Posted on 11/06/2006 6:56:57 AM PST by thackney
TOKYO - Fresh from a serious setback in Iran, where it lost its controlling stake in the huge Azadegan oilfield, Japan has launched diplomatic efforts in earnest to secure petroleum in neighboring Iraq.
Recently, Tokyo invited Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani to Japan and they issued a joint communique pledging Japanese assistance for improvements to the oil and gas infrastructure in the war-torn country. Japan specifically pledged to provide loans of about 20 billion yen (US$170 million) to Iraq as part of the $3.5 billion aid package already committed.
Iraq is believed to have the world's third-largest oil reserves, after Saudi Arabia and Iran. Despite its huge potential, however, the country is relatively unexplored because of years of sanctions and war. Only a quarter of its 80 discovered fields are pumping oil at present. By extending loans and increasing involvement in the reconstruction process, Tokyo is hoping it can acquire a good share of these massive oil reserves.
Japan imports almost all of its oil, and nearly 90% of that comes from the Middle East. In a significant setback for its energy-security policy, Japan agreed last month to give up its controlling interest in Iran's massive Azadegan oilfield - one of the world's largest, with an estimated 26 billion barrels of reserves - amid international tensions over Tehran's nuclear program.
After sustained discussions on the topic, Japan's Inpex Corp and Iran's National Iranian Oil Co reached a basic agreement reducing the Japanese developer's stake in the southwestern oilfield to 10%, down from 75%. Inpex is also to renounce its status as the operator. This development has thrown the Japanese government's aim - of ensuring energy security through Japanese-own companies' increased foreign output - into jeopardy.
At present, Iraqi oil accounts for only a minuscule...
(Excerpt) Read more at atimes.com ...
Good read. The MSM in Europe or North America didn't seem to pick up on this much.
While it was stated that the Japanese have some troops in Iraq, even that is downplayed by some; since after all, this would not fit into the liberal MSM and political picture of "we're doing this alone".
good post--read later
Japan... quickly becoming one of our closest allies.
The Brits will always be there, the Aussies sure have shown their honor and earned our respect, promise coming out of some of the E.Europeans, but I'm more than happy with the way things are going with Japan.
Just thought of an added bonus... this will make it MUCH easier to bring Japan in on the eventual Iranian sanctions.
Excellent. The chips keep falling into place. We must do everything we can to strenghten Japan. And pin down the Iran-Russia-North Korea-China alliance.
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