<< Your rude treatment of QDOG is inexplicable in my mind --- I might add I also heard the report of the "Yemeni ownership of Mars" on NPR. It's a widespread humorous news story of the past few days.>>
You and Qdog missed the point. It matters little whether this humorous little story about three Yemenis sueing NASA for ownership of Mars is true or not. What does matter is that Qdog used the story to illustrate his point about the difficulties in dealing with government officials in Yemen and, by extension, the entire so-called Third World ( by the way, the culturally sensitive term happens to be "developing world"). Clearly, the unidentified three Yemenis are buffoons (assuming the story is true, of course). However, the use of that story in the context of the difficulties US oil companies allegedly have in dealing with officials at Ministries of Energy in places like Yemen, is to engage in stereotyping that contributes absolutely nothing to our understanding of the problems. In other words, we are left with the impression that all government officials from the developing world are as dillusional as those three Yemenis. It's just one more problem that poor little American oil companies have to contend with in their efforts to exploit the oil riches of the developing world!
The arrogance and cultural insensitivity of American oil companies overseas is very accurately mirrored by the attitudes of our resident "oil experts"....which perhaps explains why none of them have shown any inclination to discuss or to try to understand why the Kazak government might have been inclined to give this concession to a small company that happens to have as principals Kazak nationals with strong ties to officials in the Ministry of Energy. I suspect that our resident "oil experts" attitude from day one has been "if it ain't an EXXON, it ain't happening". Bottom line, arrogant Western oil industry inevitably produces arrogant oil workers and executives. The guys on this thread are living proof. I, for one, will not miss their ethnocentric chauvinism and will hope that they will be replaced by knowledgeable oil analysts who are willing to have a thoughtful discussion of the potential of this story.
<<BTW, despite not having seen Mr. Bossey's report I bet "I" could write a much more "credible" "positive opinion" on AIPN if someone would pay for it.>>
Those of you who don't understand what I mean by "arrogance" need only read the above.
<<(4) Potential reserves ----- whatever weak data is left over that can't even qualify for Possible. <vbg> In other words very very low likelihood of occurring.>>
Taylor, if you are trying to tell us that there is a "very very low likelihood" of there being any oil in the License Area despite the initial seismic readings, the demonstrated richness of the surrounding areas being drilled by Chevron and Exxon, and the fact that the Kazak government transferred the license to a company in which their own nationals have an interest, I think you are off the wall. Granted, there may not be as much oil as initially claimed or there might be more, but one thing seems certain...there is oil in this concession.
Now, here is a quote from the Oilgram story yesterday that you may or may not have noticed:
<< Reserve estimates for the tract, located on the Urbekistan border about 125 km southeast of Chevron's huge Tenzig field, have been kept quiet since Soviet Union days to protect Kazakh interests and possibly cover up an environmental disaster there.
After Kazakstan's independence, the 1.9-mil hoctare?(Can't read) exploration license for that region was granted last November to a new company called Scientific Industrial Firm Dank Tou, headed by ? Geophysicist Nurian Tsastovich Dzhanseitov.
Dzhanseitov worked 12 years in the ministry of Geology and another 12 years in the former Ministry of oil. He spent almost nine years in the Mangishak region where the concession now lies. `There are 15 wells there. Work started under the former Soviet Union, but they left for the Akubinskunigas? When they found a large oil field there.(China's CNPC recently purchased 60% of Akubinskunigas). Then the Soviet Union was dissolved and there was no money left to explore here" Dzhanseitov said. "Nobody knew there was oil there. But I knew."
Two of the initial wells discovered apparently large reserves of gas and oil at Bangash(or Begash) and Chikuduk. But both wells are said to have blown out while being tested in the early 1990's, forcing them to be plugged. Indeed the Bangash well, testing zones 9,000 to 12,000 feet deep is said to have flowed uncontrolled for several months creating a huge, embarrassing oil spill.>>
Now, let me ask the obvious question. Can an "embarrassing oil spill" occur in the absence of oil??? In my inexpert opinion, not likely. Oil spills are usually caused by oil but, then, I don't have 17 years experience in the oil business and the claim is attributed to some "dumb" Kazak who despite having " worked 12 years in the ministry of Geology and another 12 years in the former Ministry of oil." is probably one of those guys that Qdog thinks is just as capable of making claims to Mars.
In a post-Soviet world, I'll go with the Kazaks and wait, with them and AIPN, for EXXON to come to the table.
Cheers...Faris |
