BP has the oil, now lets make sure the money goes to the right place

BP has just been given the contract to exploit the largest oil reservoir in Iraq, not far from Bazra.
The estimate that once fully exploited Iraq may become the third largest oil producing nation in the world after Russia and Saudi Arabia.

So what do we think people?

I suppose I could rave on about how this is essentially the mission of invading Iraq finally coming to fruition. After all these years finally the coalition has what it wanted.
I could write about how terrible it is that the war was about oil. I could talk about how tragic it is that so many service men and women have died in the pursuit of 'black gold'.
I could write about how this is such a shocking infringement of the national sovereignty of Iraq or how the greedy oil companies are wringing their hands with anticipation.

Strangely though those things although significant I am not actually in a rush to condemn.

I'll explain why. Well I'll explain why for most of them.

First I don't care that the war was about oil, anyone who thought that the war was about WMD I can only assume has had a fully frontal lobe lobotomy recently. I mean come on, you really thought that Iraq could launch a nuclear weapon against the west in 45mins? they couldn't get a pizza to you in 45 mins let alone a nuclear weapon!

Even before I'd studied international law and realised that the 45 mins is conveniently just the right amount of time to justify a war legally, I could see that anyone who thought Iraq had such technically and logistical prowess was being very imaginative.

So yes, the war was about oil. But we knew that already.

Is that bad? Well yes and no. Frankly I can understand both lines of thought. On the one hand I may quite possibly have trouble reconciling my conscience with the fact that people are going to have to fight in the pursuit of a natural resource, but at the same pragmatically I know that fighting to ensure that we have oil is only one step behind fighting for food to eat. The fact is the food you eat is carried on a truck (running on petrol) loaded onto a ship (running on oil) unloaded in a dock (by machines running on petrol) carried to a supermarket by a truck (running on diesel) and finally picked up and put in your car to take home (running of petrol). The unhappy fact is oil is no longer just about oil anymore it is about food, health care, the ability of a military to defend a nation, the ability of a nation to function.

If one country can cut off the supply of oil to another nation that is tantamount to being able to cut off the supply of air to a person, the fact is they aren't going to last. So is securing oil really any more than just ensuring your nation has the air it needs to breath for the foreseeable future?
That one... is a tough question, I'll admit.

One that isn't a tough question... taking the oil from Iraq itself. Are we stealing Iraq's natural resources? Yes, do I have a problem with this? No not even slightly.

Looking at the countries in the world that do have oil most of them whether it is Libya or Chile or pretty much most nations you can think of with a major oil output, they all have on thing in common, the oil doesn't go to the people, it does to those at the top, usually to support their corrupt regimes.

The money doesn't filter its way down to the working classes, BP isn't going to be robbing Iraq, it is going to be robbing its dictators, leaders and officials... who frankly will manage to live on.

BP isn't going to be making too much money either, they are going to be paid $2 per barrel that they produce, which while over billions of barrels is a fair amount of money compared to the actual value it is a fraction of the price.

This makes me wonder who is going to get the other $60-100 per barrel, but that is another point.

In fact in all this I care only about two things:

1. That some of the money that is made from the oil goes where it doesn't go in most other nations; the working man. I don't know how they could do it but there is going to be a way whether it is paying for schools, hospitals, paying doctors, whatever. In fact I would love to do the job of being the guy who gets to spend it. Can you imagine? "Here is 700 million pounds, do what you think will benefit the people of this nation most" good work if you can get it (assuming you don't have idiots trying to shoot you).

2. Lots of money must also go to the soldiers and the services generally. Anyone who has been injured should be PROPERLY compensated. None of this half payment job, if someone is maimed they should have their lives made as comfortable as money can make it. Also a few million can be spent on making vehicles that can brush off the blasts of IED's and everyone should patrol in them. Finally; helicopters, lots of them the generals out in Iraq should want for nothing after all they are the ones that secured this resource i the first place and you don't muzzle the ox that treats the corn.


If these two points are followed then the world will be a happier place I feel, it won't be perfect, but it'll be that little bit better