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Big Oil is hauling out the big guns, to scare Big Politicians into backing their next geopolitical play.
They’re even hauling out the tired old canards about “risking American Jobs” — even though the extraction work “they are lobbying for”, is going to be over a half-world away.
Big Surprise!
Oil companies lobby against new Russia sanctions
by John Bowden - The Hill — Jul 04, 2017
Oil giants ExxonMobil Corp. and Chevron are lobbying against a new bipartisan bill that would toughen sanctions on Russia and prevent the White House from weakening them.
The companies have been contacting lawmakers with information about how the bill could “disadvantage U.S. companies compared to our non-U.S. counterparts," The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
[...] “It has the potential to penalize U.S. interests and advantage Russia.”
The bill, which easily passed the Senate in June with a 98-2 vote, would toughen existing sanctions and give Congress 30 days to review and potentially block the Trump administration from lifting or relaxing Russia sanctions.
Mr Bigly himself (and his even Bigger Boss) are going along with Big Oil lobbying effort — as a bystander heard him mumbling to himself — time to make the Mother-country Great Again …
Exxon, Chevron Join Trump in Opposing Russia Sanctions Bill
by Lorraine Chow, Eco Watch — Jul 6, 2017
[...]
The bill is currently stalled in the House but the Trump administration is reportedly lobbying House Republicans to weaken the bill as it also sets up a Congressional review process if President Trump wants to remove or ease the sanctions.
[...]
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed similar concerns.
"I would urge Congress to ensure any legislation allows the president to have the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation," the former Exxon CEO said in June.
Of course Mr Big CEO-turned SOS would argue for the easing of Russian Sanctions — seeing as to how he was one of the Big architects of the trans-national $500 Billion Big Oil-rush deal, in the first place …
Will ExxonMobil and Rosneft Finally Be Able to Tie the Knot?
TheMarketMogel.com — March 6, 2017
Back in 2012, ExxonMobil and Rosneft struck a deal for a joint venture worth around $500bn. The venture revolves around developing reserves in the Arctic Kara Sea, the Black Sea and some onshore assets in Siberia, all of which are said to be very oil rich. A US Geological Survey estimates that there could be around 400 billion barrels of oil equivalents in the wider Arctic region.
[...]
The Sanctions
The deal, which had looked so promising, was jeopardised in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea. In the aftermath, the sanctions against Russia put the deal on hold. [...]
He [Tillerson] has been involved in various deals between the two oil giants over the last two decades – first in 1999 and later in 2011. The deal in 2011, worth $3.2bn, gave Exxon permission to develop offshore oil fields in the Russian Arctic, while Rosneft was given stakes in a number of US-based projects. The deal was a success up to that point but fell through following the sanctions, which prompted Tillerson to condemn them, saying that they caused “broad collateral damage”.
If Exxon doesn’t manage to lend Rosneft a hand, in its deep water rush to tap the melting Arctic ...
WHAT could possible go wrong!?
Worse yet, what if Rex and company, do manage to pull off the Russian-Reset, and DO end up “lending a hand” …
Ask Alaskans how Exxon’s “expertise” worked out for them.