From the CIA Factbook:
Top 10 Proven Oil Reserves by Nation:
World 1,295,000,000,000 PCT of World Total
Saudi Arabia 266,800,000,000 20.6%
Canada 178,800,000,000 13.8%
Iran 132,500,000,000 10.2%
Iraq 115,000,000,000 8.9%
Kuwait 104,000,000,000 8.0%
United Arab Emirates 97,800,000,000 7.6%
Venezuela 79,730,000,000 6.2%
Russia 60,000,000,000 4.6%
Libya 39,130,000,000 3.0%
If I’m not mistaken then, these ten countries possess almost 83% of the world’s proven oil reserves. If there is not a global supply problem, then why are so many people scrambling for control of oil in 22nd place Sudan (roughly 1/6th of Libya’s proven oil reserves)? The margins in the world supply are tight, and we are sitting on almost 11% of all proven reserves if one combines Iraq with the United States… and if oil supply gets worse over time, the fact that Iraq is under-producing now may make their oil in the ground all the more valuable the longer it stays there, which could be a good thing for US strategic interests (presuming they can hold onto influence over the oil fields in Iraq-which is not looking a certainty)
By contrast, imagine an Iraq that is heavily influenced by Iran – an Iran-Iraq alliance would combine to have more in the tank than Saudi Arabia, particularly if one takes a look at the projected depletion rates for each of those three countries in question.
All this is a very circuitous way of saying that we either need to: a.) maintain influence over where Iraqi oil goes as best as possible, or b.) as we try to disengage from Iraq, we might be well advised to re-engage Iran at the same time to gain more reliable access to their reserves.
Posted by stevenmaloney 
