04-15-07 by dugan
(05-08-07 UPDATE: The summit has been moved to Dubai, probably for security and better-hotels reasons. And BP, Shell and Conoco have signed on as lesser–read "less expensive" sponsors)
The news popped two days ago on the Jordan-based website Al Bawaba, and sure enough, Chevron is now prominently listed as "event sponsor" of Iraq’s first Oil, Gas, Petrochemical & Electricity Summit May 28-30. The summit will be held not in the Green Zone but in Jordan, where oil execs can at least find a safe luxury hotel.
There’s no indication what Chevron is paying to have its logo all over the meeting.
Iraq’s Parliament, in a shambles since last week’s bombing in the "safe" Parliament building, has yet to approve the US-backed Iraqi oil law, which would scandalously hand over operational control to oil companies. But Chevron is a daring bettor, willing to cut deals with the corrupt Soviet oligarchy and now, apparently, with the notoriously venal Iraqi oil ministry.
California state Controller John Chiang was alarmed enough about Chevron’s Soviet dealings to write a letter warning the state retirement system of the risk to its Chevron stock. What will he make of Chevron’s big bet on Iraqi oil?
The Iraqi summit is under the aegis of the Iraq Development Program (the black hole into which those billions of US tax dollars have fallen). Its aim to make deals on oil is right there on the summit web site: :
"The key decision makers from the Iraqi Government will be participating with the full intent of establishing relationships and entering into contractual negotiations with all international operators wishing to be part of both the upstream and downstream sectors."
Speaking of streams, where’s the mainstream media on this dividing-the-spoils meet-up?