This is really great news. You know, I hear how some people are angry about us not getting paid back by the Iraqis out of their oil funds being sold to the Chinese, but I will be glad when our Soldiers can pack up and leave with a job well done, and with the respect of the people of Iraq who know we didn’t do it for the oil, we did it for Freedom. God bless our military.
Well, I agree. Allow me to add that Iraq is in possession of at least 5% of the world's proven reserves, plus a trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Saudi Arabia has 6% of world reserves. Current Iraqi extraction is approaching pre-war levels, roughly 2.3 million barrels per day. Their extraction technology is antiquated, with modernization coming on line as we speak. It is estimated that they could realize a 30% increase just from the addition of more efficient tech, this would add about 800,000 barrels per day to the world market. No matter who they sell the oil to, it will result in downward pressure on world crude prices. This is part of what is happening with crude prices now. In the last year and a half Iraqi production has gone up about a million barrels per day.
No exploration for new oil has occurred in Iraq for 30 years, rest assured there will be large finds. The downward pressure on world crude prices could save the US billions, possibly enough over time to pay us back for our trouble.