Seizure of Oilfields Fuels Kurd Statehood Dream
Along the desert horizon around Kirkuk, the bright flares from oil wells puncture the summer haze.
An estimated 4 percent of known global oil reserves lie beneath these sands. It is a prize that Iraq’s Kurds, and its other ethnic and tribal groups, have long sought to control.
The Kurds’ opportunity came Friday, when their Peshmerga fighters seized the Kirkuk and Bai Hassan oil fields.
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Minister for Natural Resources says the Kurds will be self-sufficient by the end of the year.
“We will be free with our own revenue as opposed to being under the thumb of dictators in Baghdad,” said Ashti Hawrami.
Baghdad insists all oil revenue should be channeled through the central government. This year it withheld part of the state budget after the Kurds began exporting oil via Turkey.
But with new oil fields under their control, the Kurdistan Regional Government or KRG has plans to expand production.
“There are plans for a larger refinery in Dohuk and a couple of smaller ones, an expansion of another one in Bazian, and those are actually, the Bazian (refinery) is under construction along with a couple of others for, let us say, lighter oil or condensate oil,” Hawrami said.
The problem will be finding the right buyers, says energy consultant Valérie Marcel of policy group Chatham House.
“Taking Kirkuk or KRG’s own exports, then the difficulty is more one of sovereignty, disputed oil," Marcel said. "So then really the problem is that likely potential buyers will not buy because they would be excluded from Iraq export sales in the future. So it would be too risky for them, for the classic purchasers.”
A new pipeline linking Kirkuk to Kurdistan’s own network and on to Turkey opened in May. The KRG says it hopes to export 400,000 barrels of oil per day by 2015, a potential game changer.
“The opening of the pipeline from Kurdistan to Turkey is really groundbreaking because it really does enable Kurdistan to turn away from Baghdad, to turn away from the Middle East proper, and towards Turkey and Europe," Marcel said. "And that opens all sorts of doors.”
In his modest house in Erbil, Omar Hassan Mawlood, 62, a former Peshmerga fighter, watches the historic events unfold on television. he Kurds have long claimed Kirkuk is part of their ancestral homeland, and like many Kurds, Mawlood is ready to fight for it.
"In 1991, when the Iraqi army came from here to invade Kirkuk, I was there,” he said, adding that he is ready again to sacrifice himself, his blood, and his family if the Peshmerga needs him.
Amid the turmoil in Iraq, the Kurds sense an opportunity. Its rulers see the oil fields of Kirkuk as the economic foundation of a future Kurdish state.
詞匯解析
budget
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
n.預(yù)算
vt.編預(yù)算；為 ... 做預(yù)算
vi.節(jié)省開(kāi)支
adj.廉價(jià)的；不貴的
參考例句
用作名詞 (n.)
Congress has approved the new educational budget.
國(guó)會(huì)通過(guò)了新的教育預(yù)算。
用作及物動(dòng)詞 (vt.)
The government has budgeted 10000000 pounds for education spending.
政府將10000000英鎊編入教育預(yù)算。
用作不及物動(dòng)詞 (vi.)
If we budget carefully, we'll be able to afford a new house.
如果我們精打細(xì)算就能買(mǎi)一座新房子了。
用作形容詞 (adj.)
You can buy high-quality goods at budget prices there.
你可以在那買(mǎi)到物美價(jià)廉的商品。
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apart
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
adv.相距；分開(kāi)地；分別地
adj.分開(kāi)的；分離的
參考例句
用作副詞 (adv.)
The two villages are three miles apart.
這兩個(gè)村子相距三英里。
用作形容詞 (adj.)
At that time we were never apart.
那時(shí)我們從不分開(kāi)。
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finance
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
n.金融；財(cái)政；資金
vt.給 ... 提供資金；負(fù)擔(dān)經(jīng)費(fèi)
參考例句
用作名詞 (n.)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the minister in charge of finance in Britain.
英國(guó)財(cái)政大臣是負(fù)責(zé)財(cái)政的大臣。
用作及物動(dòng)詞 (vt.)
The repairs to the school will be financed by the educational department.
學(xué)校的修繕將由教育部門(mén)出資。
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persist
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
v.堅(jiān)持；執(zhí)意；繼續(xù)；持續(xù)
參考例句
用作動(dòng)詞 (v.)
They persist with the agricultural reform, despite opposition from the farmers.
他們不顧農(nóng)民反對(duì),仍繼續(xù)進(jìn)行農(nóng)業(yè)改革。
The cold weather will persist for the rest of the week.
這種寒冷的天氣將持續(xù)到本周末。
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absolutely
難度：3星常用詞匯，屬常用6000詞
英漢解釋
adv.完全地；絕對(duì)地；[語(yǔ)]獨(dú)立地
int.（表示贊同）完全正確，一點(diǎn)沒(méi)錯(cuò)
參考例句
用作副詞 (adv.)
I trust his discretion absolutely.
我完全相信他的判斷。
Most researchers believe that, in theory, mobile phones are absolutely safe.
多數(shù)研究者認(rèn)為,從理論上講,移動(dòng)電話(huà)是絕對(duì)安全的。
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urban
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
adj.城市的；都市的
參考例句
用作形容詞 (adj.)
In some developing countries more and more people are migrating to urban areas.
在某些發(fā)展中的國(guó)家,越來(lái)越多的人向市區(qū)遷移。
The quality of urban living has been damaged by excessive noise levels.
城市生活的質(zhì)量已被過(guò)度的噪音所破壞。
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carbon
難度：4星核心詞匯，屬常用3000詞
英漢解釋
n.碳；復(fù)寫(xiě)紙；復(fù)本；碳精棒
參考例句
用作名詞 (n.)
Carbon dioxide consists of carbon and oxygen.
二氧化碳是由碳和氧組成的。
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