Iraq's oil windfall
"Iraq Proven Oil Reserves Rise Significantly " declares the Wall Street Journal, echoing a number of other news sources.
But are they "proven"?
So far, we have only assurances from the Iraq's oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani*:
These aren't random figures, rather they were the results of deep surveys carried out by the ministry's oil reservoir company and international companies which signed contracts with Iraq.
But a few people are voicing scepticism, probably because we have seen this kind of sudden good news before.
Higher proven reserves should eventually mean a higher production quota from Opec (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), and theoretically more revenue.__________
* Dr. Hussein al-Shahristani was a student at the University of Toronto, Canada, in1967. While a draft resister exiled in Toronto, Marvin X met Hussein at Juma prayers at the University. Hussein and Marvin X became friends. He invited the poet to his apartment for Arabic and Islamic lessons. Hussein was president of the Muslim Students Association of the US and Canada. He explained Shia Islam to Marvin X, declaring his ideas were similar to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He appreciated Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam because that is what he wanted. He later became a nuclear scientist who was persecuted under Saddam Hussein because he refused to work on Saddam's nuclear weapons program.
He declined the position of Iraq's prime minister but accepted the Minister of Oil's portfolio. Hussein is a close associate of the Grand Ayatollah Sistani who refuses to meet with the American infidels.
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