Unocal will get it's pipeline after all!

May 16, 2002 8:04 PM

Unocal will get it's pipeline after all! I guess with all the grief Bush is getting about the warnings in August he can look forward to some happy phone calls from his oil buddies! Oh by the way, Karzi used to work for Unocal. Did the Pres. mention that when he appointed Karzi.
posted by bas67 (12 comments total)

I remember reading somewhere (ass-fact-checker I am not), that a good percentage of the college educated in Afganistan that stayed when the Taliban took over worked in either of two major industries: poppy seeds and oil. More in oil than poppy I imagine.

Not apologizing for anyone's actions... just sayin' is all.
posted by Tacodog at 8:31 PM on May 16, 2002

what's wrong with working for the oil industry? what, you don't use oil?
posted by techgnollogic at 8:58 PM on May 16, 2002

what's wrong with working for the oil industry? what, you don't use oil?

Heh.

Kinda brings to mind Jefferson Davis whining about those damned Yankees and their cotton bloomers.

Tsk, tsk. Unocal's just getting what they and every other oil company bought and paid for...the entire U.$. executive branch. And that's what America's all about, isn't it? One dollar, one vote? And after all, they're American businesses and corporations fer crissakes.

They have our best interests at heart.
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 9:39 PM on May 16, 2002

Hmmnm...
Even I can't read that much into the story.

It says Unocal is not planning a pipeline.
andnothing about Karzi working for them.

Short story though, I'd like to see more about this.

(and I'm obviously not gonna go out and do it myself)
posted by a_green_man at 12:29 AM on May 17, 2002

Karzai.

And shockingly, Central Asian oil is still pretty much in the same place, it not tending to move much on its own -- and a pipeline to get it still pretty much makes business sense -- for Unocal (or whomever gets the contract), and for the government of Afghanistan, whomever that may be. Except for that nasty little period from 1998 (when Unocal quit the consortium) and 2001 (when the Taliban became a nuisance not only to their own people, but to us), the impediments to a deal are largely built around security for the investment and the long-term stability of the government. Business, as they say, knows no politics. If those conditions can be achieved by the present government, and it's not entirely clear that they can yet though the general unity of the interim warlord/governor structure seems intact as summer arrives, there's no moral reason not to proceed with a deal.

Unless, of course, you wake up at night shaking with nightmares of the Oil Bogeyman, which is (naturally) morally equivalent with the Cotton Bogeyman, which is (naturally) how the North was really responsible for slavery because they wanted affordable clothing. And after 1865 the South was poor, and hungry, and had all this cotton to sell. The moral dilemma must have been tremendous.
posted by dhartung at 4:03 AM on May 17, 2002

Look beyond Afghanistan, and you'll see a bunch of former Soviet republics with rather not nice regimes, that are happily clamping down on 'Islamist' dissent and providing US staging posts. And they're all looking for non-Russian outlets for their petrochemical resources. Ka-ching.
posted by riviera at 5:11 AM on May 17, 2002

The only question left unanswered is how much will Halliburton be making off this $12 billion pipeline?

Dubya regime to Taliban July 2001- "You can walk on carpets of gold or die under carpets of bombs."

Dubya regime to intelligence community Feb 2001- "Lay off Osama, the Taliban and Al Queda, we're negotiating with them."
posted by nofundy at 6:11 AM on May 17, 2002

It's great to see some good coming out of this war. After billions of taxpayer dollars spent, which means nice profits for many corporations, and returns for stockholders .. now more money can be made and more money returned to stockholders to buy SUVs, and gas 'em up.

It's good for the economy, dammit. That's all that matters.
posted by Mondo at 6:36 AM on May 17, 2002

So, all your oil-hating people, what cars do you drive? Just curious if you're putting your money where your mouth is. Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?
posted by fried at 7:05 AM on May 17, 2002

The pipeline is expected to be built with funds from donor countries for the reconstruction of Afghanistan

So that's what they mean by reconstructing Afghanistan.
posted by mrhappy at 8:54 AM on May 17, 2002

So, all your oil-hating people, what cars do you drive?
Public transportation, duh. Of course, buses and light rail have to run on something...
posted by darukaru at 9:39 AM on May 17, 2002

Caspian Sea update from New World Disorder:
"Caspian summit fails to resolve issues about dividing oil and mineral resources"

Iranian viewpoint
Turkish role
Azerbaijan and Caspian
"Oil fuels US army role in Georgia"
"Big Oil, the US and corruption in Kazahkstan"
Russia, Kazakhstan, and Caspian Oil
posted by sheauga at 1:49 PM on May 19, 2002