DOCSLIB.ORG

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ORGANIZATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES Russo-Saudi Oil War BACKGROUND GUIDE Letter from the Dais Dear Delegates, Welcome to SciMUNC XIV! With the course of events this past year, we want to thank each and every one of you for partaking in our conference! We are very excited to be your chairs for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) committee! My name is Anthony Lino and I will be your chair for this year’s committee. Tis is my frst time chairing. I joined Model UN as a sophomore to complement the Krish Shah Speech class I was taking. Tis program, more than anything else, has taught me how to Secretary-General be truly thorough, and the confdence that comes with talking about a subject you know well. I genuinely believe in the program and hope that you learn from this committee. Outside of Model UN, I am a Boy Scout and participate in Science Research studying Byul Sak the Chikungunya virus. I am chairing this committee session because I am interested in Director-General the power plays that are associated with the oil industry and believe it is an integral part of understanding our world. Please pay attention to your research as I believe it can form a foundation for future committees and help you understand the politics of the world. I Omar Darwish look forward to the engaging discussion in this committee. USG of Administration My name is Arian Berisha and I am proud to announce that I will be cochairing our committee for this year’s SciMUNC. I am a Senior at Bronx Science. We hope that Vincent Harwood you all come with a drive to accomplish the goals you have seen governments fail to address and the enthusiasm to get tangible things done. But with all of this being said, Deputy-USG of Administration we cannot wait to see what you all have in store for us! Sincerely, Benjamin Raab Anthony Lino ([email protected]) USG of General Assemblies Arian Berisha ([email protected]) and Specialized Committees Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Karen Phua Deputy-USG of General Assemblies and Specialized Committees Lars Zeana-Schliep USG of Crisis Committees Rehan Yazdani Deputy-USG of Crisis Committees Diane D. Steiker Faculty Advisor 75 West 205th Street Bronx, NY 10468 [email protected] www.scimun.com SciMUNC XIV | Page 1 Background Oil Tey agreed to decrease their oil production in order to keep supply low and prices high and Over millions of years past enormous sums of use oil embargos to put political pressure on plankton have lived and died in the ocean. collective threats. Additionally, they formed While decomposing, they were buried and OPEC+, which is a more loose group that trapped under immense heat and pressure allows OPEC to cooperate with non-OPEC which gradually broke the complex organic nations. molecules in simple hydrocarbons. When extracted, these hydrocarbons form a mixture What is OPEC? with other material from the ground, which is called petroleum or crude oil. Tis mixture is OPEC is sorted into three categories: founding then refned into its components by distillation members, full members and associate members. and sold as consumable oil products. Oil with Full members are members of OPEC that can fewer impurities is considered ‘sweet’ and vote, as opposed to associate members, which requires less refning, making it more cannot. All resolutions of OPEC require the environmentally friendly. unanimous vote of all full members. Te founding members are the full members which Oil is used to cheaply make plastics, synthetic have remained since the frst OPEC conference. rubber, lubricants and to transport goods, Founding members include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, which makes it essential for the function of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Te non-founding modern economies. Additionally, Oil is not full members include Algeria, Angola, evenly distributed throughout the world; a Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Libya, couple nations have access to large reserves of Nigeria, the Congo, and the Arab Emirates. oil, while most need to import oil. Tis OPEC+ includes all OPEC members and naturally results in a global oil trade. Te top Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, importers of oil are the EU, US, China, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South Japan and South Korea and the top exporters Sudan and Sudan. In order for any country to are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab become a full or associate member they must Emirates and Canada. Te top oil importers are have interests in line with other OPEC nations also the top oil refners. and be a notable petroleum exporter, then have all founding nations and . of the full members Many of the top exporters of oil rely on its sale vote them in. Swing producers are the nations in order to fnance their government, but this is that shift oil production to maintain the price not sustainable under normal market of oil. Traditionally, this has been Saudi Arabia conditions. When the price of oil is high, it can due to it producing much more than the other support more expensive methods of oil OPEC members, which has made it OPEC’s de extraction, thereby gradually increasing the facto leader. supply and decreasing the price. Tis gradually causes the governments to lose their profts. Te Seven Sisters Terefore, in order to keep the oil industry proftable, several of these vulnerable countries In 1870, Standard Oil was started by John D. formed the Organization of Petroleum Rockefeller. Rockefeller was a genius at fnding Exporting Countries, or OPEC, to use ways to destroy business competition and soon collective action to keep the price of oil high. grew Standard Oil into a near complete Page 2 | Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries monopoly. Tis and other large monopolies Venezuela 50-50 Proft Split became the target of the progressive movement and Standard Oil was eventually broken up into Despite the oil producing nations receiving very 33 large companies in 1890. Standard oil was little of the total profts, it was still a completely limited to the US, which resulted in them unprecedented amount of money. Additionally, being the world's largest consumer and the seven sisters worked under contracts that producer of oil. During WWII, oil was needed prevented the nations from halting the oil in previously unimaginable quantities. Te industry, and most even prevented the nation Allied powers won, in no small part, because from changing the tax rate. One exception to they could buy it from America or extract it this rule was Venezuela, which was in essentially from Iran. After the war, the US and Britain the same situation as the Middle Eastern began to search for foreign oil, which they nations, despite it being in Latin America. found throughout the Middle East. At the same Terefore, Venezuela, in 1943, pushed for a time, rapid decolonization occurred, which 50-50 Proft Split by increasing taxes. meant that America and Britain couldn't Intuitively you would think that the oil simply colonize these nations. Instead, the US companies would have a strong pushback, but and Britain backed large companies, most of there wasn't. Tis is mostly because it didn't whom were the remainders of the broken up actually decrease their profts. At the time, companies from standard oil. Te large oil America had a law that foreign taxes would be companies, which became known as the seven deducted from their income tax, which meant sisters, struck deals with the oil rich countries that Venezuela’s tax would not decrease profts. where these companies would rent the oil/buy Despite the corporate apathy, Venezuela feared the oil felds and perform the entire process of retaliation because of this move, which fnding, extracting, refning, transporting and motivated them to reach out to other oil rich marketing the oil. Tese companies were well countries to help them negotiate the same equipped to do this work because Rockefeller 50-50 proft agreement. Tese nations were had vertical integration standard oil, a trait that initially unresponsive, but Saudi Arabia soon was passed on to the resulting companies. Tese pushed for the same agreement. America, which companies would split their holding between was more concerned with maintaining a steady several of these countries, which gave them the supply of oil than the taxes, allowed the advantage during negotiations, since they royalties (which was how these nations received always had the option to reject that country's payment since they couldnt levy taxes) to be terms and invest in a different one. Te oil rich counted as a foreign taxes, so they could be nations needed the foreign entities because they deducted from the companies income tax, like were underdeveloped, which meant their Venezuela. Te companies agreed, and Saudi populace had neither the money nor knowledge Arabia also received a 50-50 proft split. Tis required to extract oil. Tis resulted in the oil led to most other oil nations to negotiate the rich nations having almost no control over their same agreement. oil and receiving less than a ffth of the profts. Most nations were placated, with the exception of Iran. Iranian nationalist saw the seven sisters as extensions of colonialism, so they successfully push to nationalize the industry in order to SciMUNC XIV | Page 3 attain full sovereignty. In response, Britain and retaliation similar to the Iranian coup. Tis the US attempted to negotiate deals between changed in 1960 when Venezuela proposed to the seven sisters and Iran, but were ultimately the other oil producing nations that they could unsuccessful. Iran still lacked the ability to collectively bargain. Te ensuing discussions led extract and sell oil by themselves, so the export to the formation of OPEC.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Oil Wars by Mamdouh G
    International Association for Energy Economics | 17 Oil Wars By Mamdouh G. Salameh* The 20th century was truly the century of oil whilst the 21st century could be that of peak oil and the re- sulting oil wars. No other commodity has been so intimately intertwined with national strategies and global politics and power as oil. The close connection between oil and conflict derives from its vital importance to the economy and military power of nations, its irregular geographical distribution and peak oil. In the Cold War years, the battle for the control of oil resources between international oil companies and developing countries was a major incentive and inspiration behind the great drama of de-coloniza- tion and emergent nationalism. Yet oil has also proved that it can be a blessing for some and a curse for others. Since its discovery, it has bedevilled the Middle East and the world at large with conflicts and wars.1 However, with dwindling global oil reserves and fast-rising oil demand, the economics and geopoli- tics of oil suggest that there could be more oil wars in coming years. Oil Is a Leading Cause of War There is no doubt that oil is a leading cause of war. Oil fuels international conflict through four distinct mechanisms: (1) resource wars, in which states try to acquire oil reserves by force; (2) the ex- ternalization of civil wars in oil-producing states (Libya, for an example); (3) conflicts triggered by the prospect of oil-market domination, such as the United States' war with Iraq over Kuwait in 1991; and (4) clashes over control of oil transit routes such as shipping lanes and pipelines (closure of the Strait of Hormuz, for example).
    [Show full text]
  • The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition and the Middle East
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Rowley, Robin; Bichler, Shimshon; Nitzan, Jonathan Working Paper The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition and the Middle East Working Papers, Department of Economics, McGill University, No. 10/89 Provided in Cooperation with: The Bichler & Nitzan Archives Suggested Citation: Rowley, Robin; Bichler, Shimshon; Nitzan, Jonathan (1989) : The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition and the Middle East, Working Papers, Department of Economics, McGill University, No. 10/89, The Bichler and Nitzan Archives, Toronto, http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/134/ This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/157847 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an
    [Show full text]
  • Since the Last Issue of Musings from the Oil Patch on January 19, 2005
    MUSINGS FROM THE OIL PATCH October 24, 2017 Allen Brooks Managing Director Note: Musings from the Oil Patch reflects an eclectic collection of stories and analyses dealing with issues and developments within the energy industry that I feel have potentially significant implications for executives operating and planning for the future. The newsletter is published every two weeks, but periodically events and travel may alter that schedule. As always, I welcome your comments and observations. Allen Brooks Energy Transitions: Issues, Questions And Some Answers The last Musings began with an article titled “Understanding The Energy Transition In Transportation.” It’s not as if we haven’t written extensively about electric vehicles (EV) versus internal combustion vehicles (ICE), because we have. But that is only one aspect of the broader subject of energy transitions. The subject of energy transitions is important, but confusing, so we decided to devote this entire Musings to the topic. Our goal is to The subject of energy transitions frame the issues and their significance. To do that we have to delve is important, but confusing into what the issues mean, along with discussing proposed solutions and their impact on our economy and society. Hopefully, we can provide answers and bring insights to the debate. As a disclaimer, Musings we understand that is a newsletter and not a book – so we need to stay at a high level of discussion. That may disappoint some readers, but the magnitude of the topic means we can’t dig deeply into each sub-issue. We will identify subjects for deeper analyses.
    [Show full text]
  • Oil and Gas News Briefs, April 23, 2020
    Oil and Gas News Briefs Compiled by Larry Persily April 23, 2020 Texas regulators meet May 5 to discuss restrictions on oil output (Reuters; April 21) - Texas state oil and gas regulators in the coming days are poised to decide whether to order larger producers to shut in 20% of their output, wading into global oil politics as the coronavirus crisis slashes demand for crude. The regulators have the authority to limit production — but have not done so in decades. The Texas Railroad Commission, organized in the 1890s to oversee private railroads, grew to encompass other businesses, including oil and gas production and transportation. The commission has a mandate under state law to “prevent waste of the state’s natural resources,” and some producers and one of three elected commissioners argue that the current oversupply of oil and resulting price crash is “economic waste.” They held a hearing last week and are set to meet May 5. The agency first limited output as a way to lift prices after the discovery in the 1930s of the giant East Texas field, which rapidly reached 1 million barrels per day, crashing oil prices from $1.10 to 10 cents per barrel. Shale producers Parsley Energy and Pioneer Natural Resources this month asked the state to consider cutting production 20%, or 1 million barrels per day. The measure has divided the industry in Texas with many of its largest producers and trade organizations opposed and some independent producers in favor. Texas last limited output in the early 1970s, a time when the state’s production started falling into a decades-long decline that eliminated the reason for output caps as it lost market share to other countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Increased Automobile Fuel Efficiency and Synthetic Fuels: Alternatives for Reducing Oil Imports
    Increased Automobile Fuel Efficiency and Synthetic Fuels: Alternatives for Reducing Oil Imports September 1982 NTIS order #PB83-126094 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 82-600603 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 Foreword This report presents the findings of an assessment requested by the Senate Com- mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The study assesses and compares increased automobile fuel efficiency and synthetic fuels production with respect to their potential to reduce conventional oil consumption, and their costs and impacts. Con- servation and fuel switching as a means of reducing stationary oil uses are also con- sidered, but in considerably less detail, in order to enable estimates of plausible future oil imports. We are grateful for the assistance of the project advisory panels and the many other people who provided advice, information, and reviews. It should be understood, how- ever, that OTA assumes full responsibility for this report, which does not necessarily represent the views of individual members of the advisory panels. Director Automobile Fuel Efficiency Advisory Panel Michael J. Rabins, Chairman Wayne State University Maudine R. Cooper* John B. Heywood National Urban League, Inc. Massachusetts Institute of Technology John Ferron John Holden National Automobile Dealers Association Ford Motor Co. Donald Friedman Maryann N. Keller Minicar, Inc. Paine, Webber, Mitchell, & Hutchins Herbert Fuhrman Paul Larsen National Institute for GMC Truck and Coach Division Automobile Service Excellence Robert D. Nell James M. Gill Consumers Union The Ethyl Corp. Kenneth Orski R. Eugene Goodson** German Marshall Fund of the United States Hoover Universal, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Suspected Imperialist Plots and the Chaco War Roniger, Luis; Senkman, Leonardo
    www.ssoar.info Fuel for Conspiracy: Suspected Imperialist Plots and the Chaco War Roniger, Luis; Senkman, Leonardo Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Zeitschriftenartikel / journal article Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Roniger, L., & Senkman, L. (2019). Fuel for Conspiracy: Suspected Imperialist Plots and the Chaco War. Journal of Politics in Latin America, 11(1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X19843008 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY-NC Lizenz (Namensnennung- This document is made available under a CC BY-NC Licence Nicht-kommerziell) zur Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu (Attribution-NonCommercial). For more Information see: den CC-Lizenzen finden Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.de Journal of Politics in j Latin America Research Article Journal of Politics in Latin America 2019, Vol. 11(1) 3–22 Fuel for Conspiracy: ª The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: Suspected Imperialist sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1866802X19843008 Plots and the Chaco War journals.sagepub.com/home/pla Luis Roniger1 and Leonardo Senkman2 Abstract Conspiracy discourse interprets the world as the object of sinister machinations, rife with opaque plots and covert actors. With this frame, the war between Bolivia and Paraguay over the Northern Chaco region (1932–1935) emerges as a paradigmatic conflict that many in the Americas interpreted as resulting from the conspiracy man- oeuvres of foreign oil interests to grab land supposedly rich in oil. At the heart of such interpretation, projected by those critical of the fratricidal war, were partial and extrapolated facts, which sidelined the weight of long-term disputes between these South American countries traumatised by previous international wars resulting in humiliating defeats and territorial losses, and thus prone to welcome warfare to bolster national pride and overcome the memory of past debacles.
    [Show full text]
  • International Deals | PLS
    August 30, 2016 • Volume 08, No. 13 INTERNATIONALDEALS Serving the marketplace with news, analysis and business opportunities Siccar Point buys into Mariner heavy oil project off UK Bashneft sale shelved after Two years after private equity firms Blackstone Energy Partners and Blue Water Lukoil balks, Rosneft wants in Energy teamed up to form North Sea-focused Siccar Point Energy, the E&P firm has Russia indefinitely tabled the finally announced its first acquisition. It is buying 8.9% WI in the Greater Mariner area of auction of its 50.08% stake in mid-sized the UK North Sea from Japan’s JX Nippon, which will retain 20% WI. Statoil operates oil producer Bashneft after expected with 65.1% WI and Dutch non-op Dyas owns the remaining 6%. The area’s US$7.7 bidder Lukoil got cold feet billion Mariner heavy oil development is underway with first oil expected in 2H18. and officials debated whether Siccar Point launched to allow a sale to No. 1 First deal for startup with $500MM in August 2014 with producer Rosneft. The Bashneft sale Blackstone, Blue Water & GIC backing. initial funding of $500 was proposed early this year as a major million from Blackstone, Blue Water and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC. part of Russia’s deficit reduction plan Its strategy focuses on acquiring undercapitalized fields and developments on the UK Continental Shelf as established producers like Total and Shell reduce their footprints. Russia had planned to auction off its The company is led by CEO Jonathan Roger, who was COO of North Sea producer controlling stake as early as September.
    [Show full text]
  • Intro Pages.Indd
    Strategic Petroleum Reserves for Canada by GordonParkland LaxerInstitute, / UniversityParkland of InstituteAlberta • Octoberand Polaris 2007 Institute Strategic Petroleum Reserves for Canada Strategic Petroleum Reserves for Canada This report was published by Gordon Laxer, Parkland Institute and Polaris Institute January 2008. © All rights reserved. Contents Context: Parkland Institute and Polaris Institute: Canadian Energy Policy Research iii Executive Summary 1 Introduction 4 Canada at Risk 5 Why Strategic Petroleum Reserves? 7 Origins 7 Reasons for Establishing SPRs 8 The U.S. SPR 8 The American SPR - not a solution for Canada 9 International Disruptions: Frequency and Intensity 10 History 12 Oil as a Political Weapon 14 Re-nationalizations and Supply 16 Return of Long-term Contracts 17 Protective Value of SPRs 19 Every Country but Canada 20 Urgent Need for Canadian SPRs 22 OPEC countries dominate Canadian imports 22 Location, Size and Function of Canadian SPRs 23 Size 23 Siting the SPRs 25 Uses of Canadian SPRs 26 Conclusion 27 To obtain additional copies of the report or rights to copy it, please contact: Parkland Institute, University of Alberta 11045 Saskatchewan Drive Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E1 Phone: (780) 492-8558 Fax: (780) 492-8738 Web site: www.ualberta.ca/parkland E-mail: [email protected] ISBN ???? 3i Parkland Institute • January 2008 Acknowledgements It was a great pleasure to write this report and get almost instant feedback on the first draft from a very knowledgeable and committed “epistemic community” of intellectual activists. Together, we are creating a new paradigm for moving Canada toward energy independence and conservation. The quality of this report was greatly enhanced by the detailed suggestions and analysis of Kjel Oslund, Erin Weir, and John Dillon.
    [Show full text]
  • Gerinia Country Report
    ENYCLOPEDIA Azurianica Online The Republic of Gerinia Genenral Gerinia is a constitutional republic situated on the Gulf of Guna, located south of Laloku and east of Letos, spanning an area about 85% the size of France or Texas. Due to its inherent advantages, both in relation to its location and available natural resources, Gerinia is, by far, the wealthiest nation in Southern Azuria and, as a result, is also a prominent player in the regional Matapaturi Union. Flag History Anthem: shlu kom borera Gerinia (Kanobi) The people of Gerinia have an extensive ("We hail thee, Gerinia") history, and archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC. Falling Capital Barubu under the control of several regional Largest city Shiban tribal powers, including the Mekalo Official languages English, Kanobi, Gadinu, monarchy (6-9th centuries), the Parunic Xalubo dynasty (10th-14th centuries) and the Taery Empire (15th-19th centuries) the area of modern-day Gerinia remained generally a traditional tribal area for most of modern history. Portuguese explorers were the first Europeans to begin trade in Gerinia, following in the footsteps of Vasco de Gama, who travelled through the area in 1498. However, following the Napoleonic Wars, it was the British who significantly expanded trade with the Gerinian interior. In 1884, a challenge to the British dominance arose when the German Empire claimed the territory as the German colony of Gerinia, and began a steady push inland. However, through primarily diplomatic and economic maneuvering, the British managed to thwart the German plans and in 1885 British claims to Gerinia received international recognition.
    [Show full text]
  • Stains of Empire: Accumulation by Contamination in the Gulf by Michael Hennessy Picard & Tina Beigi
    Stains of Empire: accumulation by contamination in the Gulf By Michael Hennessy Picard & Tina Beigi Abstract Since the discovery of oil in the Gulf, the military-industrial complex has expanded the scale and scope of capital accumulation. We argue in this paper that the corollary to capital accumulation is contamination of human ecology, cannibalizing the daily life of many people having to live in the rubble of war and the spills of oil. Over the course of a century, surveillance from above and extraction down below fueled successive rounds of oil wars. Militarized for the purpose of extraction, the oil states of the Gulf have become wastelands littered by chemically contaminated waters, and massive oil spills. The history of war-making and oil drilling of postcolonial Iraq constitutes our case study. Inspired by Ecological Marxism, the concept of accumulation by contamination provides a critical framework to show how Energy Imperialism contributes to the asymmetric distribution of energy and toxic waste between corporate bodies and social metabolisms in the Middle East. La découverte du pétrole au Moyen-Orient a contribué à l’éclosion et à l’enrichissement massif du complexe militaro-industriel. Le corollaire de cette accumulation de capital est la contamination de la région, cannibalisant la vie quotidienne de populations entières vivant parmi les décombres de la guerre et les déversements d’hydrocarbure. Militarisés à des fins d’extraction, les territoires des États pétroliers du Golfe sont irrémédiablement contaminés par un double héritage : la pollution militaire d’une part, et la pollution pétrolière de l’autre. Le cas emblématique de l’Iraq postcolonial illustre ce double héritage.
    [Show full text]
  • Oil and the Iraq War: How the United States Could Have Expected to Benefit, and Might Still
    Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Political Science Faculty Publications Department of Political Science 2005 “Oil and the Iraq War: How the United States Could Have Expected to Benefit, and Might Still John S. Duffield Georgia State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/political_science_facpub Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Duffield, John S. “Oil and the aqIr War: How the United States Could Have Expected to Benefit, and Might Still,” Middle East Review of International Affairs 9, no. 2 (June 2005): 109-41. http://www.rubincenter.org/ 2005/06/duffield-2005-06-07/. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Political Science at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. OIL AND THE IRAQ WAR: HOW THE UNITED STATES COULD HAVE EXPECTED TO BENEFIT, AND MIGHT STILL By John S. Duffield The Bush Administration has offered a variety of justifications for its decision to go to war against Iraq. Initially, it emphasized the threat to U.S. national security posed by Iraq’s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction and ties to international terrorists. More recently, it has stressed the need to promote democracy in the Middle East. Along the way, it has also highlighted Saddam Hussein’s despotic rule and human rights abuses. Conspicuously absent from these justifications has been any discussion of the possible oil-related benefits.
    [Show full text]
  • The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition and the Middle East
    Department of Economics Working Paper 10/89 THE ARMADOLIAR-PETRODOLLAR COALITION AND THE MIDDLE EAST Robin Rowley, Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan Robin Rowley, McGill University Shimshon Bichler, The Hebrew University Jonathan Nitzan, McGill University, Department of Economics Working Papers are drafts of work in progress and should not be cited without the permission of the authors. Requests for additional copies should be addressed to the authors, care of Department of Economics McGill University 855 Sherbrooke Street, West Montreal, Que. H3A 2T7 Telephone: (514) 398-4850 The financial assistance of le fonds FCAR pour l'aide et le soutien h la recherche is gratefully acknowledged CONTENTS PAGE Abstract ...................................................... 1 . Introduction: The 'Military Bias Paradox' ..................... 2 . Exporting Institutional Waste ................................. 2.1 The Era of Arms Exports .................................. 2.2 Global Income Redistribution and Armament Markets ........ 3 . The Seven Sisters and Middle East Oil: From Access Rights to Pricing Might ........................... 3.1 The 'Free Flow' Era ...................................... 3.2 Toward a 'Limited Flow' .................................. 4. The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition .......................... 4.1 Armadollar-Petrodollar Cycles ............................ 4.2 Armaprofits. Petroprofits and the Coalition .............. 4.3 The Armadollar-Petrodollar Coalition and U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1970s ....................
    [Show full text]