- Title: IRAQ: Oil investment threatens Basra's productive farmlands
- Date: 16th July 2012
- Summary: WEST QURNA IN BASRA, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FARMLANDS IN WEST QURNA FIELD VARIOUS OF LIVESTOCK NEAR WATER OIL PIPELINES BEING PUT ON GROUND INSIDE FARMLAND VARIOUS OF OIL PIPELINES VARIOUS OF OIL TANKERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF WEST QURNA TOWN, ABBAS ABU AL-HEEL, SAYING: "South Oil Company and investment oil companies of Lukoil and Sama Baghdad invested in West Qurna oil field two here, so they (the companies) bulldozed some farmlands, in particular the wheat fields. We have an area of nearly 19,650 donums (nearly 4,462.5 acres) that were planted with wheat and more than 600 donums (about 136.3 acres) of that were bulldozed off nearly 15 days before harvest. Some of the orchards in al-Fatiha and Um Shewel areas were levelled too." VARIOUS OF VEHICLES WORKING TO BULLDOZE FARMLAND IN WEST QURNA FIELD IN BASRA LORRY LOADED WITH SAND DRIVING AWAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DATE-PALM ORCHARDS OWNER, MENATI FAYADH, SAYING: "We will not leave the area even if the government buries us under the date palm trees. We are ready to be buried. We will not accept compensation or anything else, because to where should we leave? Where shall we go? South oil company came and threatened to evacuate us. Where should we go? Everyone has a family with 50 members." VARIOUS OF BOYS NEAR POOL OF WATER IN WEST QURNA FIELD EXTERIOR OF BUILDING OF AL-AMDAINA TOWN HALL MAYOR OF AL-AMDAINA TOWN IN HIS OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAYOR OF AL-AMDAINA TOWN, BASSIM SALEH, SAYING: "The total area of the town is 1,037 square km, while the West Qurna 1 and 2 oil fields are (taking up) 830 square km in area, therefore there is no farmland, and it means that the lands which used to be farmed are now turned into oil fields." VARIOUS OF FARMLANDS FARMER WORKING MORE OF FARMER WORKING IN FARMLAND (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAYOR OF AL-AMDAINA TOWN, BASSIM SALEH, SAYING: "Landowners were compensated for their lands, which were handed over to the investment companies. These farmlands were bulldozed by Samsung, which has contracted with Lukoil to build a central processing unit, and by a Turkish company that will build a power plant -- those lands have been bulldozed off by the companies who are working with the investment companies." FARMLAND VARIOUS OF FARMLAND THAT WAS BULLDOZED BY INVESTMENT COMPANIES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAYOR OF AL-AMDAINA TOWN, BASSIM SALEH, SAYING: "Two hundred farmers were compensated and the sum of compensation ranges between 20 million Iraqi Dinar (17,000 USD) and 400 million Iraqi Dinar (315,000 USD). The compensation depends on the area of the land. The total area of lands that have been compensated is about 25,000 donums (nearly 5,677.5 acres)." REED HUT IN FARMLAND FARMLANDS AND DATE -PALM ORCHARDS IN WEST QURNA FIELD IN BASRA
- Embargoed: 31st July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Environment,Energy
- Reuters ID: LVAC1BWMSD7TKUDP8IS8AA1Q1VOW
- Story Text: The rush for oil investment in post-war Iraq is threatening one of the country's largest fertile lands in northern Basra, leaving thousands of farmers at risk of losing their sole lifeline.
The fertile acreage atop some of the world's largest oil fields has been farmed for dates, tomatoes, wheat and vegetables for centuries. Now some fear the competition for the black gold will ruin these valuable farmlands.
"South Oil Company and investment oil companies of Lukoil and Sama Baghdad invested in West Qurna oil field two here, so they (the companies) bulldozed some farmlands, in particular the wheat fields. We have an area of nearly 19,650 donums (nearly 4,462.5 acres) that were planted with wheat and more than 600 donums (about 136.3 acres) of that were bulldozed off nearly 15 days before harvest. Some of the orchards in al-Fatiha and Um Shewel areas were levelled too," said Abbas Abu al-Heel, who lives in the town of West Qurna.
Lukoil Company won a 20-year deal to develop the virgin West Qurna Phase-2 oil field in an auction in December 2009, pledging to boost oil output to a plateau target of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in six years.
Dozens of farming families have been asked to leave their land within the next few months to make way for the company to resume work.
Residents in the area are refusing to leave despite compensation from the government and the Oil Ministry, which they said is only a short-term solution.
"We will not leave the area even if the government buries us under the date palm trees. We are ready to be buried. We will not accept compensation or anything else, because to where should we leave? Where shall we go? South oil company came and threatened to evacuate us. Where should we go? Everyone has a family with 50 members," said date palm orchard owner Menati Fayadh.
Under Saddam Hussein's regime, farmers were allowed to plant crops on the land within the oil fields under annual lease contracts from the Oil Ministry.
But now the oil field is leaving no room for farming, said an official.
"The total area of the town is 1,037 square km, while the West Qurna 1 and 2 oil fields are (taking up) 830 square km in area, therefore there is no farmland, and it means that the lands which used to be farmed are now turned into oil fields," explained Bassim Saleh, Mayor of al-Amdaina town.
Saleh said most of the farmlands were handed over to investment companies to be bulldozed and exploited for oil explorations.
South Korea's Samsung Engineering signed a US1 billion dollar oil field service contract with Iraq for the field on March 2012, part of an initial development plan to start production at the field.
"Landowners were compensated for their lands, which were handed over to the investment companies. These farmlands were bulldozed by Samsung, which has contracted with Lukoil to build a central processing unit, and by a Turkish company that will build a power plant -- those lands have been bulldozed off by the companies who are working with the investment companies," said Saleh.
"Two hundred farmers were compensated and the sum of compensation ranges between 20 million Iraqi Dinar (US17,000 dollar) and 400 million Iraqi Dinar (US315,000 dollar). The compensation depends on the area of the land. The total area of lands that have been compensated is about 25,000 donums (nearly 5,677.5 acres)," he added.
Iraq's oil production has been held back for decades by infrastructure, crippled by years of sanctions and war, including a lack of export capacity on its small strip of the Gulf coast.
The country now produces 2.5 million bpd and is aspiring to boost its production capacity to 12 million bpd. If successful, it would allow Iraq, which has the world's third-largest reserves, to raise the cash it needs to rebuild the country and deliver prosperity.
Production from Iraq's southern oil fields is expected to hit around 2.75 million bpd by the end of this year and the OPEC producer is expected to be the world's biggest source of new oil supplies over the next few years. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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