|
|
Article: Toppling Hussein could restore Iraq as a top player in oil market.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- September 13, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
WASHINGTON _ For oil companies and governments in the United States and around the world, there's more at stake in Iraq than weapons of mass destruction. There's oil.
Iraq has the world's second largest oil reserves, after Saudi Arabia's. Toppling Saddam Hussein could restore Iraq as an influential player in the world oil market. Development of Iraq's vast oil reserves _ largely suspended during two decades of war and U.N. sanctions _ could push down global oil prices and produce a windfall for those oil companies that win the exploration and development contracts.
One camp of political analysts even suggests that, at a time of strained U.S.-Saudi ...