RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:RE:KEEPING AN EYE ON THE WORLDSham
Forget to give you something to digest as this seems more credible compared to the sorcces you follow/
Tensions were already high between the two countries because Kuwait was producing more oil than its agreed upon OPEC quota, they did this to keep prices low. This perturbed Sadaam; Iraq was financially indebted to Kuwait after procuring loans to pay for their war with Iran in the 1980s. Iraq believed the lower oil prices caused by Kuwait overproducing cost them an estimated, “$14 billion a year, or far more than Kuwait had lent Iraq during Iraq’s confrontation with Iran.” Sadaam added, “We cannot tolerate this type of economic warfare.” The lower prices of oil made it difficult, if almost impossible, for Iraq to repay Kuwait for their outstanding loan. In all probability, this was a calculated move on the Kuwaitis part to negotiate a better financial settlement with Iraq.
In addition to the aforementioned economic problems, the dispute you’re referring to exasperated the confrontation. It centered around the Rumaila/Ratqa oil field that shares a border between Iraq and Kuwait. “Tectonically, these two oil fields are located within a single geographical block (like a footprint) straddling both sides of the Iraq-Kuwait boundary; and Iraq possesses a much larger share of the total oil reserves than Kuwait.” It’s important to visualize this oil field--it’s not separate. Here’s a good picture.
Since the oil field was discovered by BP in 1953, it’s been maintained jointly by both Iraq and Kuwaiti. The drill sites were so close, “Iraqi border guards would come over to the Kuwaiti oil wells occasionally and shared the rig workers’ lunches.”
This field was and still is crucial to the economic prosperity of Iraq since it contains the larger share. “[It] provides 60 percent of Iraq’s oil output,” and is believed to hold, “14 percent of the world’s known oil reserves.” This is a staggering amount of oil to be controlled in such a small area.
During the war with Iran, “Iraqi oil drilling operations in Rumaila declined while Kuwait’s operations increased. In 1989, Iraq accused Kuwait of using ‘advanced drilling techniques’ to exploit oil from its share of the Rumaila field. Iraq estimated that US $2.4 billion worth of Iraqi oil was stolen by Kuwait and demanded compensation.” And the Kuwaitis did have the American drilling expertise to accomplish this because, “They purchased the Santa Fe International Corporation in 1981.” This provided the capability, but did they?
Unfortunately, as has been previously noted by another poster, there was never a definitive study to either confirm or deny this. I’ve read plenty of circumstantial evidence to support the claim that Kuwait drilled into the Iraqi side of oil field, but none of it is properly sourced by the author and relies on conjecture and speculation.
However, American drillers denied that Kuwait would need to incorporate this technology saying, “Oil flows easily from the Rumalia field [to the Ratqa field] without any need for these techniques.” Lastly it should be noted that a, “Senior vice president of OGE Drilling Inc., a Houston company that provided oilfield supervisors and workers for Kuwait in the same area, said he was ‘positive’ all of the weeks his employees drilled and operated ran vertically down to the Rumalia pay zone. ‘That field crosses the border in north Kuwait,’ he added. ‘Iraqis were drilling on one side, and Kuwaitis on the other side.’” Now of course no company would come out and say they were stealing from Iraq so this information should be looked at with a healthy skepticism.
Sources:
Guo, Rongxing. Territorial Disputes and Conflict Management: The Art of Avoiding War. Pg. 40.
Hayes, Thomas. Confrontation in the Gulf: The Oilfield Lying Below the Iraq-Kuwait Dispute. New York Times.
Tucker, Spencer. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts. Pg. 104
clubhouse19 wrote: And you get that from where ??
Like I said sham...do a little more investigation before you make yourself look totally as a conspiratist least of all uninformed.
And now you believe saddam because he says so even after he owed tons of money to Kuwait for his war agants Iran ?
I guess the motive for that declaration is quiite clear !
Too funny ...but keep it up..you may have something stick yet..
I though you more slightly more inquisitive than that but seeing that you believe an ex politician s like Clark...I am not surprised.
Shamhorish wrote: I DO NOT WANT TO GET INTO POLITICS but do you know who pushed Sadam to go to Kuwait,, ?
it was us, as saddam said to us about his intention as Kuwait was steeling iraq oil by drilling inclind wells under iraq kuwait borders so in surface they are driliing in kuwait teretory but in reality undeneeth reaching iraq oil
us said do what you have to do, it is not our busoness and refused to resolve the issue
saddam trierd to get reboursed for stolen oil (by us drilling companies) kuwait refused
it is all us work,, they planed it and pulled saddam to attack kuwait as they planed ukraie russia war and pulled putin into ukranie war after putin talked about us (biden son) labs in ukranie developing viruses
it is very dirty business n the surface us looks as if protector, in reality, where ever there is a disaster, us is behind it, planed it so they look innocents