Do Iraq and its neighboring countries export a lot of oil? Or do they just have large reservoirs?
371774
Iraq still has very large reserves of oil, but due to old equipment and terrorists they don't export alot of it. This will improve over the next few years. Oil reserves in Saudi Arabia and Iran are on the decline even though they still export large amounts of it. At the present time the U.S. doesn't purchase any of Iraqs oil directly from them. All of Iraqs production is committed to Europe and Asia. Iraqs oil that comes to the U.S. is purchased from sources in Europe.
864630
Totally agree.  Ever since oil was discovered in the Middle East, the most powerful men and nations on the earth have lusted over the area.  They have bribed leaders, propped up dictators like Saddam, manipulated and cajoled the nations and the people endlessly.  The Saudi  Prince, spiritual leader of the Islamic World, seems to have his own agenda along with all the other players, and this  all  combines to make the mess in Iraq we see today.  That the people of Iraq could be free to chose their own destiny is almost a laughable concept, as they haven't ever been free, and it doesn't look like anyone will leave them alone long enough to figure it out for themselves, if indeed that is what we are really doing there.
1063366
Iraq is not a very mountainous region, and given that it's the oldest inhabited country in the world (Babylon and Sumeria) it's possible that most of the easily obtained natural resources have been used by the centuries of civilizations.\n\nThat was my opinion, now for the facts from the CIA World Factbook:\nIraq, Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur\n\nAlthough the CIA are scumsucking bastards, the World Factbook is a good resource published annually and can be downloaded for free from their website.
1107645
Quite simply NO that is not true.  There is plenty of oil and gas left.  Enough to last your lifetime and probably most of your kids lifetime.  However, the rate at which countries like China and India and other emerging economies are growing there is going to a strain on current levels of production.  This is why there is a huge amount of activity in the exploration and drilling sector right now, we see this future demand and are working to compensate.  However there are countries like the USA and Britian that consume much more than they produce, and the majority of their fields are depleted or on the down hill slope.  This is why they must forge alliances, you didn't think they fight these wars just in the name of freedom, but that's another question.  This is also why Bush has given the go ahead to drill in Alaska.  We know where almost all the oil and gas is, now it's just a matter of getting it out of the ground.  But we don't want to flood the market, because then everyone will think they can use as much as they want.  Then there is the politics, pipelines,environment,etc.  It's a delicate balance.  Any way, Saudi Arabia is the largest producer of hydrocarbons and still has the largest reserves.  Canada has the second largest reserves, but it is hard to produce because it is mostly tar sands.  Iran is third(friendly with China), Kuwait is fourth, Iraq is fifth(soon to be friendly with USA) others among top ten Nigeria, Venesuala, and others I remember off the top of my head.  In the future alternative fuels will have to be researched and put into common use.  Some of these we see already, such as hybrid cars, fuel cells, corn oil,processed fish fat can burn in diesel engines.  Nuclear fuel will be used for everyday power, solar power is not practical, takes up to much room, wind power is only practical on a small scale, and they need to be where it's windy, and since you lose power when it travels down lines, only windy places can utilize wind turbines.  My personal favorite is hyrogen power.  Although to volitile with current technology, it is abundant, powerful, and emission free.  By product is pure water.  All these will come to be as future governments covet what's left of the natural resources and we think about the environment a little more.  But there will be oil and gas to heat your homes and run your cars for many years to come.  So long as you got the money to fill the tank.
29644
In about 20 years when the country is finally able to start producing more oil than they are consuming. The value of the dinar is also dependent on many other things, like the actions of the Central Bank of Iraq. At present it has essentially a fixed value of 1477 dinars to the dollar. This value is being held fixed because all of the contractors working in Iraq need a stable exchange rate in order to operate. The value has not fluctuated by more than 1% since the exchange began operating a couple of years ago. \n\nThe Iraqi dinar probably has as much potential to lose value when it is finally traded on the open market as it does to rise. The Iraq economy will be oil-export dependent and at present Iraq is not producing as much oil as it was before the war. In fact much of the oil Iraq is presently exporting is being offset by imports of refined products like diesel and gasoline. Because oil production cannot be increased under the present unstable conditions, it may be decades before Iraq becomes a significant oil exporter. Many of the wells in Iraq were permanently damaged by being shut down for the war. These wells will have to be redrilled or repaired and at present this is almost impossible. An oil rig makes a very vulnerable target and no oil company is going to risk its workers and assets on something that will become a target for bombers and snipers. It often takes years of planning to prepare for drilling an oil well, and then can take months or years to develop a new discovery. It could easily be 5 or 10 years before Iraq sees new oil production even it it starts tomorrow, and it won't. \n\nIf you bought dinars I suggest you frame them and hang them on the wall. That may be their best use, since you can't redeem them at any bank outside of Iraq.\n\nHere is the link to the Central Bank of Iraq currency exchange:\nhttp://www.cbiraq.org/cbs6.htm
653400
because they keep attacking countries that are rich in oil. when they say (example Operation Iraqi Liberation) it simply means'oil', they attack so they can steal other countries oil.
257957
Copyright 2003 by Mining Profiles\nThis Special Edition for Iraq may be freely reproduced\n MiningPro File - IRAQ\nSpecial Edition of 3/03\n \n  \nSUMMARY    (This Special Edition highlights only Iraq's physical and historical setting, and its geology and minerals.) Over 99% of Iraq is underlain by sedimentary rocks, dominantly marine. These rocks contain abundant oil, gas, and sulfur, and modest amounts of phosphate and other minerals. Metallic minerals are essentially restricted to the small area of highly-deformed Zagros Thrust Belt, which has minor deposits of lead, zinc, copper, chromite, and asbestos.\n \nfor the details.http://www.miningprofiles.com/spedition.html
790609
What a mess! USA, Saudi, Saudi, Turkey, Iran, Syria all looking to control the Iraqi oil, the US. sure has a lot to answer for, the instability is has created will cause problems for many years in the middle east, was this the intention? maybe it was, oilmen love high oil prices, arms manufacturers, and military suppliers love war. This catastrophe was predicted, but ignored. Now no-one can predict what will happen next, but you can sure there will be no peace in the region. The Bush regime will back the Saudis as they are like one big family, maybe Saudi approves/ helped develop US. policy, whatever happens the Shites will unite, and if they are bombed they'll unite more quickly. The US. will continue to guard their stolen oil fields, until their war funding is cut off, and when they are forced to leave it will be a free-for-all.
42405
The vast majority of Iraqi oil is sold to Asia and Europe.  The last time I checked, the US bought less then 5% of the Iraqi oil exports.\n\nHowever, you also have to understand how the oil market works.  Supertankers frequently pick up oil under contract, often from several different depots.  So a Tanker may get oil from AUE, Iraq, and Kuwait.  It then takes it to Asia, where it is offloaded and stored.  That oil will then be loaded onto another tanker and sent to the US West COast for refining and distribution.\n\nOil is a very fungible commodity.  Just like Gold, it is seperated and mixed with oil from other sources, from manny different locations.  It is often stored by 3rd parties, and refined by 4th parties.\n\nSo has Iraqi oil been used in the US?  Of course.  Just like South African Gold was used in US jewelry during the embargo during the 1980's.\n\nDid the US go to war for oil?  Of course not.  It would have been cheaper to simply do something like forse the UN to remove the trade sanctions and prop up Saddam with more palace money, or do the same thing with Lybia.\n\nOf course, we could also remove all protection of Israel, then we would probably get free oil forever from some of the nations in the region.  If anybody believes this war was about oil, they have no understanding of international relations and commerce.
359795
The country has oil, be aware, very aware Bush is shopping for just such a state. We will do Iran first though, they have more oil
770520
the dumb ass american government saw that iraq had a lot of oil and got jealous. so they made up a long story and said they had to protect the iraqi civilians. now they're just killing them (if you wanna call that protect them)\nUS wanted oil, that's the reason. and as for weapons of mass destruction. aparently sadam had some. let him have them, the US has them too. and it´s none of the US' business if they have them in iraq, it´s their land, let them do what they please
489639
US is not worried about iraq, they gives a rat's ass about iraq. Unfortunately iraq has OIL and that is US's # 1 weakness.\nAll the countries with oil are unfortunate cuz US will get them and is getting them one after the other\n\nUS is greedy for oil and thats it. They dont even care about their own people, dying in Iraq for not freakin reason.  what a shame!!!!!!!! and its sad!!!!!!1
598452
Been out of the industry for a little while now so cant give you precise figures, but what I can tell you is that North Sea crude is pretty much specialised and is virtually all exported.\n\nThe UK exchequer sells our crude for more than we pay to import generally.\n\nIt is not the type of crude which lends itself to petrol production either.\n\nIt was also pretty badly drilled at the time which means that whilst there is actually quite a lot left, most of it will be to difficult and expensive to be extracted, so the supply is diminishing quickly.
997697
Are you suggesting that the Chinese will become involved?\nThat there is a North and South Iraq?  What?
465317
I wouldn't count on anything that isn't related to Iraqi having anything done with it by the US.  On the other hand...does Burma have oil?  If the answer is yes, then it is a possibility!
427796
OIL and IRAN are the cuz of these war
418821
China bought oil from Iraq too but they didn't jump. If we moved on Iran with as much support as we have in the world, China would keep a low profile as well. Because china is dependent on export. They depend on the world's economy and on the buying of what they make. They may seem fierce, but with their economical hands tied they're just paper dragons.