Article

2004-10-22 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Russia to auction oil field rights--Exxon gets the shaft

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Dar 2004-10-22 12:00:53 PM|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Customarily, this sort of bullshit is pulled by backwater shithole countries because:
a) There is no real Rule of Law, so they can
b) The requisite palms were not (sufficiently) greased

[ranty-rant]
In the case of Russia, the "but the license was never issued in the absence of a legal framework for such agreements" argument certainly puts Russia squarely in the backwater / shithole category.

Why did they make a deal? Why did they even imply they could make a deal? Because the game hadn't been rigged, yet. The Tsar hadn't gained total control of the power mechanisms (co-opted or replaced those in the key decision-making positions) at that time, I guess.

Now, it's different, heh. He's got the whole of the Gov't in his pocket. Time to get rid of those pesky deals made before you came to total power. Now he can simply change the rules, rape, loot, and pillage anyone who steps forward. In this case, the verbiage indicates to me that Tsar Putty didn't approve the old deal (see reasons a & b, above), and now he can simply reneg - who's to stop him? Anyone think he'll send this to The Hague? Lol!

Yeah, yeah, I know there is a small army of Putty Apologists present hereabouts, but this guy is a major scumbag, cutthroat, and totalitarian. Sure, he might be better than some Nationalist alternative who wants to reignite the Cold War and resurrect the Sov Union, but that does not make the Tsar worth warm spit. IMHO, he's not.

"All for me, and all for me, let's hear it for me!"
-Tsar Putty the Grate
[/ranty-rant-rant]

Posted by .com 2004-10-22 12:26:48 PM|| 2004-10-22 12:26:48 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 New Russia. Same as the old Russia.

Posted by Dreadnought 2004-10-22 12:51:27 PM|| 2004-10-22 12:51:27 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 The Russians know they have the upper hand, and they're exercising it to the max. Ain't many massive oilfields left the size of Sakhalin-3, and the oil majors desperately need new reserves.

Posted by lex 2004-10-22 1:01:21 PM|| 2004-10-22 1:01:21 PM|| Front Page Top

18:17 Syaifullah
18:31 Syaifullah
18:27 Syaifullah
18:41 syaifullah
18:32 Syaifullah
22:34 Ptah
19:13 Bulldog
19:04 Alaska Paul
18:46 Frank G
18:27 Ptah
13:33 Glising Croter5991
12:48 Snoluck Thrusing6666
12:36 Glising Croter5991
02:07 mojo
01:51 Kalle (kafir forever)
00:37 trailing wife
00:23 trailing wife
00:16 Aris Katsaris
00:05 .com
00:01 trailing wife
23:57 incarnate of lee atwater
23:54 trailing wife
23:50 Sock Puppet of Doom
23:50 trailing wife