[jimbob]

David:

It's not just about the Iraqi, if the oil belongs to Texans, Albertans or Saudis, why do they have to pay for it at the pump??

Because the oil doesn't "belong" to the Iraqi, Texan, or Albertan, it belongs to the government of the people, who then contract out the rights to develop the resource. The government of the people then recieves royalties on the oil extracted, but the contract holder now owns the oil. In the end, large company XYZ, who happens to own the oil/gas/petrolium product, can then sell it to individuals within (nearly) any country they desire... Iraq or otherwise. This is why everybody on the planet needs to pay out of pocket for gasoline, regardless of whether oil comes out of the ground in Eretria or their backyard.

I'm not certain what the policy is in Saudi Arabia, as the oil is owned not by the gov't of the people, but by the ruling family, the house of Saud. I would imagine that they too have contracted out the development to multinational companies, but have no proof of that.

Finally, I'm sure there are some countries that take care of all gas sales within their borders, but in that case it is the gov't who purchases petrolium products from the multinationals, and then turns around and sells to the people.

[ April 14, 2003, 23:12: Message edited by: jimbob ]