Sure doesn't look good at all. Exports by Iraq down around 30% between Sep/04 and Aug/05. Wonder if it got worse or better since then (I remember Chalaby getting high praise in Sep/Oct-05 time frame for protecting pipelines much better).
But in any case, citizens (the "owners") deserve what they need before any is sent out. Mainly because it can only cause big trouble if they can't get any.
And the main issue for me is "subsidy" as the excuse for quadruling prices IN Iraq.
Allowing that here a gas/oil refinery worker makes at least $70. per DAY (undoubtedly low-balled) and a 20 days per month work load, workers here earn at least 40 TIMES what a similar worker there earns. And transport costs are next to zero in Iraq compared to here.
So a current Iraq internal price of $.05 per gallon sounds sensible to me. Sure they can make much more $$$ selling it outside the country. But I'd like to see how they keep control of the people if they try that.
>Doesn't look good:
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http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/ipsr/t314.xls>
>(Not sure how reliable those numbers are - the most recent are Aug 2005)
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>>Actually can't remember if it's the IMF or the World Bank, but I don't think it matters.
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>>According to CNN the agreement is to "end the subsidization" of oil and gas within Iraq.
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>>CNN's story said that 50% of Iraqis are unemployed and the average wage of those who work is $35. per MONTH.
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>>Given the average wage it hardly looks to me that there is a "subsidy" going on. Surely if the workers making the gas/oil are earning $35. per month the cost of production has got to be but a penny or teo per gallon!
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>>So I'd say that the real objective has more to do with freeing up more oil/gas for export, at vastly higher prices of course. There would be outright revolt if the people in a major gas/oil producing country couldn't get gas/oil for themselves. So rather than simply take it away from the people to ship out they lower the "demand" by making it unaffordable.
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>>I've never yet seen a place where either the World Bank or the IMF did ANY good and it looks like their record is intact with this one.
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>>Interesting how "the oil belongs to the people of Iraq" is morphing. But it wasn't about the oil < s >
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>>Looks like 2006 will be a banner year for the screwing of the people.
