[eastbay]

Yes, but why would Iraq want Kuwait if their oil reserves are depleted?
National re-unification, national pride. Much the same as Japan wanting the Kurile Islands returned from the SU.

And much like the UK wanting those little Islands returned from Argentina... remember that one??

There are countless more examples.

It has little to do with right and wrong, it's all about who has superior military force.

[BabyPeanut]

Didn't Iraq invade Kuwait in the past? What comes around goes around.

http://www.kuwait-info.org/Gulf_War/his ... spute.html

History of the Kuwait-Iraq Border Dispute

[Jake_old]

And much like the UK wanting those little Islands returned from Argentina... remember that one??

Yes, I thought that was about keeping Thatcher the bitch in power, but I see what you mean.

Perhaps we'll retake Normandy

[BabyPeanut]

Kuwait's oil "production" increased fifty percent in a year.

I find this unlikely, so I suspect Kuwait has helped itself to some of Iraq's oil and sold it as its own. Has anyone else noticed this odd fact?

It's all about sneaking these days. Kuwait sneaks oil from Iraq into the US while US sneaks nuclear waste into Iraq.

http://www.iacenter.org/depleted/du.htm

[MonteQuest]

Wasn't the same kind of theft (by horizontal drilling) the pretext that Sadam used to invade Kuwait back in '91?

Nope. Iraq was simply reclaiming territory, their 19th province, lost when the borders were arbitrarily drawn up by the British about a hundred years ago and internationally recognized when Kuwait gained independence from UK in 1961. Iraq has been clammoring to regain their lost territory since then.

The horizontal drilling excuse was primarily for PR purposes, but the US had a stronger PR machine and, at least for now, Kuwait remained 'independant' with the USA guarding their border.

Little more complicated than that. From my book:

The Gulf War

After the defeat of Germany and the Ottoman Empire in World War One, the area that had belonged to the Turks was broken up into mandates. The area that is now Iraq and Kuwait (as well as what is now Jordan and Israel, and parts of Saudi Arabia) was placed under British authority. The British created two kingdoms to reward Arab allies that had fought the Turks with them during the war. These were Transjordan, now called the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Iraq.

The Kingdom of Iraq was composed of the Ottoman provinces of Al-Mawsil (Mosul), Baghdad, and Al-Basrah-with the exception of the area known as Kuwait. That area was retained as a base for the Royal Navy. The British, always a maritime power, needed to protect the sea lanes between the British Isles and the Indian subcontinent.

The Iraqi people saw the creation of Kuwait as a British protectorate as an affront to their newfound sovereignty. They claimed the British told them that Iraq was to include the entire former Ottoman province of Al-Basrah, which included Kuwait. However, following World War I, and well into the latter half of the twentieth century, Iraq was powerless to challenge British influence and authority in the region, until, in 1961, when Britain no longer needed Kuwait's harbor, it granted the sheikdom its independence, and the State of Kuwait was born. As soon as the British announced Kuwait's independence, Baghdad reiterated its claim on two Kuwaiti islands situated between Iraq and mainland Kuwait, Warbah and Bubiyan. Iraq also reiterated its claim on all of Kuwait, again based on the argument that the entire Ottoman province of Al-Basrah was part of Iraq.

The story of the Iraq-Kuwait confrontation that led to the Gulf War is well known. Following months of Iraqi demands for debt relief and Kuwaiti refusals to forgive Iraq's $10 billion debt from the Iran-Iraq War, Iraqi forces moved to the northern border of the tiny sheikdom in 1990. Iraq claimed that Kuwait’s slant drilling by Santa Fe Drilling was illegally extracting oil (valued at $2.5 billion) from the Rumaila oil field on the Iraqi side of the de facto line of demarcation between the two countries. Santa Fe Drilling is a subsidiary of Sante Fe International, owned 100 percent by the Al Sabah family of Kuwait. On its board of directors were former President Gerald Ford (the President that appointed George Bush Senior to Director of the CIA), General Brent Scowcroft (at the time Bush Senior’s National Security Advisor) and Roderich Hills (husband of Carla Hills, Bush Senior’s Trade Representative).

It seems forgotten by our amnesiac—and CFR controlled—media that we once energetically supported Saddam Hussein in Iraq's war against Iran; and so he thought, not unnaturally, that we wouldn't mind his taking back land that had been part of Iraq for over 4000 years! Remember Saddam Hussein, in the Baghdad court room, wearing his natty pin-striped suit and scratching his homeless person beard wondering what the big fuss was about?

At the end of the costly Iran-Iraq war, Saddam's government was in trouble. Massive debts had been accumulated, and a boiling rage was building among the Iraqi people against the reckless policies which had led them into war and economic disaster. Fearing for his future, Saddam looked to stave off anger at home through a popular diversionary foreign adventure.

In a July 25, 1990 meeting with U.S. ambassador April Glaspie, Saddam Hussein was informed, “We have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait.” When Glaspie asked Hussein what his intentions were, he replied that Kuwait’s actions amounted to “an economic war” and “military action against us.” Hussein said he hoped for a peaceful solution, but if not, he said, “it will be natural that Iraq will not accept death.” She went on to say: “James Baker has directed our official spokesmen to emphasize this instruction,” leaving him to believe we would take no action against him if he did. Meanwhile, the U.S. encouraged Kuwait to continue its slant drilling into Iraqi oil fields.

Saddam took the bait, and on August 2, 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait. This allowed Iraq to cancel its debts and seize control of 20% of the world's known oil reserves. A few weeks later, Iraq declared it annexed as the nineteenth province of Iraq.

[eastbay]

Little more complicated than that. From my book:

Calling Kuwait a legitimate 'nation' is certainly a stretch and it's suprising how much agreement there is on the peculiar convergences of European power influences that led to its very recent creation as a 'nation'.

Regardless of which book one reads reflecting the several political and historical perspectives shaping the 'current' Kuwait borders one can summarize by saying Kuwait's days are numbered and can be counted as about the same number of days that the USA military remains nearby.

And the gangsters running Kuwait today know this.

[BabyPeanut]

Iraqis Accuse Kuwait of Stealing Oil

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi legislators accused Kuwait of stealing their oil as well as chipping away at their national territory on the border -- allegations similar to those used by Saddam Hussein to justify his invasion of Kuwait that began 15 years ago Tuesday.

An Iraqi delegation was scheduled to head to Kuwait on Wednesday discuss the incidents along the Kuwaiti border

"There have been violations such as digging horizontal oil wells to pump Iraq oil," legislator Jawad al-Maliki, chairman of the parliament's Security and Defense Committee, told the National Assembly on Tuesday.

More at LA Times (link)

Kuwait accused of stealing Iraqi oil and land
02/08/2005 - 17:22:31

Following a series of incidents along the Kuwaiti border, Iraqi legislators today accused Kuwait of stealing their oil as well as chipping away some of their national territory.

The allegations were similar to those used by Saddam Hussein to justify his 1990 invasion of Kuwait. This time, both sides want to resolve the dispute peacefully.

The latest comments were made a day before an Iraqi delegation was scheduled to head to Kuwait to discuss the situation.

“There have been violations such as digging horizontal oil wells to pump Iraq oil,” legislator Jawad al-Maliki, chairman of the parliament’s Security and Defence Committee, told the National Assembly today. “There have also been violations by taking Iraqi territories as deep as one kilometre (0.6 miles).”

...skip ahead...


Hundreds of Irais demonstrated at the frontier last week to stop Kuwait from building a metal barrier between the two countries. Shots were fired across the border into Kuwait, but no one was injured and Kuwaiti border guards did not return fire.

Kuwait insists the pipeline barrier, meant to stop vehicles from illegally crossing through the desert, is on its side of the frontier. The UN demarcation also gave Kuwait 11 oil wells and an old naval base that used to be in Iraq.

More at http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.a ... p=6477xz4z

[BabyPeanut]

Kuwait offers to build first refinery in U.S. in 30 years (link)
Cartel is seeking a project partner but doesn't hint at a possible location
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 18, 2005, 11:44PM

Kuwait is in talks with the Bush administration to build an oil refinery in the United States, seeking to construct the nation's first new plant in three decades as gasoline and diesel prices surge to records.

more at web site.

Oh don't forget about this:

Iraqis Accuse Kuwait of Stealing Oil (link)
The Associated Press
Tuesday 02 August 2005

Baghdad - Iraqi legislators accused Kuwait of stealing their oil as well as chipping away at their national territory on the border - allegations similar to those used by Saddam Hussein to justify his invasion of Kuwait that began 15 years ago Tuesday.

An Iraqi delegation was scheduled to head to Kuwait on Wednesday discuss the incidents along the Kuwaiti border

"There have been violations such as digging horizontal oil wells to pump Iraq oil," legislator Jawad al-Maliki, chairman of the parliament's Security and Defense Committee, told the National Assembly on Tuesday.

In such horizontal wells, instead of drilling straight down, Kuwaitis would drill at an angle either going into subterranean Iraqi territory or sucking oil out of pools from Iraqi territory. He also said Kuwaitis have taken territories up to half a mile inside Iraq.

[Graeme]

Kuwait's biggest field starts to run out of oil

It was an incredible revelation last week that the second largest oil field in the world is exhausted and past its peak output. Yet that is what the Kuwait Oil Company revealed about its Burgan field.

However, it is surely a landmark moment when the world's second largest oil field begins to run dry. For Burgan has been pumping oil for almost 60 years and accounts for more than half of Kuwait's proven oil reserves. This is also not what forecasters are currently assuming.

AMEINFO

[seldom_seen]

wow, nice find.
okay, I think the author of the article is someone from this website? who was it?

Nobody can change the geology, and forces of nature that laid down reserves of oil and gas over millions and millions of years. Could it be that we have been blinded by technological advances into thinking that there is some way to beat nature?

The natural world has an uncanny ability to hit back at the arrogance of man, and perhaps a reassessment of reality at this point is called for, rather than a reliance on oil statistics that may owe more to political maneuvering than geological facts.

[Starvid]

I would like to see the original Bloomberg article before I trust this information.

[PWALPOCO]

Starvid is right , really need to get corroborating evidence on this one, I think I recall seeing comments about this story in other places, at The Oild Drum , but no indication of a "source" that I remember.


In the meantime , assuming this information is true , are any PO.com number crunchers able to figure out what this news "really means".

By that I mean , does it indicate that the amount of oil in the ground might be overstated , if so , by roughly how much , are there possible parralels with SA production , if so what , etc etc ....

Paul

[lowem]

AFAIK, AMEInfo is kinda like a "Yahoo" of the UAE (United Arab Emirates). Internet portal, with news and free email, etc. Came across this site while doing some research on Dubai a while back.

I could only find a Japanese-language version of the story but it *is* from the bloomberg.com domain. And here's a link to the usual machine translation.

'The Kuwaiti crude oil production, in "depletion" state', I'd guess the meaning is more or less there.

[lowem]

Here's another posting of the article, English-language, on a Singapore forum.

[peripato]

And another article on the subject, but from the UAE, Kuwait's biggest field starts to run out of oil. Here's an excerpt;

It was an incredible revelation last week that the second largest oil field in the world is exhausted and past its peak output. Yet that is what the Kuwait Oil Company revealed about its Burgan field.

[NTBKtrader]

here is a translation of the Japanese bloomberg article using google translation tools

Bloomberg.com
{fixed URL/Agren}

[peripato]

Kuwait's biggest field starts to run out of oil

It was an incredible revelation last week that the second largest oil field in the world is exhausted and past its peak output. Yet that is what the Kuwait Oil Company revealed about its Burgan field.

However, it is surely a landmark moment when the world's second largest oil field begins to run dry. For Burgan has been pumping oil for almost 60 years and accounts for more than half of Kuwait's proven oil reserves. This is also not what forecasters are currently assuming.

AMEINFO

Apologies Graeme - didn't realise you'd included a link to the same article I posted. It's after midnight here, perhaps time to zzzz.

[Typhoon]

I posted the Bloomberg article yesterday in the Denver World Oil Conference thread.

Kuwait's Burgan Oil Field, World's 2nd Largest, Is `Exhausted'
2005-11-10 03:29 (New York)

By James Cordahi and Andy Critchlow

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Kuwaiti oil production from the world's
second-largest field is ``exhausted'' and falling after almost six
decades of pumping, forcing the government to increase spending on
new deposits, the chairman of the state oil company said.
The plateau in output from the Burgan field will be about 1.7
million barrels a day, rather than as much as the 2 million a day
that engineers had forecast could be maintained for the rest of
the field's 30 to 40 years of life, said Farouk al-Zanki, chairman
of state-owned Kuwait Oil Co. Kuwait plans to spend about $3
billion annually for the next three years to expand output and
exports, three times the recent average.

To boost oil supplies, ``Burgan by itself won't be enough
because we've exhausted that, with its production capability now
much lower than what it used to be,'' al-Zanki said during an
interview in his office in Ahmadi, 20 kilometers south of Kuwait
City. ``We tried 2 million barrels a day, we tried 1.9 million,
but 1.7 million is the optimum rate for the facilities and for
economics.''

Persian Gulf oil producers, which supply about a fifth of
world demand, are rushing to find new reserves and build more
pipelines and export terminals to compensate for declining output
from older reservoirs. Any delay in replacing supplies may push
oil prices higher and slow economic growth, the International
Energy Agency said in a report this week.

To be sure, the plateau in supply if achieved would be higher
than a projection from the IEA. This week the Paris-based group
said output from the Greater Burgan area will increase from 1.35
million barrels a day in 2004 to 1.64 million a day in 2020,
before falling to 1.53 million a day in 2030. The field now pumps
between 1.3 million and 1.7 million barrels a day, al-Zanki said.

Sustainable Supply?

The debate over the sustainability of Middle East oil
supplies has gained pace this year, after investment banker
Matthew Simmons published ``Twilight in the Desert: The Coming
Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy.'' In the book, he asserted
the practice of injecting water into Saudi fields may lead to
rapid production declines. Saudi officials rejected the charge.
Brought into production in 1948, Burgan accounts for more
than half of Kuwait's 96.5 billion barrels of oil reserves, or 55
billion barrels. Only Saudi Arabia's Ghawar oilfield, about 500
kilometers (313 miles) to the south, is bigger.

Benchmark New York oil futures have tripled in price during
the last four years to a record $70.85 on Aug. 30 because
countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia haven't invested enough
in expanding production capacity to keep pace with faster-than-
expected demand from countries such as China, India and the U.S.
Kuwait last month pumped 2.5 million barrels a day,
equivalent to 3 percent of global demand, according to Bloomberg
data. That's down from a peak of almost 3 million barrels a day in
1972, according the Arab Oil & Gas directory.

``Kuwait's oil industry requires significant investment and
needs international oil companies to help kick-start production
capacity increases,'' Colin Lothian, senior Middle East energy
analyst at Wood MacKenzie Ltd., an Edinburgh-based oil industry
consultant, said in a telephone interview.
Burgan on its own had enough reserves to support 2 million or
3 million barrels of daily output, but those have already been
produced, al-Zanki said in the interview two days ago. The
reserves are declining and need to supplemented with other
reservoirs, he said.

Revival Targeted

The family-ruled emirate plans to increase production
capacity by about 18 percent to 3 million barrels a day by the end
of the decade from about 2.55 million now, and to at least 4
million by 2020.

Oil consumers will be more reliant on Middle Eastern supplies
in coming years and vulnerable to higher prices and slower
economic growth should investments be delayed, the IEA, an adviser
to 26 consuming nations, said in an annual outlook released on
Nov. 7.

Petrofac Ltd. and rivals SK Engineering & Construction Co.
won two contracts worth in more than $1.6 billion this year to
upgrade and refurbish 20 plants that separate natural gas from oil
ready for export in northwestern Kuwait. That works is in
preparation to allow international oil companies to develop four
oil fields near the border with Iraq.

``You need to develop more reserves in order to support the
future target,'' said al-Zanki, who was appointed Kuwait Oil's
chairman last year. Kuwait Oil is the country's state-owned
monopoly oil and gas producer.

In a 10-year-old plan known as Project Kuwait, the emirate
may invite companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell
Plc and BP Plc to invest about $8.5 billion to almost double
output at the emirate's northern fields to 900,000 barrels a day
by 2025. The project would be the first time since the 1970s that
foreign companies operate Kuwaiti oilfields.

[Barbara]

Just noticed how the news was given AFTER the market closing...

[Starvid]

I posted the Bloomberg article yesterday in the Denver World Oil Conference thread.

Do you have a link to the original Bloomberg article, at the Bloomberg site?