10.1 |
Reconstruction: March 2003 to June 2004
288.
The paper
stated that Iraq’s oil fields had been undamaged by the
fighting,
although a
few wells had been sabotaged. Those fires were now all
extinguished. There
had been
some looting and damage to pipelines and oil
refineries.
289.
There was a
growing shortage of gas (for power stations), fuel and cooking
gas,
particularly
in the South.
290.
The paper
stated that, within the Security Council, oil remained a
contentious
issue.
Council members had different motivations. The UK and US were keen
to get
Iraqi oil
flowing again as soon as possible “to meet
humanitarian/reconstruction needs”.
France and
Russia wanted to protect the interests of their companies that had
existing
contracts
under the OFF programme.
291.
The UK was
proposing a three-phase approach to dealing with Iraqi oil and
the
OFF
programme:
•
To extend
resolution 1472 to 3 June (the end of the current OFF
programme
phase), and
possibly extend the OFF programme itself beyond 3 June.
If
the OFF
programme continued “for any length of time”, the UN
Secretary-
General
would need enhanced powers to sell Iraqi oil and buy the full
range
of humanitarian
supplies.
•
To pass
control of Iraqi oil and gas revenues to a “credible
interim
administration”
once one had been established, subject to certain checks
to
protect
against mismanagement or “unfairness”.
•
To hand
over full control over oil and oil revenues to a democratically
elected
Iraqi
Government.
292.
The UK and the
US agreed that all strategic decisions on the development
of
the oil
industry should be left to a “representative Iraqi government” and
that, in the
meantime,
all oil business should be handled in as transparent a manner as
possible.
293.
Introducing
the paper at the AHMGIR meeting, an FCO official said that Iraq’s
oil
infrastructure
was in a better state than had been feared when the conflict
begun.164
294.
Ms Patricia
Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, said that UK
companies
wanted a
future Iraqi Government to establish a “level playing field” for
oil industry
contracts.
295.
The AHMGIR
agreed that the UK should:
•
encourage
Iraqi oil exports to recommence as soon as possible, but only
after
an
appropriate resolution had been adopted;
•
offer UK
oil expertise to ORHA and in the medium term to the IIA;
and
164
Minutes, 24
April 2003, Ad Hoc Group on Iraq Rehabilitation
meeting.
55