Japan's Inpex Corporation booted out of Iraq

Editor's note: Japan is a US vassal in the Pacific and as such ever since the end of WWII, Japan has been forced into obedience including following the US on further sanctions against Russia that have failed. These economic sanctions have hurt the US more than Russia, and now Japan is going to feel the economic pain as Japan's Inpex Corporation is booted out of Iraq. Japan is following US economic dictates against Russia with Japan's Hanako Jimi, state minister in charge of the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo recently announced that Japan is thinking of banning Russia from the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo because of "Russia's invasion of Ukraine." Apparently, the Japanese do not understand it wasn't a "Russian invasion of Ukraine." These sanctions against Russia by the US and Japan continue as the US military continues to oversee the pillaging of Syrian oil. 

 
The Complexities of Clamping Down on Russian Sanctions

_________

  
Source: Great Game India

Russia Takes Control Of Iraq's Biggest Oil Discovery For 20 Years

November 30, 2023

After Iraq's Oil Ministry approved Inpex, the big oil corporation of Japan, to sell its share of Iraq's biggest oil discovery, 'Block 10', Russia is set to take control of it for 20 years.

Iraq's Eridu oil field is estimated to have reserves of seven to ten billion barrels based on preliminary estimations. Speaking exclusively to OilPrice.com last week, senior Russian oil sector insiders stated that the genuine figure might be as much as 50% higher than the higher figure of that bracket. Either way, Russia and its main geopolitical ally, China, seek to control the entirety of the largest oil discovery in Iraq in the previous 20 years, the Eridu field, which is located in the Block 10 exploration and development zone. According to an exclusive interview with OilPrice.com, Moscow, and Beijing want to "end [the] Western hegemony in the Middle East [that] will become the decisive chapter in the West's final demise" and to keep Baghdad closer to the new Iran-Saudi axis. This is in line with their goal of keeping the West out of energy deals in Iraq. The large Eridu discovery is located in Block 10 region; this week, Iraq's Oil Ministry approved Inpex, the big oil corporation of Japan, a prominent ally of the United States, to sell its 40% share in the territory. This allows Lukoil to acquire complete control over the oil-rich zone.

Throughout Block 10, Lukoil has owned 60% of the shares, with the Japanese company owning the remaining 40%. But since March, it has been trying to figure out how to drive Inpex—and the last vestiges of Western influence in the region—out of the Block. In March, Block 10's reserves, comprising the whole Eridu field, were officially approved for development by Iraq's state-owned Dhi Qar Oil Company (DQOC). Block 10 is located in southeast Iraq, a short distance south of the massive oil reserves in and around Nassirya and about 120 km west of the main oil export route from Basra. Although the enormous Eridu field had not yet been discovered, the contract for Block 10—awarded to Lukoil and Inpex in 2012 during Iraq's fourth licensing round—gives a comparatively high compensation per barrel rate of US$5.99. Following some initial tests, the Iraqi Oil Ministry stated in 2021 that it anticipated peak production from Eridu to be at least 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) by 2027. Given the delays in development since 2021, the date at which that will be achieved is now towards the end of 2029. Senior Russian oil industry sources exclusively spoke to OilPrice.com last week and believe peak production could run at least 100,000 bpd higher than the previous figure, contingent on whether the new reserves estimates are correct.

Back in 2021, before the United States ended its "combat mission" in Iraq at the end of December 2021, at the very least, it was obvious that Washington was aware of China’s and Russia's long-term plans in the nation, as well as how Iraq was manipulating the United States. "It's […] clear that certain countries and partners would want to hedge and test what more they might be able to get from the United States by testing the waters of deeper co-operation with the Chinese or the Russians, particularly in the security and military space," said Dana Stroul, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the United States at the time, in a moment of insight. This opinion may have been applied to not only Iraq but also to the majority of the Middle Eastern nations at the time, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. However, as I thoroughly explain in my new book on the new global oil market order, this deep insight had little influence on Washington at that point and provided no obstacle to China’s or Russia’s ongoing drive to completely drive the United States out of the Middle East.

According to local sources that spoke with SANA, the US has resumed theft of Syrian oil hours after an attack. Tanker trucks were seen being taken out of Syria as part of a 148-vehicle convoy that crossed the border.

Russia’s successful takeover of the oil and gas sector in Iraq's problematic semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in the north has made the country's ultimate goal clear. This took place amid the chaos that ensued after the region was brutally suppressed following a September 2017 vote by 93% of its citizens for complete independence from Iraq. As I also fully evaluate in my new book, Rosneft, the state's business proxy, employed three strategies to ensure Russian influence over Iraqi Kurdistan. The final phase of the plan to essentially merge the Iraqi Kurdistan region with the rest of Iraq is currently moving forward at full speed as a result of Russia's manipulation of the region into such a toxic standoff with the central Iraqi government in Baghdad. In light of this, Russia and China are currently taking steps to ensure their control over the remainder of Iraq; the most recent illustration of their larger plan in action is the evacuation of Inpex from the huge Eridu field.

Please go to Great Game India to continue reading.