I’m not sure what to feel about this. Would I feel even worse if we’d gone into Iraq and not gotten the lion’s share of the oil subcontracting business? All I know for sure is that we ought not to elect any more presidents from Texas if we don’t want to get bogged down in wars in Asia. Make no mistake; Texas is the direct beneficiary of the war in Iraq. The rest of the country is paying a heavy price.
Lukoil and many of the other international oil companies that won fields in the auction are now subcontracting mostly with the four largely American oil services companies that are global leaders in their field: Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Weatherford International and Schlumberger. Those four have won the largest portion of the subcontracts to drill for oil, build wells and refurbish old equipment.
“Iraq is a huge opportunity for contractors,” Alex Munton, a Middle East analyst for Wood Mackenzie, a research and consulting firm based in Edinburgh, said by telephone.
Mr. Munton estimated that about half of the $150 billion the international majors are expected to invest at Iraqi oil fields over the next decade would go to drilling subcontractors — most of it to the big four operators, which all have ties to the Texas oil industry.
Halliburton and Baker Hughes are based in Houston, as is the drilling unit of Schlumberger, which is based in Paris. Weatherford, though now incorporated in Switzerland, was founded in Texas and still has big operations there.
This calls to mind an amusing yet informative event that took place in Texas this week. As the legislature battled over redistricting lines, two sitting congressmen got into a fight over 300 acres of mostly empty land that currently contains only 28 potential voters. Why would they care about those 300 acres and 28 voters?
Why the heated rhetoric? Turns out the area is the site of the new Exxon-Mobil world headquarters –or as [State Rep. Debbie] Riddle put it – the “crown jewel” of her district.
[State Rep. Burt] Solomons said the “undeveloped land” had become a “very personal matter” between [Rep. Ted] Poe and [Rep. Kevin] Brady. He accused Poe of “over-reaching;” Riddle responded that Brady was guilty of a “power grab.”
Solomons pulled out his trump card and reminded lawmakers that Brady used to serve in the Texas House. The House gave the treasured real estate to Brady.
When everything is said and done in Iraq, Texas, Halliburton, and Kevin Brady will have got what they wanted. Everyone else? Not so much.
