British documents: Blair's government discussed dismantling OPEC and flooding the markets with Iraqi

POSTED ON[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] BY [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]British documents: Blair's government discussed dismantling OPEC and flooding the markets with Iraqi oil[/size]

[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
The British newspaper “Financial Times” revealed that officials in Tony Blair’s government discussed in 2002 the idea of ​​“regime change” in Iraq and the dismantling of the “OPEC” organization, with the aim of flooding the markets with oil in order to reduce prices.[/size]
[size=45]According to declassified documents, the Labor government, led by Blair, explored the possibility of implementing a plan to “break” OPEC, in order to keep fuel prices low.[/size]
[size=45]The “Financial Times” quoted in a report translated by Shafaq News Agency; Concerning the confidential documents, it indicated that Blair's chief private secretary at the time, Jeremy Heywood, used the phrase "regime change" in Iraq with the aim of flooding world markets with oil, as a political option before the government.[/size]
[size=45]According to an official British memorandum, officials in the British Foreign Office encouraged Venezuela and Nigeria to withdraw from OPEC, which includes oil exporting countries, in order to reduce the price agreed upon by OPEC.[/size]
[size=45]The report indicated that the new Labor government at that time was concerned about the rise in oil prices as the global economy was reeling with the possibility of falling into recession after the faltering crisis of emerging companies in the Internet world, and after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.[/size]
[size=45]In addition, London was worried about the possibility of a shock to the markets in terms of oil supply as a result of the US invasion of Iraq, which Britain had tentatively supported by November of that year.[/size]
[size=45]OPEC, which represents about a third of the world's oil production, was aimed at OPEC, which represents about seeking to regulate global oil prices by achieving balance in terms of supply offers by the member states of the organization that were pledged to maintain adequate supplies in the oil market after the attacks. September 11, 2001, however, in light of the global economic slowdown, OPEC decided to cut production by 6.5% in December of that year.[/size]
[size=45]OPEC had 10 voting members in 2002. Russia is not a member despite participating in voluntary oil price cuts as part of the more flexible OPEC+ grouping since 2016.[/size]
[size=45]The report quoted an unofficial government note titled “Can we break OPEC?” It bears the date of November 2002, when the Director-General for Europe and Economic Affairs at the British Foreign Office, Michael Arthur, wrote to Heywood, Blair's private secretary, suggesting that Britain could "seek to undermine the coherence of OPEC in a number of ways".[/size]
[size=45]In the memorandum, officials of the British Foreign Office talk about the "unique opportunity" of regime change in Iraq in order to raise its oil production over a period of "5 to 8 years."[/size]
[size=45]In addition, the document proposes to push Venezuela or Nigeria to withdraw from OPEC, in addition to provoking division within OPEC by asking Saudi Arabia to increase its production share, which leads to lower shares for other members of the organization. The document speaks of "a weaker OPEC".[/size]
[size=45]The report indicated that any country that will leave OPEC will be able to be free to sell oil in larger quantities than agreed upon within the organization, which will lead to an increase in supply in the global market, and force OPEC to reduce its production to maintain prices.[/size]
[size=45]According to the report, Blair's secretary Heywood wrote to Arthur, the British Foreign Office official, saying it was "in our broader interest to strike a delicate balance between stable and sustainable prices and reducing OPEC's dominance," adding that Blair had read the brief in the memo, "with interest."[/size]
[size=45]The report added that Heywood wrote, commenting on a note addressed to the Treasury Department about OPEC's decision to maintain the price of oil, describing it as "very bad for the global economy," referring to the anger of senior officials about the situation. Heywood said that there is indeed a need to accelerate work to reduce dependence on OPEC by reaching long-term, fixed-price contracts with Russia.[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out that British officials also concluded that low oil prices in the long term would harm British interests because this creates a risk of economic and political unrest in turbulent regions such as Russia and the Middle East.[/size]
[size=45]The report concluded by noting that the White House accused OPEC in October 2022 of siding with Russia after “OPEC +” decided to reduce production, despite global concern about rising energy prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[/size]
[size=45]Translation: Shafak News Agency[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]