Iraq discusses major deal with oil-hungry China

Critics of the Iraq war often cite President Bush’s desire for Iraqi oil as being an underlying factor in the long conflict.  But guess what, Communist China is zooming in on Iraqi oil and not much is being said about it in most American media.

Grumpy Editor notes the only coverage of Iraq’s vast oil industry is occasional TV footage or front-page photos of flaming oil pipelines after attacks by insurgents.  Not much else is reported, such as improved oil production, not even the patching of a damaged pipeline.

Thus, those focusing on Iraq and its oil would do well to read yesterday’s Wall Street Journal article (“Iraq to Seek Chinese Help to Reinvigorate Oil Industry”), which points out China’s mounting interest in Iraq’s oil fields.  (A Chinese-backed company already is the biggest oil producer in Sudan, the largest country in Africa.)

WSJ staffer Shai Oster mentions Iraq President Jalal Talabani and his oil minister, among others, are in a week-long visit to China to ask Beijing to revive a $1.2 billion (yes, that’s billion) oil exploration deal established during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

China is targeting the world’s third largest proven oil reserves because the Communist nation’s economic growth and soaring vehicle ownerships have pushed it to the world’s second largest oil consumer, just behind the U.S.