This morning's Guardian lead
US begins secret talks to secure Iraq's oilfields
Fears that wells will be torched if regime falls
Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow, Julian Borger in Washington, Terry Macalister and Ewen MacAskill Thursday January 23, 2003 The Guardian
The US military has drawn up detailed plans to secure and protect Iraq's oilfields to prevent a repeat of 1991 when President Saddam set Kuwait's wells ablaze.
The US state department and Pentagon disclosed the preparations during a meeting in Washington before Christmas with members of the Iraqi opposition parties.
Iraq has the second biggest known oil reserves in the world producing, in their current run-down state, about 1.5m barrels a day. But experts contacted by the Guardian predict this could rise to 6m barrels a day within five years with the right investment and control.
At the meeting, on the future of a post-Saddam Iraq - details of which have been disclosed to the Guardian - the state department stressed that protection of the oilfields was "issue number one".
Full article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,880437,00.html
