UN Security Council eases some sanctions on Iraq over 1990 invasion of Kuwait

[Security Council unanimously adopts resolution, removing Iraq from its obligations under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas] Security Council unanimously adopts resolution, removing Iraq from its obligations under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas 16 Print 27 June 2013 – Welcoming progress on resolving pending issues from Iraq’s 1990 invasion of its smaller neighbour Kuwait, including finding Kuwaiti or third-country nationals, the United Nations Security Council today eased some of its sanctions against Iraq. Unanimously adopting a new resolution, the Council called on the Iraqi Government to continue searching for Kuwaiti nationals and property missing since Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion, but terminated provisions in earlier texts that allowed the military enforcement of the measures under Charter VII of the UN Charter. Recognizing that the situation that now exists in Iraq is significantly different from that which existed at the time of the invasion, the Council decided that the issues of missing people and property will now be handled under Chapter VI of the Charter, which calls for a peaceful resolution of disputes. Another key provision of the new resolution is the Council’s decision to transfer the mandate formerly assigned to the High-Level Coordinator for Iraq-Kuwait Missing Persons and Property to the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). Paragraph 14 of resolution 1284 (1999) requested the appointment of a High-Level Coordinator to report to the Security Council regularly on “compliance by Iraq with its obligations regarding the repatriation or return of all Kuwaiti and third country nationals or their remains” and “the return of all Kuwaiti property, including archives, seized by Iraq.” The new resolution terminates that measure and in turn calls on the head of UNAMI to “promote, support and facilitate efforts regarding the repatriation or return of all Kuwaiti and third country nationals or their remains, and the return of Kuwaiti property, including the national archives, seized by Iraq.” Further, the resolution also requests that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon consider designating the deputy chief of UNAMI covering political affairs “with the responsibility for overseeing these issues and ensuring appropriate resources for this purpose.” Immediately following the action in the Council chamber, Hoshyar Zebari, the Foreign Minister of Iraq, who had attended the meeting, hailed the decision as an “historic landmark” in relations between his country and Kuwait. He told reporters that the resolution was making “Chapter VII a thing of the past and… concentrating on the present and the future.” Both countries were cooperating in good faith and managed to close all the files on Chapter VII issues. He added that such cooperation, culminating in the Council’s decision today, could serve not only as “a new beginning for relations between our two brotherly countries,” but also as an example to other nations seeking to settle disputes peacefully. In the aftermath of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the Council established the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), which settles the damage claims of those who suffered losses in the invasion. As of January of this year, the Commission has disbursed some $40.1 billion for more than 1.5 million successful claims of individuals, corporations, Governments and international organizations, leaving some $12.3 billion remaining to be paid. News Tracker: past stories on this issue UN panel pays out $1.3 billion in reparations for Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait

China Is Reaping Biggest Benefits of Iraq Oil Boom

Nabil Al-Jourani/Associated Press An oil refinery in Basra, southeast of Baghdad, in which China has a stake. China has poured money and workers into Iraq. BAGHDAD — Since the American-led invasion of 2003, Iraq has become one of the world’s top oil producers, and China is now its biggest customer. China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, and is angling for an even bigger share, bidding for a stake now owned by Exxon Mobil in one of Iraq’s largest oil fields. “The Chinese are the biggest beneficiary of this post-Saddam oil boom in Iraq,” said Denise Natali, a Middle East expert at the National Defense University in Washington. “They need energy, and they want to get into the market.” Before the invasion, Iraq’s oil industry was sputtering, largely walled off from world markets by international sanctions against the government of Saddam Hussein, so his overthrow always carried the promise of renewed access to the country’s immense reserves. Chinese state-owned companies seized the opportunity, pouring more than $2 billion a year and hundreds of workers into Iraq, and just as important, showing a willingness to play by the new Iraqi government’s rules and to accept lower profits to win contracts. “We lost out,” said Michael Makovsky, a former Defense Department official in the Bush administration who worked on Iraq oil policy. “The Chinese had nothing to do with the war, but from an economic standpoint they are benefiting from it, and our Fifth Fleet and air forces are helping to assure their supply.” The depth of China’s commitment here is evident in details large and small. In the desert near the Iranian border, China recently built its own airport to ferry workers to Iraq’s southern oil fields, and there are plans to begin direct flights from Beijing and Shanghai to Baghdad soon. In fancy hotels in the port city of Basra, Chinese executives impress their hosts not just by speaking Arabic, but Iraqi-accented Arabic. Notably, what the Chinese are not doing is complaining. Unlike the executives of Western oil giants like Exxon Mobil, the Chinese happily accept the strict terms of Iraq’s oil contracts, which yield only minimal profits. China is more interested in energy to fuel its economy than profits to enrich its oil giants. Chinese companies do not have to answer to shareholders, pay dividends or even generate profits. They are tools of Beijing’s foreign policy of securing a supply of energy for its increasingly prosperous and energy hungry population. “We don’t have any problems with them,” said Abdul Mahdi al-Meedi, an Iraqi Oil Ministry official who handles contracts with foreign oil companies. “They are very cooperative. There’s a big difference, the Chinese companies are state companies, while Exxon or BP or Shell are different.” China is now making aggressive moves to expand its role, as Iraq is increasingly at odds with oil companies that have cut separate deals with Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region. The Kurds offer more generous terms than the central government, but Iraq and the United States consider such deals illegal. Late last year, the China National Petroleum Corporation bid for a 60 percent stake in the lucrative West Qurna I oil field, a stake that Exxon Mobil may be forced to divest because of its oil interests in Iraqi Kurdistan. Exxon Mobil, however, has so far resisted pressure to sell, and in March the Chinese company said it would be interested in forming a partnership with the American company for the oil field. If the United States invasion and occupation of Iraq ended up benefiting China, American energy experts say the unforeseen turn of events is not necessarily bad for United States interests. The increased Iraqi production, much of it pumped by Chinese workers, has also shielded the world economy from a spike in oil prices resulting from Western sanctions on Iranian oil exports. And with the boom in American domestic oil production in new shale fields surpassing all expectations over the last four years, dependence on Middle Eastern oil has declined, making access to the Iraqi fields less vital for the United States. At the same time, China’s interest in Iraq could also help stabilize the country as it faces a growing sectarian conflict. “Our interest is the oil gets produced and Iraq makes money, so this is a big plus,” said David Goldwyn, who was the State Department coordinator for international energy affairs in the first Obama administration. “Geopolitically it develops close links between China and Iraq, although China did not get into it for the politics. Now that they are there, they have a great stake in assuring the continuity of the regime that facilitates their investment.” For China, Iraq is one of several countries it increasingly relies on to keep its growing economy running. China recently became the world’s biggest oil importer, and with its consumption growing, it is investing heavily in oil and gas fields around the world — $12 billion worth in 2011, according to the United States Energy Department. Over 50 percent of its oil imports come from the Middle East, even as imports from Iran have been reduced in recent years. “It’s pretty simple,” said Kevin Jianjun Tu, an expert on Chinese energy policies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “China needs more energy and needs to diversify its sources.” The Iraqi government needs the investment, and oil remains at the heart of its political and economic future. Currently OPEC’s second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, the Iraqi government depends on oil revenues to finance its military and social programs. Iraq estimates that its oil fields, pipelines and refineries need $30 billion in annual investments to reach production targets that will make it one of the world’s premier energy powers for decades to come. The revenue that investment would produce could either help pave over tensions between Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis, or worsen those tensions as competing camps fight over the spoils. But the kind of investment that is necessary has required contracting the services of foreign oil companies that are not always enthusiastic about Iraq’s nationalistic, tightfisted terms or the unstable security situation that can put employees in danger. Some like Statoil of Norway have left or curtailed their operations. But the Chinese, frequently as partners with other European companies like BP and Turkish Petroleum, have filled the vacuum. And they have been happy to focus on oil without interfering in other local issues. “The Chinese are very simple people,” said an Iraqi Oil Ministry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not have permission to speak to the news media. “They are practical people. They don’t have anything to do with politics or religion. They just work and eat and sleep.” International energy experts said the Chinese had a competitive advantage over Western oil companies working in Iraq. They noted that the Chinese, unlike many Western oil companies, are willing to accept service contracts at a very low per barrel oil fee without the promise of rights to future reserves. While private oil companies need to list oil reserves on their books to satisfy investors demanding growth, the Chinese do not have to answer to shareholders. The Chinese companies and their workers also win high marks for their technical expertise, as long as they are not working in complicated oil fields, like those in deep waters. “They offer a lot of capital and a willingness to get in quickly and with a high appetite for risk,” said Badhr Jafar, president of Crescent Petroleum, an independent oil and gas company based in the United Arab Emirates and a big gas producer in Iraq. He said the Chinese were vital to Iraq’s efforts to expand oil production, adding, “They don’t have to go through hoops to get people on the ground and working.”

Iraq agreed with a British company to build a new oil terminal

Iraq agreed with a British company to build a new oil terminal in May 1, 2013 · Posted in Central Bank or Iraq, Economic News Iraq agreed with a British company to build a new oil terminal in Basra Twilight News / signed oil company BP, the British signed an agreement with Iraq to build a new oil terminal in the port of Khor Al-Zubair in southern Iraq. Iraq straining to open new export outlets to keep up with the plans and promising to increase its oil production of about 3 million barrels, to between 6 and 8 million barrels by 2017. A spokesman for the General Company for Ports of Iraq Tigers net, in an interview seen by “Twilight News”, “The company signed a five-year contract with BP to build the port of New replace the port run-down, and that the BBC has received an official site.” The net that “BP will help Iraq build a marina developed to receive shipments of refined petroleum products, and also the export of products in the future,” noting that “the British company will pay about $ 7 for each cubic meter of refined products to be imported and exported through this port” . Iraq relies on imports to meet the demand for petroleum products such as gasoline, with the face of مصافيه oil problems, and in 2009 signed ABB Inc. CNBC Chinese service contract with Iraq to develop the Rumaila field, which is estimated reserves of about 17 billion barrels and currently produces 1.35 million barrels per day. shafaaq.com