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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dale Baker who wrote (1894)	6/5/2003 1:21:02 PM
From: epicure	Respond to of 20773

Too right It was pretty obvious from the git go that our Iraq "operation" was exactly what Bin Laden had in mind. Perhaps those guys in Washington are all really terrorists.

To: Dale Baker who wrote (1894)	6/5/2003 3:21:54 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20773

The original rationale for the U.S. troop presence in SA was to provide a counter balance to Iraq. Saddam is gone so it follows that the troops should depart. Of course, the U.S. will still have a major presence in the area. The departure of the troops takes pressure off of both the Saudis and the U.S. Should the radicals move to oust the royal family, they can always ask the western powers to intervene. Do you want to guess what the response would be? On the gas deal... The bone of contention for foreign investors, the sources added, is that the rate of return on their investments is too low...Foreign companies are thought to believe Naimi is strongly opposed to the deal for nationalistic reasons, as it would open up the country's prized energy sector to foreign investors for the first time in 25 years. ExxonMobil: Venture Not Seeking To End Saudi Gas Talks Thursday June 5, 2:06 pm ET biz.yahoo.com HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- The consortium pursuing the largest of three troubled projects to develop natural gas and related ventures in Saudi Arabia hasn't sought to terminate talks with the government, Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM - News) , the leader of the consortium, said Thursday. The comments by the oil giant follow reports from industry sources Thursday that Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi is likely to terminate talks on the projects with Royal/Dutch Shell Group (RD) by Saturday and already has ended talks with ExxonMobil . As reported, a letter from Naimi to ExxonMobil, dated Thursday, says the country had "spared no effort to be flexible" in the negotiations over the three-part $25 billion gas project in the kingdom and gave the company 10 days' notice, the sources said. In a statement Thursday, ExxonMobil spokeswoman Cynthia Langlands confirmed the venture received correspondence from Naimi, but wouldn't discuss its contents. "We will not comment on any specific issues relating to these negotiations as we are adhering to the confidentiality terms of our agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we will have no further comment pending evaluation of this latest correspondence," ExxonMobil said in the statement. "We can, however, confirm that the CV1 Consortium has not sought to terminate its negotiations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The CV1, or Core Venture 1, Consortium is led by ExxonMobil and includes partners BP PLC (BP), Shell and ConocoPhillips (COP). News of the venture's cancellation was reported earlier Thursday by Reuters, which cited an industry source, and confirmed by industry sources for Dow Jones Newswires. ExxonMobil also leads Core Venture Two, with Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:OXY - News) and Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE:MRO - News) as junior partners. Shell leads Core Venture Three, with ConocoPhillips and Total (TOT) as junior partners. As reported, sources close to the talks said Wednesday the contract terms tinkered with by Naimi earlier this year were worse than the previous revision on Sept. 5, 2002. The bone of contention for foreign investors, the sources added, is that the rate of return on their investments is too low. The companies also sought more of the gas resources currently reserved for Saudi state-run oil company Saudi Aramco (C.SOI). The original plan envisaged seven foreign oil companies exploring for natural gas in the kingdom, which would be used for water, power and petrochemical projects. Saudi officials and other companies involved in the project were unwilling or unable to comment Thursday. Foreign companies are thought to believe Naimi is strongly opposed to the deal for nationalistic reasons, as it would open up the country's prized energy sector to foreign investors for the first time in 25 years. Ian Howat, Total SA's (TOT) senior vice president of strategy, said Wednesday he was "not terrifically optimistic" about reaching agreement with Riyadh on its current offer. The "exploration and production part" of the disagreement was the most difficult to bridge: "Upstream is the key," he said, declining to elaborate. A spokeswoman for Shell in London said Wednesday that it had responded to Naimi's request. She declined to comment on if it had accepted the latest terms, adding: "We remain committed to Core Venture Three." It is unclear whether the project will be restructured or shelved. -By John Biers, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9214; john.biers@dowjones.com (Sally Jones and Adam Smallman in London contributed to this article)