Iraqi Oil Revenues: "Managing the Devil's Excrement"
Roundtable
Workers at a Texaco oil field drill a vertical oil well.
Date and Time:
Thursday, January 22, 2004
10:00 AM–Noon
Location:
U.S. Institute of Peace
1200 17th St., NW
Washington, D.C.
What are the challenges to oil revenue management in Iraq? Once
referred to by OPEC co-founder Juan Pablo Perez Alfonso as "the devil's excrement," oil
has been a source of both internal and international conflict for decades.
In fact, many experts have stated that reorganizing the Iraqi oil industry
and properly handling its revenues will be among the most sensitive issues
of Iraqi reconstruction. To explore what this means for the rebuilding of Iraq, the Institute's Iraq Working Group
on January 22 sponsored a public roundtable featuring a panel of distinguished
experts on economics, energy, and international development. Moderated by Daniel
Serwer, Institute director of peace and stability operations, the panel
examined such issues as:
- What are the priorities to ensure sound economic management and good governance?
- What role can oil revenues play in managing inter-ethnic and inter-sectarian relations?
- How can oil revenues be used to support democratization and peacebuilding?
- How can transparency in revenue management be ensured?
The presentations were followed by questions from the floor.
Speakers
- Fareed Mohamedi
Senior Director, Markets and Countries Group and Chief Economist, PFC Energy
- Jill Shankleman
Senior Fellow, United States Institute of Peace
- Vernon Smith
Professor of Economics and Law, George Mason University
- Svetlana Tsalik
Director, Revenue Watch, Open Society Institute
- Daniel Serwer, Moderator
Director, Peace and Stability Operations, United States Institute of Peace
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