Iran seizes control of Iraq oil well

By SAMEER N. YACOUB
Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD —
Iranian troops have crossed into Iraqi territory and seized an oil well that lies in a disputed area along the two countries' southern border, Iraq's deputy foreign Minster said Friday.

The deputy minister, Mohammed Haj Mahmoud, said Iranian troops seized oil well No. 4 Thursday night in the al-Fakkah oil field, located about 200 miles (about 320 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad. The oil field is one of Iraq's largest.

Oil prices rose slightly after news of the incident.

"We are coordinating with the Oil Ministry regarding this issue. This is not the first time that the Iranians have tried to prevent Iraqis from investing in oil fields in border areas. Tomorrow, we might summon the Iranian ambassador to discuss this issue," Mahmoud told The Associated Press.

The al-Fakkah field is considered a shared field between Iran and Iraq, meaning both nations are able to pump oil from it, but the Iraqis consider oil well No. 4 theirs.

In Washington, a U.S. official said that although Iranians have crossed the border before, they had not previously ventured this far.

Iraqi security forces were in the area, but there are no reports of any fighting or that any shots were fired, he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

No U.S. troops were in the area. And the Iranians are believed to have left the area, he said.

Such incidents have happened before along the Iran-Iraq border, which was never clearly delineated after the brutal war between the two countries in the 1980s.

Last year, the Iraqi Oil Ministry accused Iran of stealing oil from the al-Fakkah field and of illegally seizing and capping off wells in a second field that Iraq claims lies entirely within its territory.

The two adjacent oil fields - Abu Gharb, which Iraq claims in its entirety, and al-Fakkah, the shared field - both lie in Maysan province.

The deputy foreign minister said he did not know whether the Iranians were still in control of the oil well. The U.S. military said it did not have any information on the incident.

A message left for Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman seeking comment was not returned Friday evening.

According to Iraq's state-run Iraqiya television, the National Security Council, headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, was meeting Friday night to discuss the issue.

Iraq has an estimated 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves - the world's third largest, behind only Saudi Arabia and Iran.

But years of neglect, war and insurgency have left the oil fields performing far below what they're capable of. Iraq has been trying to attract international investment to develop its oil industry, including a round of international bidding last week that produced seven deals on the 15 fields offered. The al-Fakkah field was not one of those fields.

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Toyota is a leader only because their drivers block everyone behind them. Oh what a feeling.

Hmm they are getting frisky. Seems like a an armour division needs to give them a slap down to show them who is boss.


You can't let such things slide.

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I don't think the U.S. has a dog in this fight.

IMO, that part of iraq will eventually be part of iran anyway.

Iran and Iraq fought a long bitter and stalemated war with tens and thousands dead on both sides from 1980 -1988.


Most people don't even remember WHY !!!



Here we go again.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

who really cares < I don't think the U.S. has a dog in this fight

the mentality is kill them all and let god sort them out

bend over is not the answer < those who fought for it freedom has a taste the protected will never know

try not making your self look that out of touch its boring -- jz

Is there anyone here who speaks "jz"?

I actually doubt it, the current leadership of iraq is much more friendly towards iran than the previous regime. I doubt that iran will take over iraq by force.

18 years of education and what comes out?



BUMPER STICKERS !!!!

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Not if the bumper stickers are supposed to be in english.

I agree, it tried and failed for 8 long miserable years, by force, and to no avail, from 1980 - 1988.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I know, but I was saying that the current version of iraq is more likely to work with iran than go to war, minor border disputes aside. Once the U.S. is out of the picture, iraq will need some friends in the region.

They may NEED friends, but ---

I can't think of any country, really, that loves them, much less cares about them. ( Not even those on their border.)

Kuwait? Kurdistan? Turkey? Jordan? Syria? Saudi Arabia? Egypt? Yemen? Abu Dhabi? UAE? Pakistan? Afghanistan? Somalia ?


Nope. Can't think of any.


Besides, it is a fractured government that fights internally between Sunni and Shia. Despicable as Saddam was, he held that fake "country" together.


Furthermore, some onlookers think the government has an unpleasant "American puppet" taint, like Afghanistan...

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I'm assuming the Shia majority will end up running the place eventually and that they end up being tighter with their Shia cousins in iran. The Sunni were a minority when they ruled under Saddam. He didn't really hold them together, he maintained minority rule by force. I also think that the Sunni elements will eventually get squeezed out of the iraqi government.

I assume that a portion of iraq will end up being Kurdistan.

I can't disagree with the current government being an "american puppet," but I don't expect them to be around very long after the puppet-master leaves. I think americans did iran a favor by removing the Sunni leadership from iraq.

This may be a move by Iran to pump up the price of oil. If it goes up $1 a bbl they make millions of dollars.

I doubt that this well produces more than 1,000 bbls a day. To put that in perspective the Saudis do 11,000,000 bbls a day that they admit to and are capable of 24,000,000 bbls a day.

By the way, I remember what the stated purpose of the Iran-Iraq war was. Iraq was trying to seize the entire Shat-al-Arab waterway that is shared with Iran. I am sure it is more complex than that, but that is what started it.

Very true-- send in the CYLONS!

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