Well... except for those pesky bombs going off.... Iraqis are fine!

While avoiding a general answer to "Are we better off?" Cheney did not hesitate to proclaim Iraqis better off because of the regime change initiated by the American invasion.

"I think Iraq is much better off than it was before we went in in '03 and got rid of Saddam Hussein," he said. "I think we are close to achieving most of our objectives. We've seen a significant reduction in the overall level of violence; it's lower now than virtually anytime since we've been there in the spring of '03. We've seen the elimination of one of the world's worst regimes. We've seen the Iraqis write a constitution and hold three national elections. We've now entered into a strategic framework agreement with the Iraqis that calls for ultimately the U.S. completion of the assignment and withdrawal of our forces from Iraq.

"All of those things I think by anybody's standard would be evidence of significant success. And I think we're very close to achieving what it is we set out to do five years ago when we first went into Iraq.

I'm sure the Iraqis would like to thank you in person, Dick. Because just today:

At least 38 civilians have been killed and 65 wounded in a suicide attack at a shrine in northwestern Baghdad, Iraqi government officials said.

An interior ministry official put the death toll at 40, including 17 Iranian pilgrims.

(Update: Mark Adams of American Street lists the deaths in Iraq since the New Year began. Better off, my ass.)

And just what was it that you were trying to achieve in Iraq, Dick? Because your excuses and reasons keep changing...

What does this looming concentration of Iraqi power at the top portend for U.S. oil interests? The omens are mixed at best. A tilt away from the United States may have come late in August, in the thick of negotiations over the U.S. withdrawal, when Iraq signed a 22-year contract in Beijing for development of an oil field southeast of Baghdad.

Without parliamentary approval, the al-Maliki government seems capable of making or unmaking whatever oil development arrangements it chooses to make. Thus, in September, it canceled six no-bid contracts it had awarded to big-name Western oil corporations. China provides the now cordially partnering Shiite governments in Baghdad and Tehran a clear alternative to Western companies.

Where America's politically unmentionable oil interests in Iraq are headed as the Bush administration leaves office remains anyone's guess, but out in the cold seems as good a guess as any. Back in 2002, the better class of commentator sniffed at the naiveté of "No Blood for Oil" - the chant of anti-war demonstrations around the country. But blood for oil may not be the worst of it. The worst, in the war's subdued and sorry denouement, may prove to be blood for no oil.

Because the war was about oil all along, wasn't it?

Several of the architects of the Iraq war no longer even bother to deny that oil was a major motivator for the invasion. On US National Public Radio's To the Point, Fadhil Chalabi, one of the primary Iraqi advisers to the Bush administration in the lead-up to the invasion, recently described the war as "a strategic move on the part of the United States of America and the UK to have a military presence in the Gulf in order to secure [oil] supplies in the future". Chalabi, who served as Iraq's oil undersecretary of state and met with the oil majors before the invasion, described this as "a primary objective".

Invading countries to seize their natural resources is illegal under the Geneva conventions. That means the huge task of rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure - including its oil infrastructure - is the financial responsibility of Iraq's invaders. They should be forced to pay reparations, just as Saddam Hussein's regime paid $9bn to Kuwait in reparations for its 1990 invasion. Instead, Iraq is being forced to sell 75% of its national patrimony to pay the bills for its own illegal invasion and occupation.

crossposted at Rants from the Rookery

Drill Here, Drill Now!?

U.S. oil firms seek drilling access, but exports soar

[...]
The White House said it was against requiring U.S. oil products to stay at home.

"Forbidding exports of U.S. petroleum reduces the incentive for domestic suppliers to produce, and could potentially lead to higher prices if U.S. production or refining declined," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

The 1.6 million barrels a day in record petroleum exports represented 9 percent of total U.S. refining capacity of 17.6 million barrels a day.

However, with refiners operating at 85 percent of capacity during the January-April period, the shipments represented a much a larger share of total U.S. oil products produced.

The exports were also equal to half the 3.2 million barrels of gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum products the United States imported each day over the 4-month period.

Ummm, maybe I'm missing something here but it seems we can reduce our dependency by half on foreign oil by just not exporting ours!?

WTF!?



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

You're gonna wind up workin' in a gas station

Ever think that maybe, just maybe, that Big Oil was illegally price fixing? Well, they are:

Criminal charges have been laid against 13 people and 11 companies accused of fixing the price of gas in Quebec, the federal Competition Bureau said Thursday.

The suspects and companies operated in Victoriaville, Thetford Mines, Magog and Sherbrooke.

Three companies and one person pleaded guilty in Quebec Superior Court in Victoriaville on Thursday to related charges.

The companies, which included Ultramar Ltd., face up to $2 million in fines in total.

. . . The bureau alleges the gas retailers — individual operators who ran their stations under the banners of Shell, Esso, Petro-Canada and Irving oil — called each other to agree on prices.

2 things here:

1st, note that the "fixing" was allegedly done by individual retailers. The companies would never, ever, tell their dealers to do something like that. Yeah, right.

2nd, it's Canada, so while it may affect some of us (cough'darkblack'cough), what's the importance to Americans?

This from Ultramar Ltd.'s web site:

Ultramar Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Valero

And who is Valero? Here in L.A., no one I had heard of before about 4 or 5 years ago when their gas stations started popping up like mushrooms after a rain storm. But here's who they say they are:

Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, Texas, and incorporated in Delaware. Valero's common stock is listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "VLO." The company has approximately 22,000 employees and assets valued at $38 billion.

The largest refiner in North America, Valero has an extensive refining system with a throughput capacity of approximately 3.1 million barrels per day. The company's geographically diverse refining network stretches from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and West Coast to the Caribbean.

Valero has a mid-stream logistics system that supports Valero's refining and marketing operations.

A marketing leader, Valero has approximately 5,800 retail and wholesale stores in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean under various brand names including Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, and Beacon. The company markets on a retail and wholesale basis through a bulk and rack marketing network in 44 U.S. states, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Emphasis mine. Big-time players, apparently. Here's more from Wikipedia about this company many of us in SoCal had never heard of before:

Valero was created on January 1, 1980, as a spinoff from the Coastal States Gas Corporation. At the time, it was the largest corporate spinoff in U.S. history. Valero took over the natural gas operations of the LoVaca Gathering Company, a defunct subsidiary of Coastal States Gas. The name Valero comes from Misión San Antonio de Valero, the mission founded in 1718 from which the city of San Antonio started, which is better known worldwide as The Alamo.

The company acquired a small oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1981, and began refining operations in 1984.

In 1997, Valero spun off its refining and retail divisions into a separate company, which kept the Valero name. At the same time, the remaining divisions, which consisted primarily of natural gas operations, were acquired by PG&E. Later that year, Valero acquired Basis Petroleum, which left it with four refineries in Texas and Louisiana.

Valero acquired a Paulsboro, New Jersey, refinery in 1998. This was the company's first refinery outside of the Gulf Coast area.

In 2000, Valero purchased ExxonMobil's Benicia, California, refinery and interests in 350 Exxon-branded service stations in California, mainly in the San Francisco Bay area. The company also began retailing gasoline under the Valero brand. In June 2001, the company acquired the Huntway Refining Company, along with two asphalt plants on the west coast.

On December 31, 2001, Valero completed its acquisition of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock. This merger left Valero with over 4,700 retail sites in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. With this acquisition, Valero also received ownership of Shamrock Logistics L.P., which was renamed Valero L.P. This limited partnership owns and operates a 7200 mile (11500 km) pipeline network and 57 refined product terminals in the U.S., and is publicly traded (Valero maintained a 13.6 percent indirect interest through Valero GP Holdings, LLC, also publicly traded, which in 2006 it fully divested).

Starting in 2002, Valero has been expanding its marketing to the East Coast, specifically the Northeast and Florida, using the Valero brand.

On April 25, 2005, Valero agreed to buy Premcor, Inc., for 8 billion in cash and stock to become the largest U.S. refiner, as record prices for gasoline and other fuels boost profits.

On June 30, 2005, Valero announced it was beginning a two-year process of converting Diamond Shamrock stations to the Valero brand.

And as we might expect:

According to the University of Massachusetts’ Political Economy Research Institute, the Valero Energy Corporation is the 28th most toxic corporation in America, releasing 3,363,294 pounds of toxic chemicals into the air annually. ^[1] Valero has been sued on multiple occasions for allegedly damaging the environment, and was named as a defendant in suits in 2000 and 2001 pertaining to the contamination of groundwater.^[2] In a 2005 Clean Air Act settlement with the EPA, Valero agreed, along with Sunoco, to reduce annual harmful emissions by 44,000 tons annually across 18 refineries.^[3]

In other words, a typical GWBush-style Oil company. On that note, who did they give money too? Lots of folks, both Rep & Dem:

ANDREWS, ROBERT E House of Reps Democrat NJ 01 G $2,500 10/19/1999 BARTON, JOE LINUS House of Reps Republican TX 06 G $5,000 12/01/1999 BENTSEN, KENNETH E JR House of Reps Democrat TX 25 G $1,000 09/30/1999 BENTSEN, KENNETH E JR House of Reps Democrat TX 25 P $1,000 06/02/2000 BENTSEN, KENNETH E JR House of Reps Democrat TX 25 G $1,000 09/21/2000 BENTSEN, KENNETH E JR House of Reps Democrat TX 25 G $1,000 02/15/2000 BINGAMAN, JEFF Senate Democrat NM -- G $1,000 06/11/1999 BONILLA, HENRY House of Reps Republican TX 23 G $1,000 09/30/1999 BONILLA, HENRY House of Reps Republican TX 23 G $1,000 03/08/1999 BUSH, GEORGE W President Republican TX -- G $1,000 05/27/1999 BUSH, GEORGE W President Republican TX -- G $2,500 04/01/1999 CANTOR, ERIC IVAN House of Reps Republican VA 07 G $500 06/02/2000 CHAFEE, LINCOLN D Senate Republican RI -- G $1,000 06/02/2000 DELAY, THOMAS DALE House of Reps Republican TX 22 G $5,000 09/11/2000 EDWARDS, CHET House of Reps Democrat TX 11 G $1,000 10/02/2000 EDWARDS, CHET House of Reps Democrat TX 11 G $1,000 06/02/2000 FROST, MARTIN House of Reps Democrat TX 24 G $1,000 08/24/1999 FROST, MARTIN House of Reps Democrat TX 24 G $1,000 02/15/2000 GONZALEZ, CHARLES A House of Reps Democrat TX 20 G $1,000 09/21/2000 GONZALEZ, CHARLES A House of Reps Democrat TX 20 G $1,000 03/08/1999 GONZALEZ, CHARLES A House of Reps Democrat TX 20 G $1,000 02/15/2000 GONZALEZ, CHARLES A House of Reps Democrat TX 20 G $500 12/01/1999 GREEN, RAYMOND EUGENE "GENE" House of Reps Democrat TX 29 G $2,500 02/15/2000 LAMPTON, DUNNICA OH House of Reps Republican MS 04 G $1,000 10/02/2000 LOTT, C TRENT Senate Republican MS -- P $2,500 05/27/1999 RODRIGUEZ, CIRO D House of Reps Democrat TX 28 G $1,000 03/08/1999 RODRIGUEZ, CIRO D House of Reps Democrat TX 28 G $500 06/02/2000 SANDLIN, MAX House of Reps Democrat TX 01 G $1,000 09/30/1999 SANDLIN, MAX House of Reps Democrat TX 01 G $1,000 02/15/2000 SANDLIN, MAX House of Reps Democrat TX 01 P $1,000 06/02/2000 SMITH, LAMAR SEELIGSON House of Reps Republican DC 21 G $1,000 03/08/1999 SMITH, ROBERT C Senate Republican NH -- G $1,000 06/02/2000 SNEARY, LOY E House of Reps Democrat TX 14 G $500 02/15/2000 SNEARY, LOY E House of Reps Democrat TX 14 G $1,000 10/02/2000 SNOWE, OLYMPIA J Senate Republican ME -- G $1,000 10/02/2000 TREEN, DAVID CONNER House of Reps Republican LA 01 G $500 05/27/1999 WAREING, PETER STAUB House of Reps Republican TX 07 G $1,000 01/10/2000 WHITMAN, CHRISTINE TODD Senate Republican NJ -- G $5,000 08/09/1999 YOUNG, C W BILL House of Reps Republican DC 10 G $1,000 10/19/1999

Disheartening how many TX-D Reps are on that list from 2000.

According to this, retired CEO William Greehey is a big Republican supporter, donating $$$ to:

JohnMcCain
Mitt Romney
Kay Bailey Hutchinson
John Cornyn
Ciro Rodriguez (DINO)
Lamar Smith
Henry Bonilla
Bill Richardson (?)
Pete Sessions
and of course,
George W. Bush

Interestingly, Richardson sold a good sized chunk of Valero stock last year:

SANTA FE, N.M. — Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson, who promotes renewable energy as a way to wean the nation off of fossil fuels, has sold his stock holdings in the country's largest independent refining company.

Richardson owned stock in Valero Energy Corp. worth between $100,001 and $250,000, and had stock options valued between $250,001 and $500,000, according to a financial disclosure report filed earlier this month with the Federal Election Commission.

Richardson said Thursday he sold the oil company stock because "it was just a distraction" in his campaign.

"Because I was getting questions, I just felt it was best to divest myself," Richardson said.

However, he lauded Valero, calling it a "very reputable company that does important work."

Richardson served on Valero's board of directors from 2001 until June 2002, when he resigned after winning the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in New Mexico. He served as energy secretary in the Clinton administration in 1998-2000.

Oh, that explains it. Great, Now one of the alleged rising stars is a Big Oil suckup. You just dropped far lower on my personal support list, Bill.

Now we get to the point

It only took five years and thousands of dead:

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Oil giants Chevron Corp. and Total have confirmed that they are in discussions with the Iraqi Oil Ministry to increase production in an important oil field in southern Iraq.

The discussions are aimed at finalizing a two-year deal, or technical support agreement, to boost production at the West Qurna Stage 1 oil field near Iraq's second-largest city of Basra.

Chevron and Total confirmed their involvement in the discussions in e-mails received Saturday by The Associated Press.

"Chevron is interested in helping the Iraq government's objectives to develop its oil and gas industry," Chevron spokesman Kurt Glaubitz said in an e-mail. Total spokeswoman Lisa Wyler confirmed the French company's involvement.

[snip]

The Iraqi Oil Ministry has said it is also negotiating with Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC, ExxonMobil Corp. to increase crude production in four other fields and under the same agreement.

Iraq has the world's third-largest oil reserves, totaling more than 115 billion barrels. Iraq's average production for February was 2.4 million barrels per day and exports averaged 1.93 million barrels per day.

crossposted at Rants from the Rookery

It's the same old song

You know, I'm really not sure why I'm bothering to put up this post. It contains nothing that should come as a surprise to anyone. Worth a big "Yawn, so what else is new?"
But, what the heck.

WASHINGTON -- Executives from the big five oil companies appeared before Congress on Tuesday to answer questions about how they're raking in big profits while consumers are being hammered at the pump. Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP America, Chevron and Conoco-Phillips earned a combined $123 billion last year because of rising prices. Ed Markey, D-Mass, chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, slammed the oil executives for their opposition to eliminating about $18 billion in tax breaks over a ten year period amid record profits for the industry.

Hey, as long as Bush, Cheney and all the rest of Oil Inc. are in power to assure them getting anything they want, why should they care?

Stephen Simon, Senior Vice President, Exxon Mobil Corp. said "Imposing punitive taxes on American companies will discourage the investments needed to safeguard our energy security. The pursuit of alternative fuels must not detract from investments in oil and gas," he said.

Or detract from their obscene profits, either.

The House has approved legislation to end the tax breaks, but it hasn't made it through the Senate. President George W. Bush has threatened to veto any such bill that does.

In essence, as long as Georgie "Oil Man" Bush is in power, and especially now that he is merely a lame duck and really doesn't care what the po' folk think of him (not that he ever did, mind you), he's going to take care of his cronies first and foremost.

Markey hammered Exxon's Simon over the company's investment in renewable energy. "Why is Exxon Mobil resisting the renewable energy revolution?" asked Markey. Simon said Exxon has given $100 million to Stanford to study renewables. "$100 million?" said Markey. "But you made $40 billion last year."

Well, duh! That's just P.R. money - pocket change to them - to give the illusion of wanting to help give the nation more energy options. The truth is, they will do whatever they can to hold onto the status quo. The status quo is where the mind-numbing profits are, and all the hardships their rising prices (and profits) are having on the country mean diddly-squat to them.

See? I told you this post would hold no surprises. What I should have done was post it yesterday - on April Fool's Day - and say something about Bush and the oil companies actually giving a rat's ass about the American public at large. Now THAT would have earned a double take.

[graphic by Dancin' Dave]

Want to win the oil endgame? Want to stop the oil wars?

Give yourself 20 minutes and listen to Amory Lovins!

Amory Lovins was worried (and writing) about energy long before global warming was making the front -- or even back -- page of newspapers. Since studying at Harvard and Oxford in the 1960s, he's written dozens of books, and initiated ambitious projects -- cofounding the influential, environment-focused Rocky Mountain Institute; prototyping the ultra-efficient Hypercar -- to focus the world's attention on alternative approaches to energy and transportation.

His critical thinking has driven people around the globe -- from world leaders to the average Joe -- to think differently about energy and its role in some of our biggest problems: climate change, oil dependency, national security, economic health, and depletion of natural resources.

Lovins offers solutions as well. His book and site Winning the Oil Endgame shows how all US oil use can be eliminated by 2040. Lovins has always focused on solutions that conserve natural resources while also promoting economic growth; Texas Instruments and Wal-Mart are just two of the mega-corporations he has advised on improving energy efficiency.

crossposted at Rants from the Rookery