the Majnoon oil field in southern Iraq near the border between Iran and the provinces of Missan and Basra in Iraq. Shahristani told al-Sumaria TV that Iranian Border Guards are preventing Iraqis from working on the Abu Gharab oil field in northern Missan along the Iran border and potentially a shared field.

Iraqi national security adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubaie said there's no proof of Iranian wrongdoing, the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reports, and Iran has issued statements denying allegations and calling for meetings.

Such disputes have occurred with other neighbors, most prominently Kuwait, and similar allegations are one reason given for Saddam Hussein's invasion in 1990. Muhammad-Ali Zainy, an analyst with the Center for Global Energy Studies in London, told UPI it's highly unlikely Iran is drilling from its territory into oil in Iraq, a capital-, labor- and time-consuming venture.

Abdul-Hadi al-Hasani, deputy chair of the Iraqi Parliament's Energy Committee, said a report authored by an independent company "to assess historical rights" on oil fields along the Kuwait-Iraq border is "almost at final stages."

Such discussions with Iran haven't taken place yet, he told UPI, though allegations have been "going on for some time." He said the Oil Ministry needs to form a committee now. "We will be happy to accompany as well as members of Parliament to meet our counterparts."

Former Iraq Oil Minister Issam Chalabi said Naft Khanah, northeast of Baghdad, is the only official shared field with Iran, potentially Abu Gharab, and definitely not Majnoon, potentially Iraq's largest oil field.

"Iran is trying to push Iraqis to accept the fact that it is a joint field and that it should not be developed," Chalabi said, until there is an agreement on developing the field together.

"This is a dispute over oil rights in a border region between two sovereign states," said Multi-National Forces-Iraq press officer Maj. Brad Leighton. "It is a diplomatic issue between Iraq and Iran, not a security issue."

Missan province controls its security as of April 2007, Leighton said. "The only way we would get involved in the security of (Missan) is if the Iraqis asked us for help for something they could not handle themselves."

James Placke, a Middle East expert for Cambridge Energy Research Associates who spent three decades in key foreign posts at the State Department, said the oil and gas-related dispute between Iraq and Iran "is not new."

"In the past, they've been able to work these things out; it's a process of negotiations and accommodation," Placke told a Houston energy conference last week. "I would say given the present structure of the Iraq government it should be relatively easier to find an accommodation today than it has in the past. There is bound to be friction between neighbors that are in some respects competitive more than complimentary. But I don't think it's going to become a major problem."

Under Saddam Hussein's strong arm, Iraq's Shiites were among the repressed people, killed for real or perceived attempts at rebellion. Now the Shiites, the majority of Iraqis, are in charge. The two most powerful parties have close ties to Iran's Shiite majority leadership.

"The Iranians have some of the best set of political ties with the government in Baghdad," Jane's Iran expert Alex Vatanka told UPI. "I don't see that changing any time soon." Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Iraq next month, a major step in relations.

Those political ties mean economic ties as well, Vatanka said. "Obviously, energy collaboration will need more than just political goodwill," he added, including "socioeconomic deprivation" along each other's most war-torn border areas, and the legacy of unexploded ordnance.

"Because of these landmines, Iraq has lost access to thousands of hectares of farmland," Environment Minister Narmin Othman told the U.N. Humanitarian Bureau's press office, "and has been unable to invest properly in its oil fields."

Analysis: Oil part of Iraq-Iran war talks - UPI.com

EU Official in Iraq on Energy Talks

A top European Commission energy adviser is in Baghdad to discuss an Iraq-EU "strategic partnership," which the two sides announced earlier this month.

Faouzi Bensarsa is building on joint energy cooperation plans, which include developing Iraqi natural gas for the Arab gas pipeline to feed European consumers.

Bansarsa's meetings in Iraq will "examine the possibility of setting up a strategic partnership in energy between Iraq and the European Union," according to an EU statement, Voices of Iraq news agency reports. "Energy is a fundamental element for the development of the Iraqi economy."

"It's a promising new supplier," said Ferran Tarradellas, spokesman for EU Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs, following the commissioner's meeting with Iraq Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani earlier this month. Citing Iraq's 10th-largest gas and third-largest oil reserves, Tarradellas added, "It's not that far from the European Union."

UPI was told by a member of the U.S.-led Energy Fusion Cell in Iraq "the (Iraqi) central government has directed the European Commission and accepted the European Commission's offer to rewrite the electricity law and establish a modern electricity framework along the lines of that which has been adopted and is functioning in Jordan."

Turkey is also working with the United States to develop gas in Iraq's north, which could run in a future gas pipeline along the current oil pipelines, feeding Turkish demand as well as Europe, looking to diversify from its heavy Russian reliance.

The EU statement also referred to Iraq's "huge potential for renewable energy, particularly solar energy."

EU official in Iraq on energy talks - UPI.com

Ukraine Imports first ever Iraq Oil Load

Ukraine has imported its first ever shipment of Iraqi oil, a move due to a shortage of Russian crude.

Ukrtatnafta, operator of the Kremenchug Oil Refinery, Ukraine's largest, imported 586,400 barrels of Kirkuk oil this year, said Sergey Kuyun, executive director of the Ukraine energy consulting firm UPECO.

"Stiffer competition on the Ukrainian fuel market is forcing producers to diversify their resource base, and traders to diversify the sources of oil product deliveries," he told a news conference, Interfax reports.

While the company usually uses Russian and domestic oil for the refinery, its Russian supply was squeezed, the Trend News Agency reports, adding Kirkuk is similar in quality to the Russian Urals crude brand.

Iraq production has risen of late from the post-war average of 2 million barrels per day to 2.3 million bpd in December. Last month production dropped again. The growth was due to increased security around its northern infrastructure, sending Kirkuk oil to a Turkish port.

Ukraine imports first ever Iraq oil load - UPI.com

Update.......

Shell CEO: Expects New Iraq Oil Law Before End Of 2008

Iraq will draft a new oil law before the end of the year, a key step for oil companies to operate in the country, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB) Chief Executive Jeroen van der Veer said Thursday.

Major oil companies are positioning themselves to exploit Iraq's 115 billion barrels of proven crude reserves, the third-largest in the world after Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The Iraqi government asked oil companies interested in working in the country to submit preliminary information by Feb. 18. Shell and BP PLC (BP) are among the oil companies that participated.

Shell isn't new to working in dangerous places. It has large operations in the Niger Delta region, where militant groups have kidnapped oil companies' workers and sabotaged infrastructure.

Actualité de la bourse sur BP - BPLC : interviews, rumeurs de marchés, analyses, dossiersEasyBourse

Iraqi cabinet forms committee to work on shared oil fields issue

Iraq announced Thursday it would form a government committee to negotiate with neighboring countries over shared oil fields — a move that comes after Iraq accused Iran of stealing its oil from areas along their border.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office issued a statement Thursday saying the Cabinet had agreed to form a committee to be headed by a foreign affairs deputy, with representation from the Oil and Interior ministries.

Earlier this month, the Oil Ministry accused Iran of stealing oil from a shared field under their common border and of illegally seizing and capping off wells in a second field that Iraq claims lies entirely within its territory.

The two adjacent oil fields, Abu Gharb — which Iraq claims in its entirety — and al-Fakkah, the shared field, are among Iraq's richest. Both lie in Maysan province, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iran seized six wells in Abu Gharb, claiming they were on disputed territory and should be sealed until the border dispute was settled.

Iraqi cabinet forms committee to work on shared oil fields issue - International Herald Tribune

'10,000 Turkish Troops' Cross Border into Iraq

Turkish troops have crossed the borders into northern Iraq (Kurdustan Region) to follow up the PKK elements who are based across the border, the Turkish army said.

The land operation was followed by air and artillery strikes targeting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) camps across the border, the military said.

"Following this successful offensive, a cross-border ground operation backed by the air force was launched at 7pm (4am AEDT)," as stated on the Turkish general of staff internet site.

Private broadcaster NTV said that the Turkish army had sent 10,000 troops into northern Iraq (Kurduistan Region).

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...=3329&Itemid=1

U.S. says Turkish land incursion in Iraq bad news

A senior U.S. official said on Friday that a Turkish land incursion into northern Iraq to attack Kurdish separatist guerrillas was "not the greatest news".

"A land operation is a whole new level," Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza told reporters in Brussels, responding to media reports of a ground assault on suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

He said Washington had been cooperating fully with Turkey in providing intelligence on PKK positions in northern Iraq since last November to enable the Turkish air force to make pinpointed attacks minimizing civilian casualties.

PUKmedia :: English - U.S. says Turkish land incursion in Iraq bad news

US confirms Turkish move into Iraq

THE US military has confirmed Turkish forces have crossed Iraq's border to hunt for separatist Kurdish rebels in the country's northern mountains.
Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said the operation was understood to be of "limited duration" and specifically targeted at Kurdish PKK fighters in Iraq's largely autonomous region of Kurdistan.

"Turkey has given its assurances that it will do everything possible to avoid collateral damage to innocent citizens or Kurdish infrastructure," he said.

PUKmedia :: English - US confirms Turkish move into Iraq

Sadr extends militia freeze for 6 months

Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr extended the freeze on his Mahdi Army militia's activities for six months, Sadrist officials in Baghdad and Karbala said.

"A statement was released by Sadr's office in Najaf and was recited during the Friday prayers in Karbala announcing the extension of Mahdi Army's acvities for six months," Sadr's office director in Karbala, Sheikh Abdul-Hadi al-Muhammadawi, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The extension would start as of February 26, the day when the first period of freeze expires," added Muhammadawi.

Mahdi Army is the military arm of the Sadrist bloc, or Iraqis loyal to Sadr. In August 2007, Sadr announced a unilateral freeze on all military operations by his army, including those against U.S. and allied forces, for six months "for restructuring purposes."

Sources from the Sadrist bloc had said during the past couple of days that Sadr would decide "within hours" whether to extend or end the freeze.

Meanwhile, a media source from Sadr's office in Baghdad's al-Rasafa section said "Sheikh Sadeq al-Issawi, who led the worshippers for the Friday prayers at the office, recited the freeze extension statement issued by Muqtada al-Sadr as released from his office in Najaf.

Aswat Aliraq

EU: Turkey must Avoid Disproportionate Iraq Action

The European Union on Friday repeated a call on Turkey to refrain from any disproportionate military action in northern Iraq.

Responding to an announcement by Turkey's military that it had launched a cross-border land offensive backed by fighter jets into northern Iraq on Thursday evening to hunt down Kurdish PKK guerrillas, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said:

"The European Union understands Turkey's need to protect its population from terrorism and it also says that Turkey should refrain from taking any disproportionate military action and respect human rights and the rule of law.

"We encourage Turkey to continue to pursue dialogue with international partners on this matter."

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...=3340&Itemid=1