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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (67626)	2/5/2003 2:20:16 PM
From: chomolungma	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

From this week's Business Week. Will our noble French allies fall off their gilded pedestal? businessweek.com@@7UueVGUQBSH5GxAA/premium/content/03_06/b3819055.htm So who will reap the big bucks from getting Saddam's oil fields back on track? At this point, Iraq is believed to have contracts worth about $38 billion pending with such companies as Italy's ENI (E ), Royal Dutch/Shell (RD ), Australia's BHP (BHP ), TotalFinaElf, and Russian giant Lukoil. Sanctions have precluded American companies from doing business in Iraq, and foreign concerns are likely to continue to exploit their long-standing links. Yet the sanctions have also stalled efforts by non-U.S. companies to complete their deals and start development. France is by far the biggest player. The giant TotalFinaElf now has development rights to roughly 25% of total Iraqi reserves. In theory, France's long relationship with Iraq's nationalistic oil technocrats could put French outfits in good shape for more deals after any war. But at the moment, many French industry officials remain convinced that the Americans will exact revenge if France fails to fully support the war effort. While Russian contracts may be honored, "ours won't be," predicts a top executive of TotalFinaElf. That's why some French observers insist that when push comes to shove in the U.N., France will march in step--mainly to protect its oil stakes.

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (67626)	2/5/2003 2:22:10 PM
From: chomolungma	Respond to of 70976

> Do you really think he will be allowed to murder these groups? Absolutely, positively, yes! Sorry, I don't share that view.