Comments on: Desertification destroys Ninawa villages http://www.iraqoilreport.com/politics/desertification-destroys-ninawa-villages-2002/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=desertification-destroys-ninawa-villages The Source to Iraq, Its People and Its Oil Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:18:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Cristina http://www.iraqoilreport.com/politics/desertification-destroys-ninawa-villages-2002/#comment-16340 Cristina Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:37:27 +0000 http://www.iraqoilreport.com/?p=2002#comment-16340 One sometiemes has the impression that the Iraqui people might have to wait too long to see the benefits from their own resources. Somehow, the impression is that money passes through too many hands and maybe by the time it should arrive to where it is needed most there might be nothing left. Using very plain logics but maybe doing the two following could be a good idea: 1 - Investments in the oil industry be planned in such a way that they become self-financing as soon as possible. E.g. instead of drilling and completing 30 wells and only after two years discovering that something somewhere down the pipeline doesn't work after having blocked and spent $150 mill for a couple of years, why not drill one, put it into production in 3 months time and finance the rest with production? A 5 mill contract perhaps, paid off in 3 or 4 months...? 2 - Production from each specific well, carefully monitored and metered, should see a percentage of its revenues go DIRECTLY to specific development projects. And public accounting should be made precisely public: down to the penny, each payment made, each service or item invoiced, should be made available for public follow up via the web. Iraq would be back on its feet in five years. You have the intelligence and the knowledge. But there are too many sharks swimming around that do not mind too much at all about the country or its people. Abdullah included. This is just as a matter of justice and compassion: those two very distinct but perfectly compatible concepts. One sometiemes has the impression that the Iraqui people might have to wait too long to see the benefits from their own resources. Somehow, the impression is that money passes through too many hands and maybe by the time it should arrive to where it is needed most there might be nothing left.

Using very plain logics but maybe doing the two following could be a good idea:

1 - Investments in the oil industry be planned in such a way that they become self-financing as soon as possible. E.g. instead of drilling and completing 30 wells and only after two years discovering that something somewhere down the pipeline doesn't work after having blocked and spent $150 mill for a couple of years, why not drill one, put it into production in 3 months time and finance the rest with production? A 5 mill contract perhaps, paid off in 3 or 4 months...?

2 - Production from each specific well, carefully monitored and metered, should see a percentage of its revenues go DIRECTLY to specific development projects. And public accounting should be made precisely public: down to the penny, each payment made, each service or item invoiced, should be made available for public follow up via the web.

Iraq would be back on its feet in five years. You have the intelligence and the knowledge. But there are too many sharks swimming around that do not mind too much at all about the country or its people. Abdullah included.

This is just as a matter of justice and compassion: those two very distinct but perfectly compatible concepts.

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