Today is the 10th anniversary of the war in Iraq, this is a controversial, a lost decade. Ten years ago, the war is called a war for oil in the Bush administration. Ten years later, under the democratically elected government of Iraq to achieve annual economic growth of nearly 9%, more than the pre-war oil exports. Iraq's former UN representative Istria Buddy lucrative Iraq's rich oil and gas resources will make all the major oil companies. But on the other hand, the Iraqi people did not benefit from the oil economy, they are still tormented by the high unemployment rate, retaliation triggered by the sectarian political turmoil and violence to make their living. Whether the war for Iraq's oil resources to flow to where? The Iraqi people under the oil boom has lived the kind of life?
The prosperity of the Iraqi oil industry, the benefit of the entire oil market. Plus, the developed countries demand for oil is not large, the price stability of the international oil market and tends to be a downward trend. - American Committee on Natural Resources consultant Yang Fuqiang
Volatile global oil market, Iraq has the potential to become the next rule change. - Van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA)
Future oil changer
Week, sixty-seven large tankers fleet to be moved into al-Zubayr Port, the main port of southern Iraq, instant live up. Workers coming and going, busy, connecting tubing, thousands of tons of crude oil, an endless stream flowing from Iraq, the flow of the world.
Since December last year, Iraq's oil production has risen to 3.4 million barrels a day, to create the highest production record since 1979.
Volatile global oil market, Iraq has the potential to become the next rule change by the International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Maria van der Hoeven said. Today, Iraq has become the world's third-largest oil-producing countries, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency, in another 20 years, Iraq will become the second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.
Decades, international sanctions and conflict drag on the development of the Iraqi oil industry, but in recent years, the Iraqi government has already signed a contract, and a number of multinational oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum, Petroleum, Shell, the oil industry gradually restore prosperity.
The more so that the international market is also optimistic about Iraq's rich oil reserves. The latest the exploration data show that, has more than 1400 billion barrels of oil reserves in Iraq. The oil is called cheap oil, cheap is not because it is cheap, but because of the very low mining costs, as long as the use of a relatively low-cost mining technology can get these petroleum.
Danger and temptation of the oil market
The Iraqi government attaches great importance to investment in oil, the oil minister of Lu Yi revealed on the 15th of this month, will invest $ 173 billion over the next five years for oil infrastructure construction and expanded reproduction, oil revenues reached 600 billion U.S. dollars in five years, oil production reach 900 million barrels / day. If you can achieve Iraq's position in the pattern of Middle East oil, and even the world market will be further enhanced to become a real oil country.
For the plan of the Iraqi government, the International Energy Agency, this is a good opportunity to change Iraq's future fate.
Substantial increases in production of Iraqi oil is mainly because Iraq has liberalized the domestic oil market, allowing international oil companies to invest in mining, which is not allowed in many neighboring countries.
For foreign oil companies, to enter the Iraqi market, the coexistence of danger and temptation. Iraq's northern Kurdish region and the central government, there has been oil exploration dispute. Kurdish mining agreements signed with foreign oil companies, facing the danger is not recognized by Baghdad. In addition, Iraq's domestic violence have occurred, but also increase the cost of oil exploration.
Cheap Iraqi oil production costs has forced many large companies unable to stop. Iraq's oil production costs are lower than in Russia, 11 times, 13 times lower than in Canada. So, when the 2009, the Iraqi government on the development of eight oil and gas fields to international oil companies open tender, the companies involved in the bidding up to dozens.