New York Times: Behind China’s Bid for Unocal: A Costly Quest for Energy Control. From the dusty plains of East Africa to the shores of the Caspian Sea, China is seeking to loosen the grip of the United States on world energy resources and secure the fuel it needs to keep its economy in overdrive.
There certainly is a lot of commotion over foreigners buying American oil companies. However, BP did acquire ARCO, and the B in BP stand for British. Maybe that one doesn’t count since the Brits are members of the coalition of the willing. They’re practically American. They even speak English. How about Shell? Oops, they’re not American, they’re Dutch and are members of the coalition as well. I guess if CNOOC really wants to acquire Unocal, it should petition the Chinese government to join the coalition, if it’s not too late. I guess that all depends on whether or not the insurgents are in their last throes. Here’s a funny tidbit:
White House Press Release on Coalition Members:
“The Coalition will also liberate the Iraqi people from one of the worst tyrants and most brutal regimes on earth.”
“Forty-six countries are publicly committed to the Coalition, including…Uganda.”
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2004 (Uganda):
“The Government’s human rights record remained poor.”
“Security forces committed unlawful killings and were responsible for short-term disappearances.”
“Torture by security forces and beating of suspects to force confessions were serious problems.”
What next? Will Saddam be joining the coalition of the willing to liberate the North Koreans? Anyways, I’ve added Unocal contracts to the site, including the merger agreement between Unocal and ChevronTexaco.