Turning Another Corner in Iraq
[Guest post by DRJ]
It’s easy to oversimplify important issues but if I could pick one development I want to see in Iraq, it would be this:
“Iraqi oil output has risen in a ‘dramatic’ way in recent months, hitting its highest monthly level in about 3 1/2 years in November, the International Energy Agency said Friday.
The Paris-based agency, in its monthly oil market report, cited improving security as it reported that Iraqi production rose to 2.32 million barrels per month in November, a slight increase from October and up from 1.9 million barrels per month in January.
The increase in output resulted largely from “more regular” pipeline crude shipments from fields around the northern city of Kirkuk to Ceyhan in Turkey, the IEA said.
***
Iraqi output increased by 330,000 barrels per day from August to November alone, the agency said.Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that removed Saddam from power, Iraqi production has mostly hovered between 1.7 million and 2 million barrels per day, the IEA said. “
This is like winning the trifecta: More security, more money, and (with time) more jobs. And more oil is as good for the rest of the world as it is for Iraq.
— DRJ
This can’t possibly be true. After all, Harry Reid said the war was lost last April and he certainly would know. Wouldn’t he ?
MIke K (693378) — 12/14/2007 @ 10:18 pmIt’s amazing how much oil you can bring to market if you keep guys from blowing up your pipelines.
Another Drew (8018ee) — 12/14/2007 @ 11:05 pmThe layers and layers of editors failed.
Iraq produces about 2.32 million barrels of oil per day, not per month.
A 330,000 barrel increase in daily production of oil equals an increase of 9.9 million barrels per month.
Perfect Sense (b6ec8c) — 12/14/2007 @ 11:23 pmDon’t they like owe us a few barrels by now?
Is there some apparent reason that this nation can’t at least recoup expenses for what we did FOR their country?
I mean aside from purchasing their oil at highly inflated/speculated prices?
Come on folks, a years worth at ZERO cost should be able to provide relief at the pump for us right?
TC (1cf350) — 12/15/2007 @ 12:36 amWe came for the oil.
David Ehrenstein (5f9866) — 12/15/2007 @ 6:33 amIn that case, we got a really shitty return on the deal. Wouldn’t it have been a lot cheaper to invade Mexico or Alberta instead?
Xrlq (b65a72) — 12/15/2007 @ 6:47 amWe don’t need to invade either to get what we want.
David Ehrenstein (5f9866) — 12/15/2007 @ 6:53 amAh, so that’s why we’re enjoying all that dirt-cheap gasoline. Thanks for clearing that up.
Xrlq (b65a72) — 12/15/2007 @ 7:08 amThe money isn’t lining our pockets, Xrlq. It was never meant to. We are, in the immortal words of Barbara Bush, the “little people.”
David Ehrenstein (5f9866) — 12/15/2007 @ 7:17 amI think David is seeing the light, because Democrats repeatedly blocked the USA from developing its own oil resources, the USA had to go to Iraq to get oil.
Thanks Democrats – what your next great plan? Health care?
Perfect Sense (b6ec8c) — 12/15/2007 @ 7:45 amAh, will the secret plan be revealed shortly by the NY Times, David? This is all so confusing. We came for the oil, but we are getting no benefit. What does it all mean?
daleyrocks (906622) — 12/15/2007 @ 7:49 amthank you, drj, for distilling the entire iraq involvement down to one core metric, oil production, which surely trumps lives lost, suicide bombs, etc., in importance. most of the regained production is coming from the northern kurdish area around kirkuk, where the sunni v. shia problem takes a back seat to the kurds v. turkey problem, and turkey hasn’t attacked – yet. joining the call for low-cost oil for america, after all, somebody here should benefit from this war other than halliburton shareholders.
assistant devil's advocate (6dee72) — 12/15/2007 @ 7:58 amBut, hey, at least she didn’t vow to take things away from us for our own good.
Rob Crawford (8578d9) — 12/15/2007 @ 9:10 amCommenter 3 got it. It’s 2.3 million barrels a day. How did those crack editors and reporters at the AP miss such a glaring error. The discrepancy was so obvious with a reference later in the story where they claim that production is up 330,000 barrels a day.
geno8808 (796a21) — 12/16/2007 @ 8:59 am