Robin Pagnamenta
The Iraqi Oil Minister will face questions from parliamentarians in Baghdad today over the first big auction of oilfield contracts since the 2003 United States-led invasion.
Hussain al-Shahristani, who is due to announce winners for the first round of deals next week, will defend his decision to allow international oil companies, including BP and Shell, to compete openly for the contracts, which could be worth billions of dollars in the long term.
His appearance at a parliamentary committee hearing in Baghdad this morning comes after concern from some politicians that the contracts are not in Iraqs best interests and will expose the country to exploitation by Western oil companies. The Oil Minister must convince us why the Government should have spent $8 billion [£4.9 billion] to develop oilfields, but then offers them to foreign firms like pieces of cake, Jabir Khalifa Jabir, secretary of the parliaments oil and gas committee, said.
Senior executives from Iraqs South Oil Company (Soc), which produces the bulk of Iraqs crude, and the Iraq Drilling Company are also likely to appear at the hearing. Soc is rebelling against the contracts because they include fields in which Iraq has invested huge sums since the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003. A total of 32 foreign oil companies have qualified and are competing for the service contracts, under which they will be paid a fixed rate to develop Iraqs six most productive oilfields and two undeveloped gasfields. The fields contain an estimated 43 billion barrels of Iraqs total proven reserves of 115 billion barrels.
The auction is a part of Iraqs drive to more than double production of oil and gas to six million barrels per day within five years, from 2.3 million barrels now. Iraq, which has the worlds third-largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Iran, needs oil revenues to pay for reconstruction.
BP is bidding for the giant Rumaila field in the south. Shell is bidding for the Kirkuk field in the north and the Akkas gasfield close to the border with Syria. Rival companies from China, the US, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Italy, Turkey, Russia and France are want to develop the fields.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
