Oil companies restarting operations in Libya

[TomClash]

Source: Washington Post

By Steven Mufson, Friday, October 21, 7:48 AM

Over the years, the oil industry has managed to deal with shahs and sheikhs, kings and colonels, dictators and even democracies. So even before the death of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, international oil companies were getting acquainted with his successors and figuring out how to reboot the North African nation’s oil sector.

Paolo Scaroni, the chief executive of Italian oil giant ENI, met with the Libyan rebel government, the Transitional National Council, in April. The company, which was the biggest operator in Libya during the Gaddafi era, has already restarted its activities. ENI has been told that its contracts remain in effect and last week reactivated its Greenstream pipeline, which carries large volumes of natural gas from Libya to Italy. Before the fighting, the pipeline supplied about 10 percent of Italy’s natural gas.

Other companies, including American partners in the Oasis Group, expect to return to their former concessions.

. . .

The revival of Libya’s oil production comes none too soon. Inventories over the past several months have fallen to levels below the five-year average, and the winter heating season is approaching.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/oil-companies-restarting-operations-in-libya/2011/10/21/gIQAiXG82L_story.html

[occupyeverywhere]

1. Of course they are

That's what it's all about

[Javaman]

2. exactly right...

If anyone believes the over arching point of this war was to "liberate" the Libyan people, I have a bridge to sell them.

Libya provides Europe with a good chunk of their oil.

[occupyeverywhere]

5. Regionally North Africa has more in common with other southern European countries

It's hard to think about the Med outside the Euro/African/Asian divide, but it's really a region all to itself. An extremely strategic portion of the globe. The Med has been a battle ground since antiquity and European countries have always vied for control of this area.

[Javaman]

9. yes, because of resources.

all wars are about resources. this one was no different.

[Muskypundit]

10. I dont buy that. Considering Gaddifi did LOTS OF BUSINESS WITH the west.

Why would they replace him with a democratic government that might not be so..... business friendly.

Maybe if the oil was nationalized; western companies were not allowed in, I could see it being about that. But.... the country is capitalist. If anything we hurt our self interests by taking down western friendly gaddafi.

[Javaman]

12. believe what you want. but in the end, it's always about resources.

the people were hungry, they didn't get food. they protested. That's about resources or lack there of.

in steps the west to help the rebels. why? because an unstable Libya is bad for Europe since Libya supplies Europe, especially Italy, with a big chunk of their oil.

So the mission was to stabilize the government, any government, to make sure that the oil continues to flow to Europe.

in a year or so, we will have some stooge in charge of Libya who is good for oil and may or may not be all that great for the people.

but in the end, whom ever they install, he will be business friendly as you say.

[Muskypundit]

16. Then it is no different than our government then.

But if it is a democracy then at least, like in our case, there is a shred of hope for the future that can be attained through non violent means.

Not so is the case in a dictatorship.

[Javaman]

17. While it's may or may not be a dictatorship

I don't think it will be democracy in any way shape for form. You are dealing with a Tribal based nation. Not too different than in Afghanistan. And we see how well democracy is working there. It might be sort of working in Kabul, but outside that city, it goes back to warlord tribalism.

nothings been written yet, nothing been decided yet. No one, least of all myself, can predict what will happen in Libya, but if Egypt is any indication (and that is a poor example because they had a centralized government with states), then it will be a very long time before the dust settles.

Egypt has all the makings of the type of government it just overthrew with a splash of fundamentalism.

It will be at the very least a year before we even have a clue as to how things properly evolve in Libya (let alone Egypt). And even then that still is no hard marker for some kind of stable government.

Frankly, I believe North Africa and a good portion of Central Africa have a very long way to go before the actual people determine their futures.

The Continent is so incredibly poor and impoverished that most of not all the average people will have a say in the final outcomes of the various governments in turmoil.

It will be fascinating to watch.

[Muskypundit]

18. Yea, fascinating it will be.

[CarmanK]

3. Not this time. THE PEOPLE have spoken, the oil co's will yield!

Iraq was started to get revenge and oil. cheney made sure Halliburtan got its share and access to the oil production. Remember, cheney said the american people did not have to worry, because Iraq would pay for the war from OIL REVENUES. But, as usual Cheney lied. That is why they didn't have to worry about paying for the WAR. At least that is what they told the american people.

[Owlet]

6. I'll believe it when I see it

Oil rulez.

BTW, it wasn't Cheney who said that Iraq oil would pay for the Iraq war. It was Paul Wolfowitz - Rumsfeld's Deputy.

"Perhaps the most famous example of this, however, was then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's suggestion before Congress in 2003 that Iraq's oil reserves would cover the cost of the country's reconstruction after a U.S. invasion.

Wolfowitz was attempting to bat away worries about the cost of the war, and pegged Iraq's potential oil revenues at somewhere between $50 billion and $100 billion. Today, Iraq does indeed enjoy revenues on the low end of Wolfowitz's estimate from the 2.5 million barrels a day of oil that it produces, on which Baghdad relies to cover the strained state budget. But virtually none of it has gone toward reconstruction -- the U.S. has paid for that, to the tune of $50 billion out of an estimated $728 billion total spent on Iraq, according to the National Priorities Project."

http://oilandglory.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/16/paul_wolfowitz_and_the_eternal_return_of_energy_optimism

I'm sure there is a transcript of his testimony, but I'm sorta pressed for time just now so this will have to do.

[Javaman]

13. The oil corps will certainly not yield.

Iraq cut a deal with the oil corps 2 years ago. Shell and their like take a chunk and Iraq takes a very small chunk. In the end, the oil corps win.

Iraq and Libya couldn't be more different nations.

Iraq had a central government and a nation made up of state with local governments (basically Saddam thugs, but local governments never the less).

Libya is a nation of loosely associated tribes. This became glaringly obvious when early in the Libyan war, many of the tribes started fighting each other in skirmish's of opportunity for land. That was quickly settled when NATO came in.

Libyan oil supplies a Europe and especially Italy with a good chunk of oil. The very last thing Europe is going to allow is tribal control of the oil fields. Under the old oil leases, shell,exxon, etc pumped the oil for Libya.

The Libyan government collapses, yet a day after the former leader is dead, the oil fields are back on line. How does that happen? It wasn't the tribes. It was the oil corps supported by NATO troops.

It was no accident that george w. moron* had US forces surround the oil ministry in Iraq while priceless artifacts were being looted from Iraqi's museums.

The same goes for Libya.

It's about oil. The media, NATO, Europe, The US can stamp a big happy smiley face on the war being about supporting the rebels, etc, but the fact is, it's always been about making sure there is a stable government in Libya to maintain the supply of oil to Europe.

[bhikkhu]

19. Libya has a pretty good deal with the oil companies

Their oil sector has long been nationalized, and since sanctions were lifted in 2004 it has been developed under leases to a mix of mostly large foreign oil companies. As with most nationalized oil, contracts specify what share goes to the state and what share goes to the producer, and who is responsible for various costs, and so forth.

For better or worse, Gadhafi was a competent negotiator and Libya has very good contracts; the NTC has been very reassuring from the beginning that the contracts will all continue as they were.

I don't know why anyone is surprised or imagines something conspiratorial that the oil companies would plan to repair damage and get the fields back on line - it is in everyone's best interests, including the new government. What else would they do?

The day after a revolution, most people start thinking about getting back to work, I would imagine.

ed for spelling & grammar :(

[TomClash]

4. That's the point of the post

You are correct.

[tawadi]

7. "oil companies were getting acquainted with his successors"

I bet.

[Ikonoklast]

8. May the Libyan People now have more say in how their national wealth

is distributed. Instead of being squirreled away overseas by Qaddafi and his family, I hope those hundreds of billions come back home to Libya.

I'd bet the arms merchants are sad today, Qaddafi was one of their best customers.

Here's hoping any new Libyan government gets the best deals they can negotiate from the oil companies, and not the other way around.

[inna]

11. lol, you have GOT to be kidding!

"May the Libyan People now have more say in how their national wealth"

- exactly and precisely the opposite; that's pretty much what this all was/is about.

Mission accomplished! :nuke: :patriot:

[Ikonoklast]

14. The Chinese are not gong to sit idly by on the sidelines.

They never do, they aggressively pursue resources around the globe, have the money to do so, and pay well to secure them.

You are assuming any new government formed in Libya will automatically be a puppet; you might be surprised which way they decide to go.

I will tell you this, it will be more religious in nature and far less secular.

[Peace Patriot]

15. LOL!

Can't help it. Even with all the people slaughtered by the USAF/MIC's latest toy and the dreadful precedent of war by fiat, you gotta laugh a dark laugh about how the CIA scribblers at the Washington Puss "frame" it.