July 29 Norway and the European Commission (EC) resolve their dispute over non-competitive natural gas sales. Norway had previously ended its monopoly gas sales committee (GFU), but the EC had threatened to invalidate long-term contracts negotiated when the GFU was still in place. In return for the closure of EC action against Norway, Norway agrees to
sell an additional 530 billion cubic feet of natural gas to new customers in the European Union. (WMRC)
July 30 Estonia closes the energy chapter of its accession negotiations with
the European Union. Estonia receives special status for its shale oil industry,
which provides about 65% of the country's primary energy supply. (WMRC)
Jul 30, 2002 Akin
Gump Partner Named As New Director of WTO's Legal Affairs Division S. Bruce
Wilson, a partner in the firm’s policy department in Washington, has been
appointed as the new director of the legal affairs division of the World Trade
Organization (WTO). Mr. Wilson will leave the firm and assume his new duties at
WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on
July 30, 2002 ¸ 2002 Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L. L. P. CONGRESSIONAL
APPROVAL OF MAJOR CORPORATE ACCOUNTING AND GOVERNANCE REFORM LEGISLATION
SARBANES- OXLEY ACT OF 2002 On July 30, 2002, the President will sign into law
the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002. The Sarbanes- Oxley Act seeks, among other
things, to improve the quality and transparency in financial reporting and
independent audits for public companies and to increase corporate
responsibility of senior management with respect to... [www.akingump.com]
July 31 ChevronTexaco announces the resumption of crude oil exports from
Nigeria after protests and a fire caused the company to declare force majeure
on its exports for a ten-day period. Between 300,000 and 400,000 barrels per
day were temporarily halted. ChevronTexaco has not fully resolved the issues
between the company and protestors who disrupt operations. Before the fire,
about 110,000 barrels per day were interrupted at times by protestors.
Nigeria's army moved in to prevent protestors from damaging equipment, but
declined to remove the protestors from the facilities. (DJ)
July 31 In the most far-reaching regulatory proposal to potentially affect U.S.
energy markets since 1996's FERC order that gave new competitors access to
utility power lines, the FERC releases a 600-page "Standard Market
Design" that outlines "best practices" of wholesale markets
regionally and internationally. If the plan were implemented, it would make the
new rules uniform throughout the United States, eliminating incompatibility
problems. (DJ)
July 31 China begins using a new $450 million, 780-mile petroleum products
pipeline, the longest product pipeline in China. The pipeline can move 5
million metric tons of petroleum products per year (about 108,000 barrels per
day) from Gansu province to the southwestern cities of Chengdu and Chongqing.
(Reuters)
August 1 BP Chief Executive John Browne announces that the company will be
investing $15 billion through 2010 in the development and production of
deepwater oil and natural gas in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. (Reuters)
August 1 U.S. President Bush extends U.S. sanctions against Iraq for another
year, having notified the U.S. Congress that the government of Saddam Hussein
continued to act in ways "hostile to U.S. interests." (Reuters)
August 2 The U.S. Office of Management and Budget approves U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency regulations that authorize new penalties for manufacturers of
diesel engines that exceed various pollutant levels, to take effect October 1,
2002. The new rules are part of long-term plan, begun in the previous
administration, to require diesel trucks and buses to reduce emissions by 90%
by 2007. (NYT)
Aug. 2, 2002 - The FBI asked members of the House and Senate intelligence committees
to take lie-detector tests as investigators try to determine who leaked
information to CNN about communications in Arabic that made vague references to
an impending attack on the United States. The communications were intercepted
by the National Security Agency on Sept. 10 but weren't translated until Sept.
12. [Source: Associated Press story published in the Boston Globe, Aug. 2,
2002, http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/08.03A.fbi.lie.det.p.htm]
August 4 Russia announces that cooperation with Iran in the area of nuclear
energy will be limited to the construction of one nuclear reactor, already
under way, at Bushehr. This would appear to cancel plans released July 26 to
build up to five additional reactors in Iran and expand scientific ties. (WSJ)
Aug. 5, 2002 - The Associated Press reported Russia's major role over the last five
years in the trafficking of Afghan heroin into Europe. [Source: Santa Fe New
Mexican, Aug. 5, 2002, www.sfnewmexican.com]
August 5 Algeria formally requests an increase in its current
693,000-barrel-per-day OPEC crude oil production quota. The request will be
examined later this month at a meeting of OPEC's Board of Governors, before
being submitted to the full OPEC ministerial conference in September. (Reuters)
August 5 Nigerian Presidential Adviser on Petroleum and Energy Rilwanu Lukman
announces that Nigeria's crude oil production capacity is now 2.6 million
barrels per day and that its reserves are now 32 billion barrels, up from 26
billion barrels in 1999. Nigeria's current OPEC crude oil production quota is
1.79 million barrels per day. (Reuters)
August 7 Mexican Energy Minister Ernesto Martens announces that Mexico will
continue to limit its crude oil exports to 1.66 million barrels per day, in
coordination with OPEC, although Mexico is not a member of the cartel. Mexico
is the only major non-OPEC exporter cooperating with the cartel, after Norway
and Russia ended their cooperation earlier in the year. (Reuters)
August 7 Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abderrahmane Chalgam indicates that
Libya may be ready to pay compensation for the 1988 airliner bombing over
Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people and to address U.N. demands that it
accept responsibility for the attack. The statement comes during the visit of a
high-ranking British official to Libya for the first time since relations
between the two countries were restored. (Reuters)
August 9 Brazilian state oil company Petrobras announces that it has discovered a
very large oil field off the coast of the state of Espirito Santo. Petrobras
said in a statement to the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange that the find has an
estimated 600 million barrels of oil reserves. (Reuters)
Aug 14, 2002 Akin
Gump Completes First Full London Stock Exchange Listing
for Lukoil, Russia's Largest Oil Company Both Akin Gump and OAO Lukoil made history last week when the law firm advised Russia’s largest oil company on its listing of shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). On August 6, Lukoil became the first Russian company to list shares on the London Exchange. Lukoil, with a market capitalization of $13 billion, listed its entire ordinary share capital and outstanding depositary receipts on the Exchange. The listing will complement Lukoil’s existing depositary receipt program in London and its further issue of depositary receipts. Akin Gump represented Lukoil in connection with the listing of the shares. Akin Gump previously advised Lukoil in connection with one of the largest global offerings of convertible bonds by a Russian company, with its $5 billion LUKARCO joint venture with Atlantic Richfield Company (now a subsidiary of BP plc), and in the historic formation of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium to build a pipeline from Tengiz, Kazakhstan, to the Black Sea. Founded in 1991, LUKOIL is the largest publicly traded oil company in the world in terms of proven crude oil reserves and is Russia’s largest producer of crude oil. Its operations range from oil and gas exploration and production to the refining and sale of oil products. The company operates seven refineries and more than 3,500 service stations, producing nearly 80 million tons of crude oil annually.
for Lukoil, Russia's Largest Oil Company Both Akin Gump and OAO Lukoil made history last week when the law firm advised Russia’s largest oil company on its listing of shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). On August 6, Lukoil became the first Russian company to list shares on the London Exchange. Lukoil, with a market capitalization of $13 billion, listed its entire ordinary share capital and outstanding depositary receipts on the Exchange. The listing will complement Lukoil’s existing depositary receipt program in London and its further issue of depositary receipts. Akin Gump represented Lukoil in connection with the listing of the shares. Akin Gump previously advised Lukoil in connection with one of the largest global offerings of convertible bonds by a Russian company, with its $5 billion LUKARCO joint venture with Atlantic Richfield Company (now a subsidiary of BP plc), and in the historic formation of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium to build a pipeline from Tengiz, Kazakhstan, to the Black Sea. Founded in 1991, LUKOIL is the largest publicly traded oil company in the world in terms of proven crude oil reserves and is Russia’s largest producer of crude oil. Its operations range from oil and gas exploration and production to the refining and sale of oil products. The company operates seven refineries and more than 3,500 service stations, producing nearly 80 million tons of crude oil annually.
August 15 Dynegy settles a lawsuit with Enron over their failed $9 billion merger
with a payment of $25 million plus $62.9 million already held in escrow by
Enron, ending a potential $10 billion lawsuit that was a major uncertainty for
current and potential investors in Dynegy. This settlement also clears the way
for Dynegy's July sale of the $928 million Northern Natural Gas Pipeline to
MidAmerican Energy to go through. Had it not gone through because of claims
from an Enron lawsuit, Dynegy would have faced a possible separate lawsuit from
MidAmerican Energy. (Reuters)
Aug. 16, 2002 - A Knight Ridder story discloses that members of Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld's staff have created a special planning unit for an invasion of
Iraq. The unit is composed primarily of civilians and was spearheaded by
conservative members of Rumsfeld's staff, such as Deputy Secretary of Defense
Paul Wolfowitz. The story was headlined, "White House Methodically
Preparing for Iraq Campaign." [Source: Knight Ridder Newspapers, www.truthout.org/docs
02/08.17B.wh.prep.irq.p.htm]
August 18, 2002 (B): An FBI forensic linguistics expert says the anthrax
mailer was probably someone with high-ranking US military and intelligence
connections. He says he has identified two suspects who both worked for the
CIA, USAMRIID and other classified military operations. He expresses
frustration about accessing evidence. "My two suspects both appear to have
CIA connections. These two agencies, the CIA and the FBI, are sometimes seen as
rivals. My anxiety is that the FBI agents assigned to this case are not getting
full and complete cooperation from the US military, CIA and witnesses who might
have information about this case." He also says the killer seems to have
tried implicating two former USAMRIID scientists who had left the laboratory in
unhappy circumstances by posting the letters from near their homes in New
Jersey. [BBC, 8/18/02]
Could one of the framed people be Dr. Assaad (see October 2, 2001)?1)?
August 19 An OPEC report has OPEC 10 (i.e. excluding Iraq) producing at 1.8 million barrels per day above the quota of 21.7 million barrels per day for the month of July. This production rate is 338,000 barrels per day greater than the revised June figure reported by OPEC. (Reuters)
August 19 Mexican President Vicente Fox puts forth a bill to the Mexican Congress
that would modify certain parts of the Mexican constitution in order to allow
private companies to sell electricity directly to corporations and other large
consumers. This is part of an effort to increase generation capacity through
private investment, though passage of the bill by the congress is not assured.
(WMRC)
August 20 The NYMEX near-month crude oil futures price closes above $30 per
barrel for the first time since February 2001. Concern over possible conflict
in Iraq, OPEC quotas, and declining crude oil and product stocks are among the
factors leading to a nine-straight-session rise in NYMEX prices. (Reuters)
August 21 Williams of the United States agrees to sell its 33% stake in
Lithuania's Mazeikiai Nafta oil company to Yukos of Russia for $85 million.
This will give Yukos, which already has a 26.85% share, control of the company.
Mazeikiai Nafta owns Lithuania's (and the Baltic republics of Former Soviet
Union's) only refinery and accounts for about 10% of the country's GDP. (WMRC)
August 23 The state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)
announces that it has reached a preliminary agreement to buy a stake in
Australian natural gas fields for $320 million. The 5% stake in the Northwest
Shelf gas fields comes on the heels of an agreement by CNOOC on August 8 to buy
between $11 billion and $13 billion worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from
the field over the next 25 years. (NYT)
August 25 Mexican state oil company Pemex announces that will invest $4.3 billion
over the next eight years in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap project in Campeche Sound.
Pemex commented that "With these works it is estimated that in the year
2011 the development of the Ku-Maloob-Zaap project will reach its maximum in
production of Maya crude of some 800,000 barrels per day, compared with 263,000
barrels per day currently being extracted." (Reuters)
August 28 Norway and the United Kingdom unveil a joint plan to strengthen
cooperation on their North Sea oil and natural gas fields. The plan aims to
boost output, cut operational costs and promote cross-border cooperation in an
effort to save energy companies $2 billion by 2010. (Reuters)
Aug. 28, 2002 - The Globe and Mail of Canada reports Afghanistan will become the
world's top producer of opium this year, surpassing Southeast Asia. [Source:
the Globe and Mail, Aug. 28, 2002]
August 29 U.S. Vice President Cheney states that a new round of U.N. weapons
inspections in Iraq is likely to be insufficient to guarantee that Iraq has
ended its biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons programs. That same day,
Iraqi Vice President Ramadan declares that future inspections by the United
Nations are a "waste of time," as the U.S. administration has already
decided upon "changing the regime by force." (WP)
August 30 The Federal Trade Commission approves the merger of Conoco and Phillips
Petroleum after the two companies agree to sell certain assets to maintain
competition in gasoline refining and marketing and other business sectors. The
$15.12 billion merger will create the world's sixth-largest publicly-held oil
and natural gas company, to be based in Houston. (DJ)
September 2 The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) denies reports that Iran had
decided to suspend all new oil development deals with foreign companies for one
year. Iran has not signed any new oil agreements with foreign companies for
about 14 months. The buy-back deals that Iran uses with foreign companies are
not favored by some in the Iranian government. (WMRC)
September 4 Researchers at the University of California-Riverside release findings
of a study confirming that two Japanese automobile manufacturers have developed
gasoline engines that meet super ultra-low emissions standards, standards
heretofore only achieved by gasoline-electric hybrids. The engines require
specially formulated gasoline in order to achieve these results. This may pave
the way for more stringent California emissions standards to take effect in the
future. (LAT)
September 7 Venezuela resumes shipments of oil to Cuba under a unique preferential
sales agreement, some five months after they were suspended during the brief
April coup and a failure by Cuba to keep up with its payments. Opponents of
President Chavez accuse him of squandering Venezuela's resources by selling oil
at less than market rates and/or conditions to Cuba. (Reuters)
September 11 The International Energy Agency's (IEA) monthly oil market report notes
that global oil stock levels have fallen to "uncomfortably low"
levels that could lead to higher prices and more price volatility in the coming
months. According to the IEA, OECD crude oil inventories fell by 790,000
barrels per day in August compared with July. (DJ)
September 11 The European Union (EU) releases a plan for coordination of member
countries' crude oil reserves, including raising the minimum level of national
oil stocks to 120 days of consumption from 90 days and putting one third of
reserves into a stockpile which could be drawn on in times of crisis. The
European Commission would have the power to release oil from the stockpile onto
the market if prices rose to a level that, if sustained for a year, would raise
the EU's external oil bill by an amount equal to 0.5% of its gross domestic
product. Energy Commissioner Loyola de Palacio predicts that the new system
will be in place in 2007. (Reuters)
September 12 California Governor Gray Davis signs a bill into law that will require
the State's private utilities to increase the share of electricity coming from
renewable sources by 1% per year, such that a level of 20% for all utilities in
California is reached by 2017. The bill also has a provision for renewable
power to receive a partial subsidy. (LAT)
September 12 U.S. President George Bush addresses the United Nations. President Bush
declares in regard to Iraq that "The Security Council resolutions will be
enforced -- the just demands of peace and security will be met -- or action
will be unavoidable…and a regime that has lost its legitimacy will also lose
its power." (Reuters)
September 13 The World Bank approves lending for a controversial oil pipeline between
Chad and Cameroon. The bank is funding $140 million of the $4 billion project
to develop the oil fields of Doba in southern Chad and construct a 665-mile
pipeline to an offshore oil-loading facility on Cameroon's Atlantic coast.
(Reuters)
September 15 Iran awards a $1.6 billion contract to a consortium of Iranian and
South Korean companies to develop phases nine and ten of the South Pars natural
gas field. The South Korean companies will have a 42% stake, and the contract
will be foreign financed, a change from Iran's usual practice of buyback deals.
The South Pars natural gas field is estimated to have resources of about 280
trillion cubic feet. (DJ)
September 16 Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri sends a letter to U.N. Secretary
General Kofi Annan indicating that Iraq will accept the return of U.N. weapons
inspectors "without conditions." The following day, Iraqi Deputy
Prime Minister Tariq Aziz says, "All the reasons for an attack have been
eliminated," though White House spokesman Scott McClellan describes the
move as "a tactical step" to avoid strong U.N. Security Council
action, going on to say, "As such, it is a tactic that will fail." On
September 19, Foreign Minister Sabri asserts that Iraq is free of nuclear,
biological, and chemical weapons. (Reuters)
September 17 A report released by the California Public Utilities Commission alleges that five independent power producers-Duke, Dynegy, Mirant, Reliant, and Williams-deliberately withheld output during California's 2000-2001 energy crisis in order to drive up prices, sometimes precipitating blackouts. Independent Energy Producers, a trade group representing the companies, has denied the allegations of the report. (DJ)
September 17 A report released by the California Public Utilities Commission alleges that five independent power producers-Duke, Dynegy, Mirant, Reliant, and Williams-deliberately withheld output during California's 2000-2001 energy crisis in order to drive up prices, sometimes precipitating blackouts. Independent Energy Producers, a trade group representing the companies, has denied the allegations of the report. (DJ)
September 17 A report released by the California Public Utilities Commission alleges
that five independent power producers-Duke, Dynegy, Mirant, Reliant, and
Williams-deliberately withheld output during California's 2000-2001 energy
crisis in order to drive up prices, sometimes precipitating blackouts.
Independent Energy Producers, a trade group representing the companies, has
denied the allegations of the report. (DJ)
September 18 Work begins on the $2.9 billion Baku-Ceyhan Pipeline, which will
transport oil from the landlocked Caspian Sea to Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
The BP-led pipeline will be 1,110 miles long when completed in 2005. Work
begins on the Turkish section on September 26. (Reuters)
September 18 According to United Nations officials and representatives of the oil
industry, Iraq has stopped attempting to impose illegal surcharges on oil it
sells through the United Nations' "Oil-for-Food" program. Though the
surcharges have provided funds to the regime, Iraq may be attempting to cooperate
more closely with U.N. resolutions in the face of increased scrutiny by the
United States and Britain. (DJ)
September
19, 2002 CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) Meeting
"Investing in Better Globalization"
Speaker: Horst Kohler Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Presider: Richard W. Fisher Managing Partner, Kissinger McLarty Associates
Related Project(s): C. Peter McColough Roundtable Series on International Economics
[www.cfr.org]
"Investing in Better Globalization"
Speaker: Horst Kohler Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Presider: Richard W. Fisher Managing Partner, Kissinger McLarty Associates
Related Project(s): C. Peter McColough Roundtable Series on International Economics
[www.cfr.org]
Sept 19, 2002 Akin
Gump to Sponsor Landmark U.S.-Russia Energy Summit U.S. Secretary of
Commerce Don Evans and U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham will host the
first United States-Russia Commercial Energy Summit, a landmark business and
diplomatic event, in Houston, Texas, on October 1 and 2, 2002. The Summit will
be co-chaired by Russian Federal Minister of Economic Development and Trade
German Gref and Minister of Energy Igor Yusufov and will feature former U.S.
Secretary of State James A. Baker III. Akin Gump will be among the sponsors of
the Summit. Attendance at this invitation-only event is expected to include
senior executives from U.S. and Russian energy companies as well as top U.S.
and Russian Federation government officials involved in the energy industry.
Leading policy-makers and global strategists will participate in small breakout
sessions designed to foster a frank exchange on the rapidly changing oil and
gas industry and enhance opportunities for partnerships between the countries.
September 19 OPEC, meeting in Osaka, Japan, decides that its ten members subject to
quotas (i.e. excluding Iraq) will not raise their current
21.7-million-barrel-per-day production ceiling. However, OPEC's communiqué
states that OPEC is committed "to taking any further measures, including
convening extraordinary meetings when deemed necessary…to maintain prices [OPEC
basket price] within the range of $22-$28 [per barrel]." Also at the meeting,
Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah is appointed as the new OPEC
President, replacing Rilwanu Lukman of Nigeria. (DJ)
September 19 The German government approves the $10 billion merger of energy
conglomerates E. On and Ruhrgas with tougher conditions than the previous
conditional approval granted by the Economics Ministry on July 5. A German
court had since ruled that July 5 approval unlawful due to certain procedural
flaws. E. On and Ruhrgas indicate that they will accept the new conditions. (DJ)
September 24 Energy trading company Dynegy agrees to pay a $3 million fine to settle
a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud investigation. The SEC
had specifically investigated Dynegy's use of so-called "special purpose
entities" in its accounting and "round trip" energy transactions
that can improperly inflate a company's revenue. (DJ)
September 24 Tropical Storm Isidore halts most of the U.S. Gulf's
1.4-million-barrel-per-day crude oil production, as well as about one-third of
the region's natural gas production, for a short time. The storm also
temporarily halts oil imports and shuts down the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port
(LOOP). Some Gulf coast refineries reduce their output. On September 30, oil
and natural gas workers are forced to again evacuate offshore platforms as
Hurricane Lili approaches. (Reuters)
September 24 The United Nations confirms that Iraq's oil exports under the U.N.
"Oil-for-Food" program jumped to 1.9 million barrels per day last
week, more than doubling the 914,285-barrel-per-day rate for the prior week.
This is the highest export rate since the current phase of the program began
(5/20/02). The increase is largely due to Iraq's informing oil companies
earlier in the month that Iraq will no longer demand an illegal surcharge on
its export sales. (DJ)
September 26 Indonesia's state oil firm Pertamina and China's National Offshore Oil
Corp (CNOOC) sign a $8.5 billion deal to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to
a terminal in China's Fujian province. Under the terms of the deal, CNOOC will
be supplied with 2.6 million metric tons of LNG per year from the giant Tangguh
field in the remote eastern Indonesian province of Papua, 49.66% owned by BP,
Britain's BG Group holds a 10.73% stake in Tangguh, whose other shareholders
include a string of Japanese firms such as Mitsubishi, Nippon and Kanematsu. On
September 27, CNOOC indicates that it will buy from BP an additional 12.5%
stake in the project. (Reuters)
September 27 The U.S. Federal Trade Commission gives conditional approval of Shell's
$1.8 billion acquisition of Pennzoil-Quaker State, one of the largest producers
of motor oil and other lubricants. (DJ)
September 27 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announces that U.S.
crude oil reserves increased by 1.8% in 2001. Total discoveries of crude oil in
existing and new fields totaled 2.565 billion barrels in 2001, and oil reserve
additions exceeded domestic crude production by 21%. Separately, dry natural
gas proved reserves jumped by 3.4% or 22.758 trillion cubic feet, as additional
natural gas reserves exceeded output by 31%. (Reuters)
September 27 2002 Chevron Texaco top managers meet with Russia's energy minister Igor Yusufov has met with the Board of
Directors of the Chevron Texaco corporation and its Chairman and Managing
Director David O'Reilly, the ministry's press service said on Friday, --as a
prelude to the Russian-US energy summit-in Houston in October. Yusufov stressed
Russian and US presidents play a major role in promoting Russian-US cooperation
in the energy sphere. Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush announced in May 2002
that the two countries were starting a new energy dialogue. The minister highly
evaluates the activity Chevron Texaco is conducting in Russia, pointing, first
of all, to the successful implementation of the Caspian pipeline consortium
project. [Pravda]
September 29 Union workers at Mexican state oil company Pemex accept a lower raise
than initially requested, but higher than management's first offer, averting a
threatened strike that would have seriously affected production had it gone on
for any extended period of time. Mexico is among the top three crude oil
suppliers to the United States. (DJ)
October 1, 2002 The First United States-Russia
Commercial Energy Summit, a landmark business and diplomatic event, in
Houston, Texas, on October 1 and 2, 2002. Invitation-only event is expected to
include senior executives from U.S. and Russian energy companies as well as top
U.S. and Russian Federation government officials involved in the energy
industry. Leading policy-makers and global strategists will participate in
small breakout sessions designed to foster a frank exchange on the rapidly
changing oil and gas industry and enhance opportunities for partnerships
between the countries.
October 2 Brazilian state oil company Petrobras announces that it exported more
oil than it imported for the first time in the company's history in the month
of July. Petrobras President Francisco Gros asserts, "This is the
beginning of a trend on a growth basis." Production has increased in
Brazil's Campos Basin, where Petrobras recently made a very large find.
(Reuters)
October 3 Hurricane Lili makes landfall on the U.S. Gulf coast after passing
through offshore hydrocarbon production areas and the Louisiana Offshore Oil
Port (LOOP). Nearly all offshore production (about 1.5 million barrels per day
of oil production), as well as some onshore refineries, the LOOP and the
Capline crude oil pipeline are shut down. Refineries and offshore operations
begin to come back on line on October 4, with most operations fully online by
the second half of the month. There is little permanent damage. (Reuters)
October 3, 2002 CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) Meeting
"Afghanistan: Winning the War, Losing the Peace?"
Speaker: Milt Bearden Former Senior CIA Official and Islamabad Chief (1986-1989)
Speaker: M. Ishaq Nadiri Prof of Economics, New York University; Economic Advisor to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai
Speaker: Greg Newbold Lt. General, USMC (Ret.); former Director for Operations
Presider: Thomas D. Shanker Pentagon Correspondent, The New York Times
[www.cfr.org]
"Afghanistan: Winning the War, Losing the Peace?"
Speaker: Milt Bearden Former Senior CIA Official and Islamabad Chief (1986-1989)
Speaker: M. Ishaq Nadiri Prof of Economics, New York University; Economic Advisor to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai
Speaker: Greg Newbold Lt. General, USMC (Ret.); former Director for Operations
Presider: Thomas D. Shanker Pentagon Correspondent, The New York Times
[www.cfr.org]
Milt Bearden Former Senior CIA Official and Islamabad Chief (1986-1989) lives in
Lyme NH author of a Book about Afghanistan and dealings there.
This
researcher noticed that Web pages containing references and quotes from Milt
Bearden are being deleted very recently. Based on what he said I’m not
surprised
Hamid
Karzai, the leader of the southern Afghan Pashtun Durrani tribe, was a member
of the mujaheddin that fought the Soviets during the 1980s. He was a top
contact for the CIA and maintained close relations with CIA Director William
Casey, Vice President George Bush, and their Pakistani Inter Service
Intelligence (ISI) Service interlocutors. Later, Karzai and a number of his
brothers moved to the United States under the auspices of the CIA. Karzai
continued to serve the agency's interests, as well as those of the Bush Family
and their oil friends in negotiating the CentGas deal, according to Middle East
and South Asian sources.
[The
Blacklisted Journalist 4/1/02]
October 6 A French oil tanker chartered by Malaysian state oil company Petronas is
attacked off the coast of Yemen, seriously damaging the ship and killing one
crew member. The VLCC, with about 400,000 barrels of oil aboard, catches fire.
The tanker does not sink, and is towed to port. Later, investigators determine
that a terrorist suicide attack by a small boat is the cause of the explosion.
The tanker was on its way to load additional oil in Yemen when attacked.
(Reuters, DJ)
October 9, 2002 Price increases in the world market are brought about mainly by
speculations of big oil monopolies and not by any drastic shortage in the
supply of crude oil. "The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) has not decreased production. There is no global shortage but the big
oil monopolies have an estimated $5.00-8.00/barrel war premium on the prices of
petroleum because of the impending US strike on Iraq. They are simply taking
advantage of the Middle crisis in order to jack up world crude prices to as
much as $35-40.00 per barrel,"
[www.cyberdyaryo.com/press_release/pr2002_1009_02.htm]
October 9 American Electric Power (AEP) admits that some of its traders provided
inaccurate energy price data to a major publisher of pricing indexes. This
follows a disclosure by Dynegy in September that some of its traders also
provided inaccurate energy price data to pricing indexes. Regulators are
investigating traders for providing incorrect information in order to
manipulate energy markets. (WSJ)
October 9 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) releases data showing
that crude oil stocks in the previous week fell to their lowest levels (270.5
million barrels) since the agency began keeping weekly records over 20 years
ago. Crude oil stocks have fallen by over 50 million barrels since February of
this year and are now 39 million barrels below the year ago level and only 0.5
million above the EIA's "Lower Operational Inventory." While not
implying shortages, operational problems, or price increases, the Lower
Operational Inventory means that supply flexibility could be constrained.
(Reuters)
October 10 The International Court of Justice at The Hague rules that Cameroon is
the rightful owner of the Bakassi Peninsula in the Gulf of Guinea, which
Nigeria also has claimed. The Bakassi Peninsula is suspected of containing
significant oil reserves, particularly offshore. On October 23, Nigeria issues
a statement refusing to withdraw its military or officials from the peninsula.
(NYT, Reuters)
October 10 Construction is completed on a new oil terminal at Georgia's Black Sea
port of Poti. Annual capacity of the new terminal is two million metric tons of
oil (about 40,000 barrels per day). The second phase of the project, envisaging
construction of another four reservoirs aimed at raising the terminal's
capacity to four million tons (80,000 barrels per day), is expected to be
completed by June 2003. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan transport the
oil from their fields by rail over the strip of land between the Caspian Sea
and Georgia's Black Sea ports. (Reuters)
October 10 The European Commission announces that the European Union (EU) will
dramatically increase its spending on fuel cell research by spending $2.09
billion over the next three years. During the previous three years, the EU had
only spent about $118 million, far less than Japan or the United States. (WSJ)
October 10 , 2002: CIA Director George Tenet has become the unlikely source of
embarrassment to President George W Bush, undermining Mr Bush's warning of
catastrophic threats from Saddam Hussein and exposing disagreements within the
intelligence world about the nature of the danger. BBC
October 11 The U.S. Senate votes to give President George Bush the authority to use
force, if necessary, to persuade Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to abandon
programs for the development of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. The
U.S. House of Representatives passed a similar measure the previous day. This
moves the focus of debate to the U.N. Security Council. (Reuters)
October 11 The International Energy Agency, in its Monthly Oil Market Report,
reduces its forecast of world oil demand growth in 2003 by 100,000 barrels per
day, to 1.04 million barrels per day. According to the report, "The cut
[in the demand forecast] reflects the slowdown of the U.S. and global economic
recovery, the impact of high oil prices on oil consumption and the broader
economy." (Reuters)
October 14 U.S.-based TXU announces that it will withdraw financial support for its
European units and put them up for sale. TXU's largest European business, in
Britain, has 5.6 million retail electricity customers. Analysts point to
problems with Britain's new deregulated electricity market, in which wholesale
electricity prices have fallen 40% in the past 18 months. Many companies are
having difficulties covering their generation costs in the new system. (NYT,
WSJ)
October 17, 2002: Judicial Watch and the Sierra Club again win a ruling against Vice
President Cheney (see July 12, 2002), and a judge demands that Cheney turn over documents
relating to his Energy Task Force. These documents could shed light on the government's connections to
Enron, the Dabhol power plant in India, and pipeline interests across
Afghanistan. But Cheney is expected to appeal, further delaying the release of
these documents (see also July 12, 2002). [Reuters,
10/17/02]
(CHENEYS ENERGY TASK FORCE NOTES ARE QUIETLY SITTING
ON THE NET at:
[http/www.nrdc.org/air/energy/taskforce/search.asp]
Download the pdf’s and have fun.
October 17 The former head of Enron's western energy trading desk pleads guilty to
wire fraud in connection with schemes to manipulate California's wholesale
electricity market in 2000 and 2001. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Larry
Thompson states that the government's investigation into illicit profits made
by energy companies during the California power crisis "is active and
ongoing." The crisis cost consumers and taxpayers billions of dollars.
(WSJ)
October 18, 2002 (B): "The massive mothballed Dabhol power project
that bankrupt US energy company Enron Corp. built in western India could be
running within a year, with a long-standing dispute over power charges close to
being renegotiated, a government official said." Dabhol is the largest
foreign investment project in India's history. Despite reorganizing from a
bankruptcy, Enron
still holds a controlling 65 percent stake in the Dabhol Power Co., while General Electric Co. and Bechtel Corp. hold 10
percent each. The Maharashtra State Electricity Board holds the remaining 15
percent. [AP,
10/18/02]
October
21, 2002 CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) Meeting
"Succession in China: How Will it Matter?"
Speaker: Harry Harding Dean, George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs
Speaker: Minxin Pei Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Speaker: Kurt M. Campbell Sr.VP and Director, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Presider: James H. Mann Fellow, Center for Strategic & International Studies; former Beijing Bureau Chief, The Los Angeles Times
"Succession in China: How Will it Matter?"
Speaker: Harry Harding Dean, George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs
Speaker: Minxin Pei Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Speaker: Kurt M. Campbell Sr.VP and Director, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Presider: James H. Mann Fellow, Center for Strategic & International Studies; former Beijing Bureau Chief, The Los Angeles Times
[www.cfr.org]
October 21 U.S. President George W. Bush signs a law that will impose certain financial penalties on the Sudan if the government there is found not to be negotiating in good faith to end the 19-year civil war in that country. Talks between the government of the Sudan and rebels representing the Christian and Animist south are underway, with a truce to have begun October 17. (Reuters)
October 22 ExxonMobil signs a $3 billion agreement with the government of China to
produce refined petroleum and petrochemical products in China under its own
brand name. ExxonMobil will build a $3 billion integrated refinery and ethylene
complex in southeastern China's Fujian province. ExxonMobil will have a 25%
stake in the 160,000-barrel-per-day refinery and the 800,000-metric
ton-per-year ethylene plant. Sinopec's unit Fujian Petrochemical Co. Ltd. will
hold a 50% stake and Saudi Arabia Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco, will control the remaining
25%. The project is expected to start operations in 2006. (Reuters)
October 22 A report released by Salomon Smith Barney shows that U.S. refining
margins have risen to their highest level since September 2001, at $5.88 per
barrel, which is approximately triple the August 2002 low point. (Reuters)
October 22 Venezuela's Minister of Finance forecasts the Venezuelan economy to
contract by 4.8% to 5% for 2002, despite relatively high oil prices.
Venezuela's government has been dealing with a number of nationwide strikes, as
well as high-ranking military officers calling for the end of the government of
Hugo Chavez. (Reuters)
October 23 China approves reforms of the country's electric power market, including
the break-up of the monopoly State Power Corporation into five generation and
two grid corporations, encouraging some competition in the world's
second-largest power market as well as better linking of fragmented
transmission networks. (Reuters)
October 24 The Nigerian Senate approves a bill put forward by Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo and already passed by the Nigerian House of Representatives,
which will give state governments a share of revenues from offshore oil and
gas. This law reverses a decision by the Nigerian Supreme Court in April 2002
that awarded all offshore oil revenues to the central government. Several state
governments protested that decision and warned that instability in the Niger
delta region was likely to occur unless that decision were reversed. (Reuters)
October 25, 2002: The Bush White House withheld North Korea's admission about a nuclear
weapons program from key Democrats for 12 days, until after Congress had
passed its resolution authorizing war with Iraq. Clearly the administration
did not want to have to explain its hypocritical, selective targeting of Iraq
when there are many other dangerous nuclear proliferators in the world – like
North Korea. Several senators were incensed that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld
even failed to mention North Korea's covert nuclear weapons program during a
classified briefing held less than three hours before the White House
announced the news to reporters. North Korea has chronically cheated on its
agreements with the US. In particular, North Korea agreed in 1994 to stop its
nuclear program in exchange for two nuclear reactors, to be built at US expense
and with US nuclear technology. The US also granted millions of dollars in food
aid to North Korea, which was proven later to have been diverted to Communist
cadres rather than the starving millions. US officials planted additional
disinformation with Bill Gertz of the conservative Washington Times, asserting
that North Korea has been getting technical assistance from Pakistan on the
process of uranium enrichment. This is ludicrous on its face. With both Russia
and China as North Korea’s principle allies ever since before the Korean War,
why would North Korea have to go begging to Pakistan, which got all its
technology from China? In fact, both China and Russia have played a significant
role in training the North Koreans in missiles and nuclear technology. The US
knows this, but continues to play as if Russia and China are our partners
against terrorism. Pakistan must feel betrayed by all sides of late. [WORLD
AFFAIRS BRIEF October 25, 2002 Copyright Joel M. Skousen]
October 28, 2002: The Washington Post reports, "A significant number of scientists
and biological warfare experts are expressing skepticism about the FBI's view
that a single disgruntled American scientist prepared the spores and mailed the
deadly anthrax letters that killed five people last year." More than a
dozen experts suggest investigators should "reexamine the possibility of
state-sponsored terrorism, or try to determine whether weaponized spores may have
been stolen by the attacker from an existing, but secret, biodefense program or
perhaps given to the attacker by an accomplice." These experts suggest
that making the type of anthrax used could take a team of experts and millions
of dollars. The article focuses on the possibility that Iraq could be to blame.
[Washington
Post, 10/28/02] Why would Iraq have targeted Democratic Senators Leahy and
Daschle? Why is the possibility of a team of anthrax attackers from within the
US continually brushed aside?
October 28 Statoil of Norway signs a $300 million deal with Iran's semi-state
Petropars company to become an operator in the Pars offshore Iranian natural
gas field (Phases Six, Seven, and Eight), part of a $2.6-billion project. This
is part of a concerted Iranian effort to increase foreign investment in its oil
sector, and is Statoil's first major investment in Iran. (Reuters)
October 30 White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer denies that the United States has
any interest in taking over Iraq's oil fields if there were a military
conflict. When asked if the United States would take over Iraq's oil fields if
the U.S. attacked Iraq, Fleischer responded: "No. The purpose of any plan
the United States has is to make certain that Saddam Hussein complies with all
U.N. resolutions…The only interest the United States has in the region is
furthering the cause of peace and stability ... not his [Saddam Hussein's]
country's ability to generate oil." (Reuters)
October 31, 2002 Iraq opens border with Saudi For the first time since 1990, Iraq
reopens its border with Saudi Arabia in a sign of growing friendship between
the former Gulf War enemies. BBC
October
31, 2002 CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) Meeting
"Memoirs: The Rockefeller Family in International Affairs"
Speaker: David Rockefeller Author, Memoirs
Speaker: Zbigniew Brzezinski SAIS Professor of Foreign Policy, The Johns Hopkins University
Speaker: Riordan Roett Director of the SAIS Western Hemisphere Program, The Johns Hopkins University
Presider: Carla A. Hills Vice Chairman of the Board, Council on Foreign Relations
Zbigniew Brzezinski published a book in 1997 portraying the Eurasian landmass as the key to world power, and Central Asia with its vast oil reserves as the key to domination of Eurasia.
"Memoirs: The Rockefeller Family in International Affairs"
Speaker: David Rockefeller Author, Memoirs
Speaker: Zbigniew Brzezinski SAIS Professor of Foreign Policy, The Johns Hopkins University
Speaker: Riordan Roett Director of the SAIS Western Hemisphere Program, The Johns Hopkins University
Presider: Carla A. Hills Vice Chairman of the Board, Council on Foreign Relations
Zbigniew Brzezinski published a book in 1997 portraying the Eurasian landmass as the key to world power, and Central Asia with its vast oil reserves as the key to domination of Eurasia.
He states
that for the US to maintain its global primacy, it must prevent any possible
adversary from controlling that region [www.cfr.org]
November 1, 2002 Saudi militants 'ready for jihad' Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia say
Saudis are ready to take up arms to defend Iraq if the US attacks the country.
BBC
November 1 Greece, Bulgaria, and Russia agree to equal stakes in the $699 million
Trans-Balkan Pipeline. The 159-mile pipeline will bypass the Bosphorus Strait
in order to bring Russian oil from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas to
the Greek Mediterranean port of Alexandroupolis. The pipeline will be able to
carry about 697,000 barrels per day. (Reuters)
November 3 The Trans-Alaska oil pipeline is shut down temporarily after a major
earthquake in Alaska. The pipeline transports about 1 million barrels of oil
per day from the North Slope oil fields to the port of Valdez. The pipeline
restarts November 6. (Reuters)
November 3, 2002 US plans to force end of Opec. The leader of London-based Iraqi National Congress,
Ahmed Chalabi, met executives of three US oil multinationals to negotiate the
carve-up of Iraq's massive oil reserves post-Saddam.
Lord
Browne, head of BP, warned British oil companies squeezed out of post-war Iraq
before the first shot has been fired in any US-led land invasion. INC spokesman
Zaab Sethna said: 'The oil people are naturally nervous. Next month oil
executives will gather to discuss Iraq and the future of the oil market at a
conference hosted by Sheikh Yamani, the former Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia.
Topics include: oil potential compared to Saudi Arabia and if post-Saddam Iraq
might destroy OPEC. Analysts believe that after five years Iraq could be
pumping 10m barrels of oil per day. Opec is already starting to implode, with
member nations breaking quotas in an attempt to grab market share before oil
prices fall. Russia, France and China fear they will be squeezed out of oil
industry in Iraq. Russia, France and China have existing deals with Iraq,
Chalabi has made clear he would reward US for removing Saddam with lucrative
oil contracts, telling the Washington Post recently: 'American companies will
have a big shot at Iraqi oil.' ---A model for the carve-up of Iraq's oil
industry was presented in September by Ariel Cohen of the right-wing Heritage
Foundation, which has close links to the Bush administration. Cohen's proposal
would see Iraq's oil industry split up into three large companies, along the
areas of ethnic separation, with one company in the largely Shia south, another
for the Sunni region around Baghdad, and the last in the Kurdish north.
[Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002]
http://www.observer.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4538509,00.html
Recall
this older news clip: The Iraqi National Congress, the exiled group that
opposes Saddam Hussein, said in October
2001 that it held meetings in London with Mr Woolsey. Administration
sources have said his trip was funded and approved by Paul Wolfowitz, the
deputy Defense secretary. But Woolsey made no comment about the exact nature of
his brief. He told The Telegraph: "I was in London and that's it."
November 5 A report from Salomon Smith Barney indicates that average U.S. gross
refining margins jumped 64 cents per barrel to $6.31 per barrel of crude oil
distilled for the week ended November 2. This is the highest level since
September 11, 2001, caused in part by "drawdowns in stocks of gasoline and
distillate as refineries struggle to increase utilization rates,"
according to the report. (Reuters)
November 7 KazTransOil, the operator of Kazakhstan's oil pipeline network,
announces plans to upgrade the 429-mile crude oil export pipeline from Atyrau
to Samara in Russia from a current capacity of about 16.5 million metric tons
per year (about 329,000 barrels per day) to a capacity of 25 million metric
tons per year (about 498,000 barrels per day), potentially increasing exports.
This is one of only two oil export pipelines in Kazakhstan. (WMRC)
November 8 The United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution
1441, that Iraq must accept or reject within seven days, giving United Nations
inspectors the unconditional right to search anywhere in Iraq for banned
weapons. Furthermore, Iraq will have to make an "accurate full and
complete" declaration of its nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic
weapons and related materials used in civilian industries within 30 days. The
resolution requires violations to be reported back to the Security Council by
inspectors before any actions could be taken against Iraq for violating weapons
bans. (Reuters)
November 11, 2002 The six-member Russian delegation arrived early Monday morning in a
low-profile special plane and left for Moscow in the afternoon after holding
talks with petroleum minister Usman Aminuddin and signing of the MoU. Pakistan,
Turkmenistan and Afghanistan remained short of signing a tripartite agreement
late last month in Ashkabad to start construction of trans-Afghanistan gas
pipeline from Ashkabad to Pakistan's under-construction Gwadar port. But
officials here said that non-signing of that tripartite agreement had nothing
to do with Gazprom's MoU. They said the trans-Afghanistan pipeline project was
in an advanced stage and could not be linked with the Iranian gas under any
circumstances. © The DAWN Group of
Newspapers, 2002 http://www.dawn.com/2002/11/12/top9.htm
November 12 Canada's most populous province, Ontario, ends electricity deregulation that had begun on May 1 of this year. Electricity prices have risen by more than 25% since deregulation began and the provincial government will be issuing refunds to consumers to offset some of the extra cost. (WMRC)
November 13 In a letter to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan, Iraq
accepts UN Security Council resolution 1441 of November 8, granting UN
inspectors the right to conduct unfettered inspections in Iraq, "despite
its bad contents." In the letter, Iraq also denies that it possesses any
weapons of mass destruction. (AP)
November 14 The TengizChevroil consortium, a consortium of companies led by
operator ChevronTexaco that is developing the estimated 2.7-billion-barrel
Tengiz oil field in Kazakhstan, announces that the consortium has decided to
indefinitely suspend investment in the second phase of the project. Production
from the first phase was about 12.5 million metric tons in 2001 (about 249,000
barrels per day). The second phase would require about $3 billion of investment
in order to boost the project's output by about 3 million metric tons per year
(about 60,000 barrels per day). (WMRC)
November 14 U.S. President George W. Bush decides that November will be the last
month that the U.S. government finances fuel oil shipments to North Korea. The
shipments are part of a 1994 arms control agreement with North Korea, and are
being halted after revelations of a covert North Korean nuclear weapons program
in violation of that agreement. The decision is later backed by Japan, South
Korea, and the European Union, the other three entities that comprise the
Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization, which administers the fuel
oil shipments. (NYT, WP)
November 15 The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency crude oil stockpile
administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, reaches 592 million barrels, the
largest amount in the reserve since it was initiated in 1977. (Reuters)
November 18 The tanker Prestige, loaded with 24 million gallons of Russian fuel
oil, splits in two and sinks 155 miles off the coast of northwest Spain. The
tanker, flying a Bahamian flag and owned by a Liberian company based in Athens,
Greece, spills about 2.5 million gallons of the fuel oil from a crack before
sinking, polluting beaches in the region and harming marine life. Fuel oil may
continue leaking from the sunken ship. (WSJ, WP)
November 18 BG (formerly British Gas) announces that it will build a $322 million
liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Brindisi, Italy, having finally
been granted approval by government authorities to go ahead with the
construction, due to be completed in 2006. The terminal will initially be able
to handle imports of 3 million metric tons per year, imported from Egypt. This
will be Italy's second LNG terminal. (WMRC)
November 19 Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo calls on Energy Secretary
Vincent Perez to keep Meralco (the Manila Electric Supply Company) functioning.
Meralco, which supplies 60% of the Philippines' electricity, is facing
bankruptcy as the Philippines Supreme Court ordered the company to pay
compensation for overcharging going back to 1994. The court later orders the
company to pay over $500 million. The government already owns 10% of the
company, but the company refuses a proposed government intervention on November
25 that would offer government support in exchange for greater government
control. (WMRC)
November 22 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announces that it will
change certain rules regarding industrial air pollution. According to the EPA,
these changes will encourage plant improvements to clean the air, though
critics describe the changes as a loosening of rules requiring plants to invest
in pollution control equipment when modernizing. (NYT)
November 25 European Union energy ministers reach an agreement allowing consumers
to choose their natural gas and electricity suppliers by 2007. An accord
reached on March 16, 2002, allowed large companies to be able to choose their
suppliers by 2004. (WSJ)
November 25 The International Energy Agency (IEA) announces that its members are
prepared to insert large quantities of oil into the world market on short
notice, in case of any supply disruption. IEA Executive Director Robert Piddle
states: "From public, or government stocks, we could release as much as 12
million barrels a day in the first month." (WSJ)
November 25 The United Nations Security Council extends the
"Oil-for-Food" program that permits Iraq to sell oil for a nine-day
period, instead of the usual six-month phase, in order to give Security Council
members time to reach agreement on which goods would be placed on the so-called
"goods review list" which are goods that require approval before Iraq
can use its revenues to purchase them. (DJ)
November 26 Alaska State officials and representatives of six oil companies sign an
agreement extending the lease agreement between those companies and the state
for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline by 30 years, to 2034. The trans-Alaska
pipeline delivers nearly a fifth of domestically produced oil and has shipped
over 13.5 billion barrels of crude since it began operations in 1977. (Reuters)
November 26 Murphy Oil of the United States announces the discovery of 400-700
million barrels of oil in the Kikeh field off the coast of Malaysia's Sabah
region on the island of Borneo. This is one of the largest discoveries in
Southeast Asia in recent years. (WMRC)
November 26 Exxon Mobil and TotalFinaElf sign an agreement with the government of
Qatar for the construction of a 146,000-barrel-per-day gas condensate refinery.
The two companies will also each hold a 10% stake in the refinery, to be
completed in 2006. The remainder will be owned by state-owned Qatargas. (WMRC)
November 27 Officials of four of Russia's largest oil companies, Lukoil, Yukos,
Sibneft, and Tyumen, announce a preliminary agreement for a joint project to
build a $1.5 billion dollar Arctic oil port near the town of Murmansk. This
would enable Russia to expand ocean-going tanker exports. (WSJ)
November 27, 2002: President Bush names Henry Kissinger as Chairman of the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Congressional Democrats
appoint George Mitchell, former Senate majority leader and peace envoy to
Northern Ireland and the Middle East, as Vice Chairman. Both later resign
rather than reveal the clients they work with (see December
11, 2002 and December 13, 2002). Their
replacements and the other eight members of the commission are chosen by
mid-December (see December 16, 2002). Kissinger
served as secretary of state for Presidents Nixon and Ford, and was national
security adviser to both presidents from 1969 to 1975. [New York
Times, 11/28/02] Kissinger's ability to remain independent is met with
skepticism (for instance, see Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette, 12/3/02, Washington
Post, 12/1/02, Chicago
Sun-Times, 12/13/02, CNN,
11/30/02, Sydney
Morning Herald, 11/29/02]. "Indeed, it is tempting to wonder if the
choice of Mr. Kissinger is not a clever maneuver by the White House to contain
an investigation it long opposed." [New York Times,
11/29/02] The Chicago Tribune notes that "the president who appointed
him originally opposed this whole undertaking" (see January 24, 2002, May 23, 2002, October 10, 2002). Kissinger is
"known more for keeping secrets from the American people than for telling
the truth" and asking him "to deliver a critique that may ruin
friends and associates is asking a great deal." [Chicago
Tribune, 12/5/02]
November 27 Congo (Brazzaville) Oil Minister Jean-Baptiste Tati announces that Congo
and Angola have reached an agreement for the development of oil deposits on
their maritime border, estimated at about 950 million barrels. The two
countries will split royalties 50-50 from a consortium headed by ChevronTexaco
to develop the area. (WMRC)
December 8, 2002 Gen. Hamid Gul, a former Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence chief
who hates America with a passion, boasted to UPI that a greater Islamic
caliphate was fast approaching, one that would marry the oil riches of Saudi
Arabia with the nuclear weapons of Pakistan "which could then deal with
America on an equal footing."
December 10, 2002: Russian oil company with contracts to develop Iraqi oilfields attacked
U.S. plans to topple President Saddam Hussein, saying the superpower was only
after cheap oil supply. Nikolay Tokarev, head of Zarubezhneft, said Washington
had tried to get Moscow's support for its policy by offering contract
guarantees in a post-Saddam Iraq, but his company wanted no part in the deal.
December 11, 2002(B): A Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
investigating the performance of government agencies before the 9/11 attacks
releases its final report. The committee accuses the Bush administration of
refusing to declassify information about possible Saudi Arabian financial links
to US-based terrorists, criticizes the FBI for not adapting into a domestic
intelligence bureau after the attacks and says the CIA lacked an effective
system for holding its officials accountable for their actions. Asked if 9/11
could have been prevented, Senator Bob Graham (D-Florida), the committee
chairman, gives "a conditional yes." Graham says the Bush administration has given Americans an "incomplete and
distorted picture" of the foreign assistance the hijackers may have
received. [ABC,
12/10/02] Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama), the vice chairman, singles out
six people as having "failed in significant ways to ensure that this
country was as prepared as it could have been": CIA Director Tenet;
Tenet's predecessor, John Deutch; former FBI Director Louis Freeh; National
Security Agency Director Michael Hayden; Hayden's predecessor, Lt. Gen. Kenneth
Minihan; and former Deputy Director Barbara McNamara. [Washington
Post, 12/11/02; Committee
Findings, Committee
Recommendations] Shelby says that Tenet should resign. "There have
been more failures on his watch as far as massive intelligence failures than
any CIA director in history. Yet he's still there. It's inexplicable to
me." [Reuters,
12/10/02, PBS
Newshour, 12/11/02] Later in the week, FBI Director Mueller claims
"probably close to a hundred [attacks] around the world," including
some in the US, have been thwarted since 9/11. [AP,
12/14/02] Mueller says the FBI is "uniquely situated for the
counterterrorism mission" and says that creating a new domestic
intelligence agency would be "a step backward in the war on terror."
[New York Times,
12/20/02 (REMEMBER
that CIA Director George Tenet spoke out publicly contradicting Bush in October
about Iraq, then was severely reprimanded by Bush. REMEMBER the CIA reports
directly to the PRESIDENT and the PRESIDENT ONLY. THE CIA IS THE PRESIDENTS
EYES and they talk everyday.
December 11, 2002(C): In discussing the report of the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence on 9/11 (see December 11, 2002(B)), Senator Bob
Graham (D-Florida), the committee chairman, says he is "surprised at the
evidence that there were foreign governments involved in facilitating the
activities of at least some of the [9/11] terrorists in the United States. ... To me that is an extremely significant issue and most of
that information is classified, I think overly-classified. I believe the
American people should know the extent of the challenge that we face in terms
of foreign government involvement. I think there is very compelling evidence
that at least some of the terrorists were assisted not just in financing -
although that was part of it - by a sovereign foreign government and that we
have been derelict in our duty to track that down ... It will become public at
some point when it's turned over to the archives, but that's 20 or 30 years
from now." [PBS
Newshour, 12/11/02]
December 13, 2002: Iraq's oil ministry informed three Russian oil companies it is
canceling a deal for them to develop the large West Qurna oil field. Iraq's Oil
Minister Amer Rasheed said Friday that the lead company, Russian oil giant
Lukoil, has failed to meet its commitments under the contract. Baghdad’s
cancellation of a huge oil contract has removed one of Moscow's main reasons
for opposing military action against Iraq. Moscow's RIA-Novosti news agency
quotes one official "any nation's foreign policy is guided by its own
interests and that Russia's economic interests outweigh any desire to defend
Saddam Hussein" Russia has been one of Iraq's strongest defenders on the
United Nations Security Council. Both Russian and French influence were
instrumental in crafting the U.N. resolution that allows military action against
Iraq only after arms inspectors continue searches for weapons of mass
destruction.. VOA News
December 13, 2002: Henry Kissinger resigns as head of the new 9/11 investigation [CNN,
12/13/02, ABC,
12/13/02, copy
of resignation letter] Two days earlier, the Bush Administration argued
that Kissinger was not required to disclose his private business clients. [New York Times,
12/12/02] However, the Congressional Research Service insists that he does,
and Kissinger resigns rather than reveal his clients. [MSNBC, 12/13/02, Seattle
Times, 12/14/02] It is reported that Kissinger is (or has been) a
consultant for Unocal, the oil corporation [Washington
Post, 10/5/98, Salon, 12/3/02]
Kissinger claimed he did no current work for any oil companies or Mideast
clients, but several corporations with heavy investments in Saudi Arabia, such
as ABB Group, a Swiss-Swedish engineering firm, and Boeing Corp., pay him
consulting fees of at least $250,000 a year. A Boeing spokesman said its
"longstanding" relationship with Kissinger involved advice on deals
in East Asia, not Saudi Arabia. Boeing sold $7.2 billion worth of aircraft to
Saudi Arabia in 1995. [Newsweek,
12/23/02] In addition, it is difficult for Kissinger to travel outside the
US. Investigative judges in Spain, France, Chile and Argentina seek to question
him in several legal actions related to his possible involvement in war crimes
particularly in Latin America, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Chile and East
Timor. [BBC,
4/18/02, Village
Voice, 8/15-21/01, Chicago
Tribune, 12/1/02] In a surprising break from usual procedures regarding
high-profile presidential appointments, White House lawyers never vetted
Kissinger for conflicts of interest. [Newsweek, 11/23/02]
December 16, 2002: President Bush names former New Jersey governor Thomas H. Kean as the Chairman
of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, after
his original choice, Henry Kissinger, resigned. [Washington
Post, 12/17/02] The ten Commission members are: Republicans Kean, Slade
Gorton, James R. Thompson, Fred Fielding and John F. Lehman, and Democrats Lee
Hamilton (Vice Chairman), Max Cleland, Tim Roemer, Richard Ben-Veniste and
Jamie Gorelick (see November 27, 2002). [New York Times,
12/17/02, Washington
Post, 12/15/02, Washington
Post, 12/16/02, Chicago
Tribune, 12/12/02] In an appearance on NBC, Kean promises an aggressive
investigation. "It's really a remarkably broad mandate, so I don't think
we'll have any problem looking under every rock. I've got no problems in going
as far as we have to in finding out the facts." [Chicago
Tribune, 12/17/02]
Dec 23 2002: China steps up fight against terrorism, US military starts practice
shooting with live ammo in Kuwait on Iraq border, N. Korea removes monitoring
equip innuke plants , Bush warns N. Korea, Rumsfeld says US can fight both Iraq
and N. Korea simultaneously, Striking oil workers, citizens trying to overthrow
Venuazala president, Citigroup to pay 900 million (billion?) in fines (Enron),
-- The United States advised its citizens on Monday to carefully evaluate
travel to the Central Asian state of Turkmenistan in the wake of an attack last
month on the Turkmen president's motorcade [CNN]
Dec 25, 2002 Trans-Afghan pipeline project moving forward, faces risks Afghanistan’s
Hamid Karzai, Pakistan’s Pervez Musharraf and Turkmenistan’s Suparmurat Niyazov
– are scheduled to gather December 26-27 in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat -- the
1,500-kilometer-long pipeline, stretching from Turkmenistan to Pakistan, would
cost upwards of $2 billion to build, and would be capable of transporting about
30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. The trans-Afghan pipeline is
crucial for the future of the Turkmenistan gas market -- ADB and World Bank are
expected to provide the bulk of the financing for the Trans-Afghan pipeline
project -- The US Agency for International Development (USAID), the
international aid agency of the US State Department, is playing a role in the
pipeline project, as well. [12/26/02 Daily Times - Pakistan]
December 27, 2002: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan sign an agreement for the
building of the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, a US$3.2 billion project that has
been delayed for many years. [BBC, 12/27/02, CNN,
12/26/02] A study by the Asian Development Bank stated that the pipeline
would move natural gas from Turkmenistan's huge Dauletabad-Donmez fields to the
Pakistani port city of Gwadar. The pipeline was originally launched in 1997,
but was abandoned when a consortium led by UNOCAL withdrew over fears of being
seen as supporting the Taliban and because the US launched missile attacks on
Afghanistan in 1999. The Afghan, Pakistani and Turkmen leaders relaunched the
project in May 2002. UNOCAL has denied it is interested in returning to
Afghanistan. Skeptics say the project would require an indefinite foreign
military presence in Afghanistan. [CNN,
12/26/02, BBC,
5/30/02]
December 27, 2002 Thomas Kean, New Chairman of 9/11 Commission had
business ties with Osama's Brother in Law
UNOCAL's
partner in the Cent-Gas trans-Afghan pipeline consortium, the Saudi Company
Delta Oil is owned by the bin Mahfouz and Al-Amoudi clans which allegedly have
ties to bin Laden’s Al Qaeda. Powerful financier Khalid bin Mahfouz’ younger
sister is married to Osama bin Laden,. (US Senate, Senate Judiciary Committee,
Federal News Service, 3 Sept. 1998) Bin Mahfouz is suspected to have funnelled
millions of dollars to the Al Qaeda network.(See Tom Flocco, Scoop.co.nz 28
Aug. 2002)
Now,
former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, the man
chosen by President Bush to lead the 9/11 commission also has business ties
with bin Mahfouz and Al-Amoudi. Thomas Kean is a director (and shareholder) of
Amerada Hess Corporation --Hess-Delta (joint venture). Delta Oil of Saudi
Arabia owned by the bin Mahfouz and Al-Amoudi
clans.
Delta-Hess
"was established in 1998 for the development and exploration of oil fields
in the Caspian region...In Azerbaijan Delta Hess is involved in the
Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli PSA (2.72%) and the Garabaghli-Kursangi PSA (20%). It is
also an equity holder in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline":
Delta- Hess, which... is registered in the Cayman Islands says the terms of the
alliance--are subject to confidentiality clauses. 'There's no reason why this
should be public information,' a Hess spokesman says." (Energy Compass, 15
Nov. 2002)
Thomas
Kean is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, together with another
prominent member of the board of directors of Amerada Hess, former Secretary of
the Treasury Nicholas Brady: Delta Oil Ltd. of Saudi Arabia --which is a
partner in the Hess-Delta Alliance--is in part controlled by Khalid bin Mafhouz, Osama's brother in law.
Thomas
Kean also heads the 9/11
Commission, which has a mandate to investigate Khalid's brother in law, Osama
bin Laden. Dr. Kissinger had a conflict of interest and resigned. The vice
chairman of the Commission, former Sen. George Mitchell of Maine, resigned for
the same reason. (See Xymphora, 19 Dec 2002 ) Corporate media applauds Thomas Kean without acknowledging his Saudi business
connections, Thomas Kean is heralded as "a
man of extraordinary integrity, decency and intellect." In the words of
the Baltimore Sun: "he lacks obvious conflicts of interest" (26
Dec.2002).
Thomas
Kean also sits as co-chairman
of the Homeland Security Project (HSP) under
the auspices of the Century Foundation. In this capacity, Kean has played a key
role in the draft recommendations of the Century Foundation, which laid the
groundwork of the Office of Homeland Security legislation.
Delta
officials (involved in the UNOCAL trans-Afghan pipeline consortium) played a
key role in negotiations with the Taliban. Enron, (whose former CEO, Ken
Lay, had close connections to the Bush family)
had been contracted to undertake feasibility studies for the Unocal-Delta consortium. Enron
Corporation had also been entrusted --in liaison with Delta-- with
pipeline negotiations with the Taliban government
George
W. Bush had dealings with Khalid bin Mafhouz, when he was in the Texas oil
business. Both George W. Bush and Khalid bin-Mahfouz
were implicated in the Bank of Commerce International (BCCI) scandal:
Links between
Bush and Mahfouz found in the Carlyle Group an investment firm managed by a board
on which former president George Bush himself sat. George W. Bush personally
held shares in Carlyle group, (Caterair company, between 1990-94). Carlyle
today ranks as a leading contributor to Bush’s electoral campaign. On Carlyle’s
advisory board is found the name of Sami Baarma, director of the Pakistani
financial establishment Prime Commercial Bank that is based in Lahore and owned
by Mahfouz. In the wake of 9/11, Khalid bin Mahfouz
(Osama's brother in law) was carefully exempted from the Treasury
investigations which led to the freezing of the financial assets of some 150
Saudi businesses, charities and individuals: "The US Treasury has frozen
the assets of 150 Saudi individuals, companies and charities suspected of
financing terrorism. It has named Blessed Relief,
a Saudi "charity" as a front organisation providing funds to Osama bin Laden. "Saudi businessmen have been
transferring millions of dollars to Bin Laden through Blessed Relief," the
agency said. One rich Saudi patriarch under suspicion is
Khaled bin Mahfouz, owner of the National Commercial Bank, banker to the
Saudi royal family,
Thomas
Kean --in contrast to Dr. Henry Kissinger-- was selected to head the 9/11
Commission because he was "close to the families of the 9/11 victims, an
important credential to the White House, which was coming under increasing
criticism from those families" (Scripps Howard News Service, 17 December
2002)
The $1
trillion lawsuit filed last August by the families of the victims of the
September 11 attacks , lists two of Thomas Kean's
business partners in the Hess-Delta joint-venture, among the accused: Khalid Bin Mahfouz (Osama's brother in law), and Mohammed Hussein al Amoudi. Both
individuals have been tagged in the lawsuit as alleged "financiers"
of Al Qaeda. Now, how will Thomas Kean deal with that in the context of
the 9/11 Commission?
Mystery
Surrounding the 1998 Embassy Bombings
Former CIA director James Woolsey's testimony confirms that the Sudan pharmaceutical company bombed in 1998 on the orders of President Clinton was owned by Salah Idris, a business associate and protegé of Khalid bin Mahfouz, The bombing was in retribution for the alleged Al Qaeda African Embassy bombings.
Former CIA director James Woolsey's testimony confirms that the Sudan pharmaceutical company bombed in 1998 on the orders of President Clinton was owned by Salah Idris, a business associate and protegé of Khalid bin Mahfouz, The bombing was in retribution for the alleged Al Qaeda African Embassy bombings.
The
Mahfouz conglomerate, owns the National Commercial Bank (largest bank in Saudi
Arabia) was preparing to pump money into the trans-Afghan pipeline deal.
Delta-Hess was also set up in 1998 to explore and develop oil and gas resources
in the Caspian Sea basin. Why would the Clinton administration order the
bombing of a factory which was controlled by a business crony of Unocal
Corporation and Amerada-Hess?
[From
Michel Chossudovsky article in globalresearch.ca, 27 december 2002 ]
Georgia
buys pipeline surveillance technology
By an OGJ correspondent
NICOSIA, Jan.7 2003 -- The government of Georgia signed an agreement
with Northrop Grumman Corp., Los Angeles, to develop an aerial surveillance
system to monitor the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan export pipeline and its adjacent
area. Giorgi Chanturia, president of Georgian International Oil Corp., said
Georgia would receive radar configurations similar to those used currently by
the US in Afghanistan. US officials allocated $11 million to Georgia to form a 400-member
special military unit to protect the BTC pipeline, Chanturia said. The rapid
reaction unit would consist of Georgian military personnel trained by US
instructors under a US program for development of anti-terrorist forces.
Jan 6, 2003" Turkmenistan: Russia, Iran Seeking To Protect Caspian Energy Interests
Russia and
Iran have both paid visits to Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov in
recent days, suggesting new strategies in the decade-old struggle to divide the
Caspian Sea. But it is unclear whether the sudden missions are signs of a
breakthrough or just more maneuvers in a continuing stalemate. Moscow moved
swiftly to protect its energy interests from damage last week as it sent a top
official to meet with Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov following the
country's alleged coup attempt. (RFE/RL) --
Adolf Hitler made oil central to his plans for
conquest in World War II. His I’ll conceived invasion or the Soviet Union was
halted just short of the rich oil resources of the Caucasis
[The Prize – The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and power
Daniel Yergin]
The world
energy situation/problem will remain in chaos until the consumer and
Producer
has better energy data and a reliable energy model that is transparent
for all
parties.
Look Who’s "In" the News, Politics and the
Military
Richard
Perle is currently Head of the Defense Policy Board, Department of Defense
which advises the Pentagon. Perle is also Director of Hollinger Inc, Hollinger
Digital also owns Onset Technology which cooperates with spy messenger software
of Comverse and Odigo. Hollinger Inc. owns more than 400 newspapers worldwide
and controls almost 50% of the Canadian press. They are the third largest
newspaper chain in the Western world, after Gannett and Rupert Murdoch's News
Corporation. Chairman and CEO of Hollinger is Conrad Black who controls about
78% of Hollinger through a private holding company. Hollinger also owns the
Sydney Morning Herald, the Chicago Sun Times and the Daily Telegraph. On the
board of Daily Telegraph is Henry Kissinger, ex-CIA-Director James Woolsey,
Newt Gingrich, former Admiral David Jeremiah, Dan Quayle, former US-ministers
James Schlesinger and Harold Brown. On 26th of October Daily Telegraph tried to
promote the Iraq-October-anthrax theory: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2001%2F10%2F26%2Fwirq26.xml
Hollinger
and their board members, including Henry Kissinger, have connections to Sunday
Times, Chase Manhattan Bank, AT&T, American Express, J.P. Morgan Chase
& Co, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Hasbro and Israeli Yellow Pages.
Hollinger
also owns the Jerusalem Post. It's very convenient to follow Richard Perle’s
strategy, supported by his friends James Woolsey, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard
Armitage. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is one of the most important
think-tanks advising the US government, as well as many other governments
abroad. CFR members include the Pentagon's top advisers, Richard Perle, Henry
Kissinger, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, ex-CIA chief James Woolsey,
http://www.mdsme.de/cgi-bin/nph-spinnerproxy.cgi/110110A/http/whatreallyhappened.com/
http://www.mdsme.de/cgi-bin/nph-spinnerproxy.cgi/110110A/http/www.whatreallyhappened-mirror.tk
Democracy and the Media
This chapter presents the Chomsky and Herman propaganda model for US mass media also covered in Manufacturing Consent. The main points of the model are these:
1) The media are owned and controlled by the elite property owning class of the nation. They manage the media to serve their interests and to manufacture consent in the mass public.
2) The media business has grown to such a degree that independent-minded alternatives to the mainstream press are impossible. Alternative media that once existed were squeezed out, and current financial requirements prohibit start ups.
3) Advertising is straight jacket on the media. Advertisers will not support non mainstream programming.
4) Control of the media is insidious:
a) The elite frames issues so debate begins and ends on their terms. Grand issues - for example, does the US have the right to spread its form of democracy around the world? - are never considered.
b) A marginal amount of dissent is tolerated. It gives the media some feeling of independence and the public some doubt that it is manipulated.
c) Reporters are not necessarily dishonest, but they cannot seem to think outside the lines. They often go silent when confronted with ‘aberrant’ evidence.
d) If US policy does go wrong and public support turns, the fundamental terms of debate are never questioned. The application of policy was at fault. Vietnam is the best example of this. US intentions were good; we were supporting democracy. No one in the media questioned whether Diem represented democracy, or whether the US had the right to impose its liberal capitalism on Vietnam.
5) The media often use the government and its agencies as their sources. Even when the media gets information from other sources, the government has usually set the terms of discussion by flooding them with information.
6) The media’s treatment of client states and foes is rife with hypocrisy. For example, if the Israelis raid inside Lebanon, it is justifiable pursuit; if the Sandanistas chase Contras into El Salvador, it is incursion and demands retaliation.
7) The propaganda model is verifiable by analyzing the media’s treatment of events like the one mentioned in point 5.
This chapter presents the Chomsky and Herman propaganda model for US mass media also covered in Manufacturing Consent. The main points of the model are these:
1) The media are owned and controlled by the elite property owning class of the nation. They manage the media to serve their interests and to manufacture consent in the mass public.
2) The media business has grown to such a degree that independent-minded alternatives to the mainstream press are impossible. Alternative media that once existed were squeezed out, and current financial requirements prohibit start ups.
3) Advertising is straight jacket on the media. Advertisers will not support non mainstream programming.
4) Control of the media is insidious:
a) The elite frames issues so debate begins and ends on their terms. Grand issues - for example, does the US have the right to spread its form of democracy around the world? - are never considered.
b) A marginal amount of dissent is tolerated. It gives the media some feeling of independence and the public some doubt that it is manipulated.
c) Reporters are not necessarily dishonest, but they cannot seem to think outside the lines. They often go silent when confronted with ‘aberrant’ evidence.
d) If US policy does go wrong and public support turns, the fundamental terms of debate are never questioned. The application of policy was at fault. Vietnam is the best example of this. US intentions were good; we were supporting democracy. No one in the media questioned whether Diem represented democracy, or whether the US had the right to impose its liberal capitalism on Vietnam.
5) The media often use the government and its agencies as their sources. Even when the media gets information from other sources, the government has usually set the terms of discussion by flooding them with information.
6) The media’s treatment of client states and foes is rife with hypocrisy. For example, if the Israelis raid inside Lebanon, it is justifiable pursuit; if the Sandanistas chase Contras into El Salvador, it is incursion and demands retaliation.
7) The propaganda model is verifiable by analyzing the media’s treatment of events like the one mentioned in point 5.
The Ten
Largest Nonfinancial Multinational Corporations
General
Motors (cars and trucks)
Ford Motor
(cars and trucks)
General
Electric (diversified)
Royal
Dutch/Shell (oil)
Exxon
(oil)
IBM
(computers)
Fiat (cars
and trucks)
Mitsui
(trading)
British
Petroleum (oil)
Matsushita
Electric Industrial (electronics)
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John
Heartson is a former engineer with a degree in mechanical engineering,
currently working as a carpenter and songwriter in Vermont. His curiosity and
detailed investigation into events surrounding 9/11 and anthrax made him the
target of domestic spying, unconstitutional searches of his home and a
threat to his life in 2004.
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