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A March 31 Ha'aretz article reported upcoming plans to reopen a long-unused pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk oil fields to the Israeli port of Haifa. Israel's National Infrastructure Minister Joseph Paritzky suggested that after Saddam Hussain's departure Iraqi oil could flow to the Jewish state, to be consumed or marketed from there.
"The pipeline [of Iraqi oil] to Haifa is considered a 'bonus' the U.S. will give to Israel."
According to John Cooley's April 23 article in The Christian Science Monitor, "The idea is economically tempting for Israel and some of its friends, especially those whose firms might profit from such a project. Oil-poor Israel, MEES [Middle East Economic Survey] reports, wants high-quality Kirkuk crude oil for its Haifa refinery. Israeli refineries currently use Russian, West African, Egyptian, and other crude oils.
"Politically, the scheme is a potential bomb," Cooley warned, because Israel and Iraq have been implacable foes since 1948. "Its implementation could ignite a new explosion in the chain of reactions to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, now beginning to reverberate throughout the troubled Middle East."
Nevertheless, according to a Ha'aretz article the following day, "a senior Pentagon official" sent a telegram to a "top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem" to check the logistics of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa and rebuilding the Kirkuk-Mosul-Haifa pipeline. According to the telegram, "The pipeline to Haifa is considered a 'bonus' the U.S. will give to Israel in return for its support for the American-led campaign in Iraq."
In early September, Paritzky will travel to Washington, DC to present Israel's pipeline plans, along with a cost estimate, to U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. Israel's National Infrastructure Ministry estimates a 42-inch pipeline between Kirkuk and Haifa would cost about $400,000 per kilometer.
The plan requires Jordanian consent, but Amman would receive a transit fee for allowing the oil to traverse its territory. Jordan's neighbors may have something to say about this—but will the Iraqis have any voice at all in the decision regarding their oil?
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http://www.wrmea.com/archives/October_2003/0310006.html