Iraqi Prime Minister Backs Obama Troop Exit Plan  

The Huffington Post reports that Iraqi PM Maliki is backing Barack Obama's proposal to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months (assuming they are allowed to stay past the expiry of the UN mandate at the end of the year of course) - Iraqi Prime Minister Backs Obama Troop Exit Plan.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told a German magazine he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's proposal that U.S. troops should leave Iraq within 16 months.

In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible. "U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."

It is the first time he has backed the withdrawal timetable put forward by Obama.

Fox News reports that the no bid contracts that were awarded to western oil companies may not be as easy a way to grab Iraqi oil reserves as first thought, with the Iraqi government limiting the terms to one year.

The Iraqi government is planning to limit no-bid contracts being negotiated with several major oil companies to one year to avoid overlap with longer-term deals expected to be signed next June, a senior Oil Ministry official said Thursday.

The no-bid contracts have sparked controversy because several major Western firms have been involved in the discussions. There are concerns that granting such contracts to Western oil companies could feed perceptions that U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein to grab the country's natural resources.

The Guardian notes that the Iraq oil law remains stalled, and that the no-bid contracts have been watered down in another way, with the government proposing to pay fees for services rendered rather than handing over any share of ownership - Oil industry eyes Iraq investment with caution. They've obviously learnt a lot over the past 7 decades.

The oil industry is cautious about Iraq's decision to offer foreign companies long-term contracts to develop its largest producing fields, with any windfalls seen as distant and likely to go to a select few firms.

Earlier this month, Iraq said it would offer development contracts aimed at boosting output at six fields by a combined 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd). The plan is aimed at helping the country lift output to 4.5 million bpd by 2013 from about 2.3 million bpd now.

But Iraq's decision to pay companies a fee for extracting the oil, rather than sell them an interest in fields, dashed hopes of near-term windfalls and may delay big rises in crude production.

"The oil companies don't like service contracts. They prefer production sharing agreements because they are more lucrative, and also they can book the reserves," Muhammad-Ali Zainy, senior energy economist at the Centre for Global Energy Studies said.

Like neighbours Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Iraq threw out the IOCs in 1970s and a deep hostility to foreign investment in oil endures in the region. Also, some Iraqis believe the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was launched to secure oil.

More than 86%, last time I checked.