Friday, August 29, 2008

Iraq's First Oil Agreement a $3 Billion Deal with China?


The AP reported on the Iraqi central government's negotiated oil deal with China National Petroleum Company.

China and Iraq have signed a $3 billion deal revising an earlier agreement for China's biggest oil company to help develop the Ahdab oil field, an official at the Iraq's Oil Ministry said today.

The deal, restoring a project canceled after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, was signed last night by Chinese officials and Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani.

"The initial agreement has been signed, and we are waiting to see the approval of both governments," said Sarhad Fatah, a spokesman at the Iraqi Embassy in Beijing.

Fatah would not disclose the value of the deal, but an official at the Oil Ministry in Baghdad confirmed it would be worth $3 billion. He requested anonymity because the agreement hasn't been approved by the cabinet yet.

Did anyone ask our soldiers for their reaction?