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Changes to BP oil contract will see govt pay even when oil not produced
31/07/2011 10:54
Erbil, July 31 (AKnews) – Controversy has been sparked by the discovery that the Iraqi government has agreed to pay BP even when oil is not being produced at the Rumaila field.
The original contract has been rewritten to allow BP to continue charging the government in the case of any civil disruption or decisions that stop production (which could include Opec negotiated cuts).
This is a major step away from the terms of the deal that were secured at an auction in 2009, leading to claims that the much vaunted “open and transparent” oil deals, are actually forged through back-room deals and oil companies wielding their power over the government.
Social justice group, Platform, said that the changes to the contract “reveals what subsequently happened behind closed doors to make the contracts much more attractive to the multinational companies, at the expense of the Iraqi people.”
Rumaila, which is 20 miles from the Kuwaiti border, already accounts for 40% of Iraq's total. Growth to 3m barrels a day would make it 50% bigger.
The documents have been changed to put BP in a far more advantageous position.
Section 12.5 of this revised technical service contract shows that BP and its Chinese partner CNPC can obtain payments for "government imposed curtailment" – which could cover quota demands made on Iraq by Opec. This also applies to disruption to the transport of oil – "curtailments of transporter to receive net production at the transfer point through no fault of the contractor or operator".
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31/07/2011 10:54
Erbil, July 31 (AKnews) – Controversy has been sparked by the discovery that the Iraqi government has agreed to pay BP even when oil is not being produced at the Rumaila field.
The original contract has been rewritten to allow BP to continue charging the government in the case of any civil disruption or decisions that stop production (which could include Opec negotiated cuts).
This is a major step away from the terms of the deal that were secured at an auction in 2009, leading to claims that the much vaunted “open and transparent” oil deals, are actually forged through back-room deals and oil companies wielding their power over the government.
Social justice group, Platform, said that the changes to the contract “reveals what subsequently happened behind closed doors to make the contracts much more attractive to the multinational companies, at the expense of the Iraqi people.”
Rumaila, which is 20 miles from the Kuwaiti border, already accounts for 40% of Iraq's total. Growth to 3m barrels a day would make it 50% bigger.
The documents have been changed to put BP in a far more advantageous position.
Section 12.5 of this revised technical service contract shows that BP and its Chinese partner CNPC can obtain payments for "government imposed curtailment" – which could cover quota demands made on Iraq by Opec. This also applies to disruption to the transport of oil – "curtailments of transporter to receive net production at the transfer point through no fault of the contractor or operator".
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
