Iraq will double exports to China to satisfy thirst for oil

4300 of our soldiers died in IRAQ
just so China could get the Oil..



From The Times December 23, 2009

Iraq will double exports to China to satisfy thirst for oilRobin Pagnamenta Recommend? Iraq is to more than double its exports of crude to China next year as energy demand in the world’s most populous country continues to grow briskly on the back of an economic recovery.

Speaking at a meeting of the Opec oil cartel in Luanda, the capital of Angola, Hussain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi Oil Minister, said that the country’s crude shipments to China would be boosted from about 144,000 barrels per day to 300,000 in 2010.

China consumes about 8.14 million barrels of oil per day, making it the world’s second-biggest consumer, after the United States. Yet while American demand has weakened, in China it is growing rapidly, prompting a search for fresh sources of supply, especially in the Middle East and Africa. In November, Chinese oil demand rose 18.7 per cent compared with a year earlier, the fastest rate on record, as the economy rebounded.

Samuel Cisuk, Middle East energy analyst at IHS, said that most of Iraq’s new exports to China would be made by tanker ship from Basra. Just over half of China’s oil supplies are imported, with Saudi Arabia, Angola and Iran comprising its three biggest suppliers. According to Mr Cisuk: “There is also growing US encouragement for China to cut its imports from Iran.”

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Since the 2003 war to topple Saddam Hussein, Chinese oil companies have been among the most eager to help to develop Iraq’s oil reserves. Yesterday China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) secured a second deal to help to develop one of Iraq’s largest oilfields — the 4.1 billion-barrel Halfaya field in southern Iraq. CNPC already has the rights to develop Rumaila, Iraq’s largest oilfield, alongside BP. It is also helping to restore production at al-Ahdab field.

Sinopec, another Chinese oil group, has a strong position in northern Iraq, after its $7.9 billion acquisition of the London-listed Addax Petroleum, which has been exploring for oil in the autonomous Kurdish region.

News of the increase in Iraqi crude exports to China came as the Opec cartel of 12 oil-producing countries, which pumps about a third of the world’s oil, chose to hold production levels steady at 24.84 million barrels per day. The announcement was widely expected, as Opec is broadly happy with oil prices at present levels.

“The current price is good for consumers, producers and investors,” Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi Arabian Oil Minister, said. “At between $70 and $80 a barrel, everyone is happy.”