Iran wants UN recognised Iraq govt at Opec

Financial Times ^ | 4/21/03

[areafiftyone]

TEHRAN (Reuters) - 21 Apr 2003 07:56

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh says only a government recognised by the United Nations could represent Iraq at an OPEC meeting in Vienna this week, a newspaper has quoted him as saying.

A former Iraqi general who says he is deputy governor of postwar Baghdad said on Sunday he would lead a delegation to the OPEC meeting.

"Only a government recognised by the United Nations as Iraq's legal government can represent Iraq in OPEC," the Aftab-e Yazd quoted him as saying. "The U.S. administration cannot represent Iraq at OPEC."

OPEC is due to discuss production limits at the April 24 meeting to curb feared price drops below $20 a barrel in the second quarter when demand is at its lowest. Zanganeh said the cartel should work to keep prices within the agreed $22 to $28 range.

"It seems that such a will exists at OPEC and everyone is in favour of not seeing prices slump," he said.

But those countries who had over-stepped their OPEC production quotas should be the first to cut output, he said.

"All those that have increased their output in an unusual way, they should also be first to decrease their production," Zanganeh said.

[Numbers Guy]

Fine, that means Iraq will no longer be a member of OPEC and can use its production to break the cartel.

[AdA$tra]

Oh, we forgot to tell you. Oil prices are going DOOOOOWN! The new Iraq may or may not be interested in OPEC. The Saudis have to be freaking out. We no longer need their bases or their oil. We only get 8% fron SA now as it is.

[Reeses]

$22 to $28 range

The historical average price of oil is in the $19 range. OPEC is going to be hard pressed to keep oil prices that high during a world wide economic slump, and with Iraq coming online first at 3 million barrels/day.

[OldBlueEyes338]

Sorry OPEC, monopolies are eventually eliminated. It is called basic economics!

[kinghorse]

The US is tied up because deflationary oil prices will ruin many loans made by the multinationals. The salutory inflationary effect on the US economy (driven by demand arising from more non-discretioney energy dollars being freed up on the consumer) will serve same multinational banks because it will help to stop the death spiral in interest rates. Remember, low interest rates are useless if no one is borrowing. And no one is borrowing right now because there aren't any good returns on projects to be found. It should be interesting. Personally I don't think enough things have been destroyed or able bodied male workforce displaced (as reservists) for a period sufficient to revive the slack demand economy. My prognosis. More war.

[RicocheT]

For the last 200 years, the world has been operating under the nation state system. Each nation is sovereign and a country is recognized by other countries when it has a de facto government, not de jure.

No UN or world body is needed to recognize a country. Each nation merely accepts an ambassador from the new government or other representative. You can ignore or set an embargo against another country, but you then lose out on trade or commerce with that country.

US policy is to set up a democratic, secular government in Iraq. With an ocean of oil, ignore Iraq at your peril.

[Paleo Conservative]

We could get Japan, Australia, and possibly South Korea to buy Iraqi oil. Once Iraq's oil starts moving in quantity, OPEC will try to come to Iraqis. Anyway, what is Iran going to do about it once Iraq's oil fields come online near full capacity? Attack Iraq's oil export facilities?

[RonF]

Fine. OPEC sets whatever prices it wants to. Iraq sets whatever prices it wants to. Iraq doesn't need OPEC's permission to sell oil. What's OPEC going to do about it?