BP chief fears US will carve up Iraqi oil riches | UK news | The Guar…
Length: • 5 mins
Annotated by Rachel
The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian
Support the Guardian
Fund independent journalism with $5 per month
Lord Browne, chief executive of BP and one of New Labour's favourite industrialists, has warned Washington not to carve up Iraq for its own oil companies in the aftermath of any future war.
The comments from the most senior European oil executive, who has impeccable political connections in the UK, will be seen by anti-war protesters as further proof that US president George Bush has already made his mind up about an early attack.
They will also serve to underline concern that the US is primarily concerned with seizing control of Saddam Hussein's oil and handing it over to companies such as ExxonMobil rather than destroying his weapons of mass destruction.
Britain's biggest company is reviewing what impact a regime change in Baghdad would have on its own business and global crude supplies.
Both London and Washington have been lobbied by the UK oil giant, which is concerned that European companies could be left out in the cold.
"We have let it be known that the thing we would like to make sure, if Iraq changes regime, is that there should be a level playing field for the selection of oil companies to go in there if they're needed to do the work there," said Lord Browne yesterday at a briefing on the company's results.
Lord Browne said that most exploration for new supplies had halted there when the Iraqis nationalised their industry. But he believed there was a plenty of oil and gas waiting to be discovered in Iraq and that BP should be in prime position to capitalise because it had found most of the country's oil before being thrown out in the 1970s.
BP said it had had no contact with Baghdad since 1989. Iraq's reserves amount to 115bn barrels of oil, making it the biggest source of oil in the world behind Saudi Arabia.
Lord Browne's views will be listened to carefully in Downing Street because the BP executive team has such close links with the UK government that it was once dubbed Blair Petroleum. A number of former BP executives, such as Lord Simon, have been seconded into Whitehall while one of Mr Blair's personal assistants, Anji Hunter, joined Lord Browne's team.
Impending war with Iraq has given a financial boost to BP and other western oil firms by driving up the price of oil to $27 per barrel.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I was hoping you would consider taking the step of supporting the Guardian’s journalism.
From Elon Musk to Rupert Murdoch, a small number of billionaire owners have a powerful hold on so much of the information that reaches the public about what’s happening in the world. The Guardian is different. We have no billionaire owner or shareholders to consider. Our journalism is produced to serve the public interest – not profit motives.
And we avoid the trap that befalls much US media – the tendency, born of a desire to please all sides, to engage in false equivalence in the name of neutrality. While fairness guides everything we do, we know there is a right and a wrong position in the fight against racism and for reproductive justice. When we report on issues like the climate crisis, we’re not afraid to name who is responsible. And as a global news organization, we’re able to provide a fresh, outsider perspective on US politics – one so often missing from the insular American media bubble.
Around the world, readers can access the Guardian’s paywall-free journalism because of our unique reader-supported model. That’s because of people like you. Our readers keep us independent, beholden to no outside influence and accessible to everyone – whether they can afford to pay for news, or not.
If you can, please consider supporting us just once from $1, or better yet, support us every month with a little more. Thank you.
Betsy Reed
Editor, Guardian US
Contribution frequency
One-time
Monthly
Annual
Contribution amount
$5 per month
$7 per month
Other
Explore more on these topics
Related stories
BP chief faces first major test over death of worker at Texas refinery
Arts and business leaders voice backing for former BP chief
BP chief loses legal battle with newspaper
BP chief resigns as private life made public
Leak reveals ministers' fears over Iraqi contracts
BP denies seeking Iraq help from Blair
Yamani fears war could cut off Iraqi oil forever
BP chief faces accusations of buck-passing
More from Headlines
US politicsLeftwing Democrats try to block Biden Israel aid by using human rights law
Exclusive‘It’s an abomination’: battle brewing over proposed US laws to protect pesticide companies
Fraud trial Eric Trump says he was not involved with documents at heart of trial
FranceBlockbuster show on Genghis Khan opens after fight with China
Mini moonNasa spacecraft discovers asteroid orbited by its own tiny satellite
OhioState purged 26,000 voters days before abortion referendum deadline
Frick PittsburghMuseum criticized for postponing Islamic art exhibit due to war
'Gross breach of norms'DeSantis plays at being president with his own Israel-Hamas foreign policy
South CarolinaDriver tries to crash through gates of nuclear plant
So long, SeattleAmazon founder Jeff Bezos says he is moving to Miami
Most viewed
Most viewed Across the Guardian
LiveIsrael-Hamas war live: IDF says it carried out airstrike on Gaza ambulance; Netanyahu rejects ceasefire calls
Snow White and the depressing culture war over Disney’s ‘woke’ remake
Court rejects Ivanka Trump claim she is too busy to testify during school week
Democrat says voting to expel Santos would have set dangerous precedent
Ohio purged 26,000 voters days before abortion referendum deadline
‘I only realised it was the first lesbian kiss after it aired’: the trailblazers who changed TV for ever
‘It’s an abomination’: battle brewing over proposed US laws to protect pesticide companies
My friends are in debt but won’t rein in their lifestyle. And I feel pressured to keep up
LiveDemocrats grow nervous over Israel’s conduct in Gaza as Senate leader vows not to consider House security bill – live
‘Kind of weird but loving’: the intense bond between Friends stars that made Matthew Perry $30m
Most viewed in UK news
Two women charged over paraglider pictures at pro-Palestinian march in London
Tory MP Bob Stewart guilty of racially abusing activist
The trolleying PM: a guide to the language of Boris Johnson’s No 10
Fears of widespread flooding in England and Wales in wake of Storm Ciarán
Watford Gap: M1 services that hosted Stones and Beatles faces demolition
Somerset man banned from wearing gimp suit and writhing on ground
Covid inquiry evidence about leaders’ petty preoccupations fills me with fury
How shutting women out of decision-making hampered UK Covid response
Digested week: BST, Becks, Big Ange, Boris – and my new book!
Stephen Lawrence murder suspect ‘said he had killed before’
Most commentedThe trolleying PM: a guide to the language of Boris Johnson’s No 10 John Crace
