[yull]

Looking at his actual quotes he never mentions peak oil and certainly doesn't say it is why we are in Iraq.

I do actually believe we are in Iraq due to oil but he doesn't seem to say it...

[dorlomin]

The government is to begin an inquiery into the causes of the Iraq war.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8100432.stm

Details will be released later today. Although my bet is that the conditions will be carefully set so that little political fall out falls onto the Labour party.

[dukey]

it'll be a whitewash

[nobodypanic]

the situation in iraq:

Written by Fred Weston
Saturday, 26 February 2011
The wave of revolution that started in Tunisia is now also reaching Iraq, where the Kurdish areas had already flared up last week. But the protests are not limited to these areas. On Friday an anti-government rally named the Day of Rage, was organised in Baghdad and other cities with thousands taking part.

the situation in baghdad:

In Baghdad, there were violent clashes between protesters and police. According to the BBC: "Baghdad has been virtually locked down, with the authorities banning traffic in the city centre and deploying several thousand soldiers on the streets.” All the roads leading into Baghdad were blocked off by soldiers in an attempt to thwart people’s attempts to protest. In spite of this, the protest went ahead and there were clashes with the riot police.

al-maliki urges the people not to protest:

Prime Minister al-Maliki had earlier urged people not to take part in the protests. He explained this was for "security reasons”. In an attempt to scare people away he said the protests had been organised by al-Qaeda insurgents and Saddam Hussein loyalists. Funnily enough this is more or less the line of Gaddafi in Libya, who says al-Qaeda is behind the revolt that is close to overthrowing him.

islamists urge people not to protest:

And what of the Islamists? Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and the powerful Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on people to stay away from the streets and not take part in the protests. Al-Sadr, who was considered as an "extremist” in the past promised to hold demonstrations… in six months’ time… if services do not improve.

The fact that al-Sadr made this call just after returning from Iran, is a clear indication that while the Iranian regime has been mouthing support for the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia – although they have presented the revolutions as "Islamic” – when it comes to revolution on its doorstep involving Shia Iraqis it is a completely different matter. They fear it could help to fuel the already growing opposition of the masses in Iran. How long al-Sadr will be able to use his position to hold back the Iraqi masses is another question.

http://www.marxist.com/

[bratticus]

Bombs hit Iraq oil tanks in rare southern attack
By Rania El Gamal / Reuters / June 5, 2011

A bomb attack against an Iraqi oil storage depot set one tank ablaze on Sunday in a rare assault on strategic southern oilfields, but the country's crude exports were unaffected, Iraqi oil officials and police said.

... Dhiya Jaffar, head of the state-run South Oil Company, told Reuters the attack set ablaze one tank at the Zubair 1 storage facility, but the explosion had not affected pumping to Al Fao port, where crude exports are dispatched.

"Production has been adjusted so daily production levels and export levels are not affected. Exports are continuing at the same rate," Jaffar told Reuters.

This is a second source reporting on the same event:

Explosion in oil facility in Basra
KUNA / June 5, 2011

An explosion occurred at an oil reservoir in Al-Zubair oil field with initial reports pointing at possible attack, said a security source Sunday.

The source told KUNA that the explosion might have occurred because of a terrorist attack targeting the facility.

The location was isolated so that firefighters could contain the situation, said the source, adding that investigations were launched to determine the cause of the explosion.

Meanwhile, several acts of violence in the capital had led to the death of three Iraqi soldiers and the injury of three others while a senior official at the Ministry of Planning survived an attempt on his life but suffered some injuries as a result.

[bratticus]

Report: Storage tank hit by attack in south Iraq oilfields
Reuters via Ynet / June 5, 2011

Firefighters were working to control the blaze after the tank near the country's Zubair oilfield was hit early on Sunday either by a rocket or a bomb, an Iraqi Oil Police source and a local oil industry source said.

[bratticus]

Five soldiers killed in an attack in central Iraq, U.S. military says
By Ned Parker / LA Times / June 6, 2011

From Baghdad—Five U.S. soldiers were killed Monday in an attack in central Iraq, the U.S. military said in a statement. It was the deadliest single attack this year against U.S. forces, and an indication of how dangerous the country remains for American troops as they prepare to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.

... Elsewhere in Iraq, a car bomb exploded by a checkpoint in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, at a governmental compound, where Iraqi soldiers were gathered. At least 14 people were killed and another 26 wounded. Among the dead were a brigadier general and nine other soldiers and officers. The same area had been targeted on Friday by bombings that had left 23 dead.

Southern oil attacked
By Ali Abu Iraq, Ben Lando / Iraq Oil Report / June 6, 2011

Two bombs exploded at the Zubair tank farm in Basra, near the site operated by Italy's Eni, the Korea Gas Corp. and U.S.' Occidental Petroleum, and another two were defused by the Iraqi Oil Police bomb squad early Sunday morning.

Details are unclear and top officials at the ministry and oil police were either unreachable or refused to discuss the unfolding events. But an understanding of events garnered from a variety of officials close to the scene describe an environment rife with inside job...

[bratticus]

Iraq boosts oil exports to Jordan
By JAMAL HALABY / Associated Press via Bloomberg / June 3, 2011

Iraq has agreed to increase daily oil exports to neighboring Jordan by 50 percent, a government official said Friday, helping meet rising demand in a country that has few energy resources of its own.

Wait a minute, headline says they did it, first line in the article says they merely agreed to do it.

The shipments will initially increase to 15,000 barrels a day, up from 10,000 barrels, as of next month.

The target is to reach 30,000 barrels a day by the end of the year, he said.

Al-Bakhit has made similar remarks to Jordanian news media, but did not specify the dates.

Iraq sees oil output at 3 mln bpd by year-end
by Patrick Markey in Baghdad; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and James Jukwey / Reuters / Jun 4, 2011

Iraq expects its oil output to rise to 3 million barrels per day by the end of this year and sees it growing an additional 500,000 to 1 million bpd next year, Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said on Saturday.

Expects? So can you translate that story into "Iraq expects explosions to stop"?

Shahristani seemed eager to fend off speculation about Iraq's ability to reach this ambitious oil development target, and to give assurances that work was going as planned.

"ability to"? How about "inability to"?

Let's rewind the news to see the statements about this year from a little while ago:

Iraq oil capacity 'to reach 12m barrels per day'
BBC / Dec 2009

Iraq's oil capacity could reach 12 million barrels per day (bpd) in six years, the country's oil minister says.

So from 2009 to 2011 Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has gone from making claims about 12m to only 3m barrels a day?

[copious.abundance]

Ummm ...

Let's rewind the news to see the statements about this year from a little while ago:

Iraq oil capacity 'to reach 12m barrels per day'
BBC / Dec 2009

Iraq's oil capacity could reach 12 million barrels per day (bpd) in six years, the country's oil minister says.

So from 2009 to 2011 Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has gone from making claims about 12m to only 3m barrels a day?

2009 + 6 = 2015. In case you hadn't looked at the calendar lately, it's still 2011.

[bratticus]

Consider that the same conditions that caused unrest in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, etc. are also in Iraq.

Five U.S. soldiers killed in attack on base in Iraq
By Tim Craig and Scott Wilson / Washington Post / June 6, 2011

Iraq is a less violent place than it has been for much of the time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but recent attacks have caused unease. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is under growing pressure to assert more leadership as Iraqis face newly emboldened terrorist groups, continuing shortages of clean water and electricity, and a new national government that often appears paralyzed by mistrust.

Unknown gunmen kill two Iraqi policemen
Alsumaria / June 7, 2011

Unknown gunmen killed two policemen in Al Muthrefineryanna Airport Street, central Baghdad, in 17 July District, western Mosul, a source told Alsumaria.

Gunmen opened fire using muted weapons on the car of Nineveh education general inspector office Izzat Mustapha. Mustapha was seriously wounded.

A bicycle’s explosion wounded four civilians, in northern Baaquba, near Al Kawthar intersection. ...

Motorbike blast in central Baaquba
Aswat Al Iraq / June 7, 2011

A motorbike parked in central Baaquba’s Khurasan Street blew up on Tuesday, according to a Diala Security Source.

“A motorbike, parked on the roadside close to a number of trade shops, has blown up on Tuesday. ...

[bratticus]

IRAQ: Car Bomb in Tikirt Kills 13 People and Injures 15
Timothy Kelly / International Business Times / Jun 06, 2011

In the central Iraqi city of Tikrit at least 13 people were killed, including nine Iraqi military personnel, and 15 were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a car on Monday (June 6). Authorities say it was the latest attack in three days in the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

The bomber blew up the explosives-filled car at the entrance to a complex of palaces previously used by Saddam in the Sunni-dominated city, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad. ...

http://youtu.be/TCrPOd_sSAw

[timmac]

Secretly Iran is trying to undo what Bush has set up in Iraq, this crap in the middle-east will never stop.

[bratticus]

Sterling Energy shares plummet as well disappoints
By Sarah Young / London South East and ProQuote / June 13, 2011

British oil explorer Sterling Energy said the deeper parts of a key well in the Kurdistan region of Iraq failed to produce gas at commercial rates, wiping off a quarter of the company's stock market value.

The company said on Monday its Sangaw North-1 well in semi-autonomous Kurdistan did not produce hydrocarbons at commercial rates in the Jurassic Mus and Butmah and the Triassic Jurra China geological zones and it would move to test shallower parts of the well.

'We are disappointed that the open hole flow test has not demonstrated commercial hydrocarbon flow rates within the deeper horizons of the Sangaw North-1 well,' said Chief Executive Angus MacAskill in a statement.

[copious.abundance]

WesternZagros tests Iraq well at rates of up to almost 10,000 barrels per day
7th Jun 2011 / Brad Lemaire / Proactive Investors

Calgary-based WesternZagros Resources on Tuesday announced that it has completed initial testing of the oil discovery made in the Jeribe formation of its Sarqala-1 well, in Iraq.

The company tested the well at rates up to 9,444 barrels per day of 40 degrees API oil.

No water was produced during testing and no stimulation to the well was applied, the oil and gas explorer said.

"With this confirmation of a large oil discovery, our immediate efforts will be directed toward sourcing surface facilities to start producing oil during an extended testing program,” said CEO Simon Hatfield.

"We will do this in order to fully evaluate the long term potential of this well and to generate revenue for the company and for Kurdistan as early as the end of the year," he added.

The stellar near-10,000-barrels-per-day rate was reached after flowing and stabilizing the well at progressively bigger choke sizes, until reaching the limits of the surface equipment. A 52/64 inch choke, with a wellhead pressure of 2,475 per square inch was used.

[copious.abundance]

Iraq's oil production rising
June 8, 2011 / UPI

BAGHDAD, June 8 (UPI) -- Iraqi oil production rose 15 percent to 2.6 million barrels per day compared with the same period in 2010, a deputy energy official said from Baghdad.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussein al-Shahristani said oil exports from his country averaged around 2.2 million barrels per day during the first five months of the year. Current production is around 2.6 million bpd and is expected to increase by the end of the year, Bloomberg News reports.

Southern ports can process about 1.8 million bpd and the rest heads through pipelines through the north of the country to Turkey.

The country aims to increase its export capacity to 4.5 million bpd by the end of 2012 but can't do that without reconstruction at its long-neglected and war-torn southern ports.

[copious.abundance]

A veteran revisits Iraq's oil resource and lists implications of the magnitude
Jun 6, 2011 / Tariq Shafiq, Petrolog & Associates, London / Oil & Gas Journal

Iraq’s oil reserves, revised to 143.5 billion bbl in late 2010 from the 115 billion bbl official figure that held for several years, will no doubt turn out to be much larger than the late-2010 estimate.

The Iraq Ministry of Oil also announced an estimate of potential reserves of 215 billion bbl.

In the nationalized decades leading up to the 1990s, 155 wells were drilled on 113 structures, many of which are 10 km long. Even structures that produced oil were not sufficiently investigated. The concept of what was commercial was influenced by oil priced at $1-3/bbl and conservative recovery factors.

The exploratory drilling density in Iraq’s 441,840 sq km is 1 well/2,900 sq km. Iraq is the least-explored Middle East country.

Iraq’s known oil reserves are roughly distributed almost one fourth in formations of Tertiary age, nearly three fourths in those of Cretaceous age, and a small percentage in Jurassic/Triassic.

Of 530 structural anomalies identified by geophysical means, the 113 wells established the presence of oil in 73. Reinterpretation of seismic using state of the art computer software indicates the presence of a large number of stratigraphic traps and many more structural anomalies than the delineated 530.

[bratticus]

Five killed, 25 wounded in Iraq blast
Xinhua / June 13, 2011

At least five people were killed and some 25 others injured in a suicide car bomb attack in the southern Iraqi port of Basra on Monday, a local police source said.

The attack took place in the morning when a suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden car into the entrance of a police headquarters in al-Ashar district in central Basra and blew it up, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. ...

[Keith_McClary]

Ummm ...

Let's rewind the news to see the statements about this year from a little while ago:

Iraq oil capacity 'to reach 12m barrels per day'
BBC / Dec 2009

Iraq's oil capacity could reach 12 million barrels per day (bpd) in six years, the country's oil minister says.

So from 2009 to 2011 Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has gone from making claims about 12m to only 3m barrels a day?

2009 + 6 = 2015. In case you hadn't looked at the calendar lately, it's still 2011.

So can we put you down as predicting 12m four years hence? (Yes, I know, cornies never make quantitative predictions ).

[copious.abundance]

Actually, this is one case where I agree the target is probably on the optimistic side. I think Iraq can get to 12 million bpd capacity, but probably not by 2015. Maybe more in the 2017-2020 time frame. Something like 8-10 million bpd would seem to be more realistic for 2015. But that's still a lot of oil.

The main reason for that post was because bratticus completely missed the point that the original date was for 2015, not later this year. Either that or he mistakenly thought the 12 million bpd was for this year, and glossed over the part about it being for 2015.