Chapter 546: Middle East Grand Strategy

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"It's a pity that the Kirkuk oil field, which has much more reserves, is located in northern Iraq and is controlled by Kurdish forces, otherwise it would have been easier for you to take Maginu!" sighed David Rubinstein.

Iraq's oil resources are divided into two major parts: the south and the north. The five largest oil fields in the south are Rumaila, Silguna, Majinu, East Baghdad and Zubayr. The reserves are 17.8 billion barrels, 13 billion barrels, 12.6 billion barrels, 8 billion barrels and 4.5 billion barrels, respectively, of which Rumaila is the fifth largest oil field in the world. Northern Iraq has relatively few oil resources, accounting for about 20% of proven reserves, and the largest oil field is the Kirkuk oil field, which is the sixth largest oil field in the world after Rumaila with a total reserve of 24.4 tons.

After listening to Rubinstein's words, Guo Shouyun nodded slightly and did not speak.

Giving Kurdish forces control of the Kirkuk oil field is part of the U.S. grand strategy in the Middle East. In order to use oil as a fund to support Kurdish statehood.

The core strategy of the United States in the Middle East is to protect Israel, divide the Arab world, control the oil in the Middle East, and then maintain the economic hegemony of the 'petrodollar'.

Israel is now weak in the Middle East, and although the Arab world is no longer united and strong during the four Middle East wars, new hostile blocs are beginning to take shape. This bloc is the anti-American and anti-Israeli bloc of Iran, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.

Iran and Israel are old enemies, and they are clamoring each other to wipe each other off the map. Although Iraq does not have Sa~Da~m, the pro-Iranian Ye faction clearly has the advantage, and it is also in the Iranian camp. Since Turkey's new foreign minister took office last year, he has openly declared that he wants to restore the glory of the Ottoman Turkish empire and promote his politics and culture to the surrounding countries.

Not to mention the Syrian government, which has participated in four wars in the Middle East, and now the territory of the Golan Heights is still occupied by Israel, and the two sides have a great enmity. An anti-US and anti-Israeli crescent has been formed, which greatly threatens Israel and the United States' grand strategy in the Middle East.

From the perspective of the Kurdish forces, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran all have Kurds, and the Kurds have a strong desire to establish an independent state. The Kurdish statehood will inevitably lead to a violent conflict with the four Iraqi and Turkish countries, and the Kurdish statehood movement will inevitably lead to wars and disrupt the normal development of the four countries.

With the Kurds in Israel to share the pressure on the four countries, the security situation will certainly improve greatly. Once the Kurds succeed in establishing a state, they will inevitably turn to the United States in an all-round way in order to resist external pressure. At this time, the United States has a strategic fulcrum composed of Saudis, Israel, and Kurds, and has the capital to confront the Russian-backed G-4.

Moreover, 30 million Kurds are enough to provide a deep human base for Kurdish statehood.

Of course, the Kurdish strategy of the United States has only just begun, and in order to avoid greater resistance from 'dividing Iraq', it is far less blatant than it will be in the future. However, it can be seen from the US military's intention to spare Daihuk and Erbil that this strategy has already begun to work.

When thinking of Kirkuk, Guo Shouyun thinks of BP, that is, British Petroleum. Later, it was responsible for the operation of this oil field.

I have to admit that the old gentleman of England has declined. However, the colonization of the Middle East for nearly 100 years still laid a deep foundation. It was possible to transport Kirkuk's oil through Syrian and Turkish ports. It can be seen that BP has connections here. In contrast, Unocal is not a star and a half. Even if Guo Shouyun has the heart, he will not be able to achieve the level of British Petroleum in a short period of time.

And instead of spending so much effort here, for Kirkuk's 200,000 barrels per day, and under the threat of war, there is a possibility of reducing the possibility of oil at any time, it is better to use his previous knowledge to make money from the capital market and directly buy mature oil fields in the United States, Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and other places. While the cost of capital is higher, the cost of politics is correspondingly lower.

"Mr. Guo, Mr. Guo, what are you thinking, so obsessed!"

"Nothing, just some personal matter. Is there something wrong?"

"Let's go, cut the cake. It's hard to come here, why don't you have a piece of it!"

Guo Shouyun nodded and walked to the front with David Rubinstein. Everyone ate the cake, drank and chatted, and at about a quarter past nine in the evening, they said goodbye, and Guo Shouyun was no exception.

The closest to Crawford Farm is the town of Crawford, which has a population of no more than 1,000 households, and no one of these giants who participated in today's birthday dinner would choose to live in a town with poor conditions. Instead, they took a helicopter or their respective luxury cars and returned to Austin, the capital of Texas, 160 kilometers away.

Because of Carl Rove's parting explanation, after returning to Austin, Guo Shouyun did not leave immediately. Instead, after waiting for three days, I met President Bush, who was going to return to Washington from here.

"Mr. President!"

"I am very grateful to Mr. Guo for coming to my father's birthday party in person. In addition, he asked me to tell you that he liked the birthday present you gave. ”

"It is also my honor to be liked by Mr. Bush!"

After a few simple polite words, the two of them let go of their right hands in unison.

"You may be seated!"

"Thank you!"

"Carl said that Mr. Guo likes to drink tea, so I asked people to prepare some!"

Karl Rove, who was mentioned, just laughed a little and sat next to him without making a sound.

"Mr. President has a heart!"

The two motioned to each other, and after each picking up the cup and taking a sip, "I heard Neil talk about Unocal's financing, congratulations to Mr. Guo." With the support of huge funds, Unocal's development will inevitably go one step further. ”

"Thank you. Speaking of which, it is thanks to Mr. Neil's support, otherwise things would not have gone so smoothly. ”

After Bush Jr. laughed, he changed his words, "I wonder what Mr. Guo thinks of the current US economy?"

From 2001 to the present, the average annual GDP growth rate of the United States is 3.5%, the unemployment rate is 4.9%, and the government revenue surplus is abundant. This reversed the collapse of the stock market, high unemployment, high trade deficit, and sluggish investment in the United States at the end of President Clinton's administration. ”

“… Moreover, after the two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan stabilized 9/11, the people's fears caused by this have greatly enhanced the global standing of the United States. This series of achievements is closely related to the efforts of Mr. President. I think that if Mr. President wants to be re-elected, many people, including me, will support it!"

Guo Shouyun's emphasis on the last sentence clearly expressed his attitude, which also made the smile on George W. Bush's face even greater.

In fact, what he wants most is Guo Shouyun's words. Because his attitude represents the attitude of almost half of Silicon Valley. Being able to get Guo Shouyun's support will be of great help to his re-election.

"It is my honor to be so praised by Mr. Guo!"

"This is what Mr. President deserves. And I think anyone who knows anything about the current situation in the United States will have the same view. Guo Shouyun is hypocritical, and even despises himself. But it can't be helped, if you want to get what you want, sometimes you have to say something against your will!

If it's not desireless, who can really be themselves without any worries!

Bush Jr. smiled and nodded, "Listen to what Karl said, Mr. Guo is very interested in Iraq's oil resources!"

Finally hearing what he was most concerned about, Guo Shouyun cheered up, "Unocal is now the fourth largest oil company in the United States, and of course it is interested in Iraq's oil resources, which have rich oil and gas reserves!"

"Listening to the tone, Mr. Guo already has a goal?"

"Mr. President is a man of great wisdom. Yes, we are currently working on the information of the Maginu field!"

"Maginu?"

George W. Bush frowned slightly. Before he ran for president, he founded the Bush Energy Company, and although it collapsed later due to poor management, he has been in this business for many years, and he has little understanding of the international energy market, especially the situation of the world's second largest oil producer. What's more, this time the attack on Iraq is for oil, so I know more.

"Mr. President, Iraq's four major oil fields, Rumaila, Kirkuk, Sirguna, Majinu. The British are coveting Kirkuk, ExxonMobil wants Rumaila, Chevron Texaco is going to take Sylguna, and it's not too much for us Unocal to share Maginu!"

He doesn't care whether BP has contact with Kirkuk or not, whether he has dates or not, he will play two shots first.

"How did Mr. Guo get this information?"

"Hehe, although I am not as busy as Mr. President, I have never let go of my attention to the oil industry, especially ExxonMobil and other colleagues, which are the focus of attention. Naturally, this information is more well-informed. ”

George W. Bush smiled and nodded.

"Mr. Guo seems to have forgotten Shell, Dorda, and ConocoPhillips!"

"It was the U.S. military that defeated Iraq, and it was also our American companies and people who contributed military spending, so naturally our own people should share the largest share of the benefits. Handing over Kirkuk, the world's sixth-largest oil field, to the British is a testament to our sincerity. As for Shell and Dorda, and other oil companies, why should we care? If they insist on joining in, we can give them a part of the fields of Halfaya and Nasiriyah. As for ConocoPhillips, I think they'll be more interested in the East Baghdad oil fields!"

"It seems that Mr. Guo has calculated everything!"

"I am the chairman of Unocal, so I naturally have to think about the benefits of Unocal shareholders!"

Guo Shouyun deliberately emphasized the word 'shareholder', intending to remind the other party that Unocal is now in the same boat as the Bush family. We all share the same interests and are closely related!