When China’s biggest oil company signed the first post-invasion oil field development contract in Iraq last year, the deal was seen as a test of Iraq’s willingness to open an industry that had previously prohibited foreign investment.
One year later, the China National Petroleum Corporation has struck oil at the Ahdab field in Wasit Province, southeast of Baghdad. And while the relationship between the company and the Iraqi government has gone smoothly, the presence of a foreign company with vast resources drilling for oil in this poor, rural corner of Iraq has awakened a wave of discontent here.
“We get nothing directly from the Chinese company, and we are suffering,” said Mahmoud Abdul Ridha, head of the Wasit provincial council, whose budget has been cut in half by Baghdad in the past year because of lower international oil prices. “There is an unemployment crisis. We need roads, schools, water treatment plants. We need everything.”
The result has been a local-rights movement — extraordinary in a country where political dissent has historically carried the risk of death — that in the past few months has begun demanding that at least $1 of each barrel of oil produced at the Ahdab field be used to improve access to clean water, health services, schools, paved roads and other needs in the province, which is among Iraq’s poorest.
The ripples are traveling far beyond this province, too. Frustrations have spilled over into sabotage and intimidation of Chinese oil workers, turning the Ahdab field into a cautionary tale for international oil companies seeking to join the rush to profit from Iraq’s vast untapped oil reserves.
Because Iraq is so heavily dependent on oil revenue, any international hesitation by oil companies to invest could mean years of continued economic and political instability in the country. All oil revenues go directly to the government in Baghdad and are the foundation of the national budget.
The Iraqi government has so far rejected the locals’ demands, but people here are clearly beginning to feel that something new is possible.
“No one would have dared to ask for such a thing during Saddam’s regime; if he did, he would definitely be executed,” said Ghassan Ali, a 43-year-old farmer who lives near the oil field. “But now we are a democratic country, so we have the right to ask for our rights like any other province in Iraq.”
The basis of the complaints here is that, aside from the hiring of a few hundred residents as laborers and security guards at salaries of less than $600 a month, the Ahdab field — a roughly $3 billion development project — has provided no local benefit.
Some local farmers began reacting by destroying the company’s generators and severing electrical hoses, angry because they believed that their fields were being unfairly handed over to the company. Other residents began expressing outrage that very few jobs were being opened to them.
China National Petroleum says it needs relatively few workers because it is still in the exploration phase of its 23-year project at the Ahdab field. Oil production is not scheduled to begin for two and a half years.
Now, the field’s 100 or so Chinese workers rarely leave their spartan compound for fear of being kidnapped, the company said, even though the Iraqi government recently deployed extra security to the area.
But the Iraqis’ anger has been increasingly channeled into an above-board labor movement, expressing concerns about workers’ rights, local government authority, pollution, transparent hiring practices and public accountability, among other issues.
Ghassan Atiyyah, executive director of the nonprofit Iraq Foundation for Development and Democracy, said the nascent activism in Wasit Province was part of a broader shift in a society that had until recently been resistant to such demands because of years of dictatorship, economic sanctions, war and a culture that retains a strong tribal influence.
Reporting was contributed by Abeer Mohammed and Mohammed Hussein from Baghdad, and Riyadh Mohammed and an Iraqi employee of The New York Times from Wasit Province.
Click here to enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Times for 50% off. Past CoverageOnly One Iraqi Oil Deal Is Struck at Auction, as Companies Are Wary of Contracts (July 1, 2009)As Iraq Stabilizes, China Bids on Its Oil Fields (July 1, 2009)Iraq Signs Oil Deal With China Worth Up to $3 Billion (August 29, 2008)Iraq Poised To Revive Oil Contract With China (August 20, 2008) Related Searches Iraq Get E-Mail Alerts China National Petroleum Get E-Mail Alerts Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline Get E-Mail Alerts Politics and Government Get E-Mail Alerts Next Article in World (1 of 22) » MOST POPULAR E-Mailed Blogged Searched How Did Economists Get It So Wrong? Winslow Homer’s Maine Your Money: Why College Costs Rise, Even in a Recession Back to Business: Wall Street Pursues Profit in Bundles of Life Insurance For Your Health, Froot Loops Design: Typography Fans Say Ikea Should Stick to Furniture Keeping That New PC Clean and Pure Gail Collins: An End of Summer Quiz Editorial: Respect Your Children Bob Herbert: Reliving the Past Go to Complete List » Fewer Job Losses Than Expected, but Rate Rises in August At Least 80 Die in NATO Airstrike in Afghanistan Let's Get Fundamental Teenage Unemployment Rate Reaches Record High New Exotic Investments Emerging on Wall Street For Your Health, Froot Loops McCaughey Takes Central, If Disputed Role in Health Care Debate A Story of Stimulus Success Ends Instead With Pink Slips Panel Rules Against Ashcroft in Detention Case Israel to Approve Flurry of West Bank Building Go to Complete List » krugman van jones obama health care china modern love berlusconi august 2, 2009 jaycee dugard hatoyama Go to Complete List » new Accordian("mostPopWidget"); When a colleague slacks off
Also in Jobs »
Looking for a new job? Quenching a thirst for learning Advertisements Advertise on NYTimes.com Inside NYTimes.com Theater » Hello, Sweet Prince: Jude Law as Hamlet Opinion » Op-Ed Puzzle: Circular Reasoning Fashion & Style » A Chance to Dream Where Madoff Did N.Y. / Region » For New Yorkers, the Joy of Reading Underground Opinion » Op-Ed: College Advice From the Pros
Professors give some helpful advice to young adults entering school this fall.
Magazine » Bringing ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ to the Screen Week in Review » The Rise of the Female Anchor Opinion » Op-Ed: The Recession Behind Bars Travel » Near Tokyo, a City Shows Its Age, Proudly Weddings/Celebrations » Vows: A Member of Il Divo Finds Love in La Bohème Opinion » Op-Classic, 1991
America no longer has a real labor movement and it affects every social issue we're now debating, wrote Thomas Geoghegan.
Arts » All Together Now: Play Beatles Rock Band, Mom Home World U.S. N.Y. / Region Business Technology Science Health Sports Opinion Arts Style Travel Jobs Real Estate Automobiles Back to Top Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company Privacy Policy Terms of Service Search Corrections RSS First Look Help Contact Us Work for Us Site Map Tacoda_AMS_DDC_addPair("t_section","World, Middleeast") Tacoda_AMS_DDC_addPair("site","nytimes.com") Tacoda_AMS_DDC("http://te.nytimes.com/tte/blank.gif","1.0")
Professors give some helpful advice to young adults entering school this fall.
America no longer has a real labor movement and it affects every social issue we're now debating, wrote Thomas Geoghegan.
Read Full Article »