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Around one quarter of a million US and UK troops are poised to attack Iraq following the 48 hour ultimatum issued by US President George Bush. (Photo: Notat) US President, George Bush, has given Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq or face war. In a televised address at 2am Central European Time, Mr Bush signalled that diplomacy over Iraq was finally dead.

The address followed a traumatic day at the United Nations in New York and dramatic events in London which saw the resignation of the leader of the House of Commons, Robin Cook, over the Prime Minister, Tony Blair’s readiness for war.

Saddam Hussein responded last night that he would not be leaving Baghdad. No less than 250,000 UK and US troops are poised to invade.

Military conflict imminent President Bush told America, Iraq and the world that his ultimatum to Saddam Hussein followed "decades of deceit and cruelty" and 12 years of diplomatic haggling.

Iraq would never disarm as long as Saddam Hussein holds power, he said. "The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, terrorists could fulfil their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country or any other."

The President warned that the refusal of Mr Hussein to leave Iraq "will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing."

France to blame America and the UK both firmly placed the failure of the UN Security Council to reach a compromise position over Iraq on French shoulders.

According to Mr Bush, the failure of the Security Council to live up to its responsibilities forced the US to rise to its own.

"Some permanent members of the Security Council have publicly announced they will veto any resolution that compels disarmament of Iraq. These governments share our assessment of the danger but not our resolve to meet it," he said.

This view had been stressed earlier in the evening when UK Ambassador to the UN, Jeremy Greenstock, dropped the bombshell that consensus in the Security Council would not be possible.

This was due to one country’s resolve to veto any ultimatum "no matter what the circumstances", he said, with a scarcely veiled criticism that France had been ready to reject the latest compromise from the UK, US and Spain before even Baghdad itself.

France and Germany unmoved A statement from the office of the French President, Jacques Chirac, accused Mr Bush of taking a "unilateral decision" that was "contrary to the will of the UN Security Council," reports the BBC.

Germany was still insisting last night that more time should be given to UN weapons inspectors to do their job.

But Tony Blair’s pledge to back the US conflict with Iraq means troubled times ahead politically for the British Prime Minister.

Following cabinet member, Robin Cook’s dramatic resignation yesterday, Mr Blair faces a crucial debate in the House of Commons today when he will ask MPs to support "all means necessary" to deal with Iraq.

Although the backing of Conservative MPs is likely to secure the vote, the dissent of a majority of Labour MPs would inflict an embarrassing defeat on the Prime Minister.

According to the Greek Presidency, the UK and Spain are to blame for the failure to achieve a common EU foreign and security policy over Iraq.

The Presidency achieved a common position twice but "some countries" chose to side with America, outside of the EU framework, said Greek Spokesman, Panos Beglitis, in Athens on Monday.

The Spring Summit, scheduled for Thursday and Friday this week, is still set to go ahead. However, it is likely to address the issues of humanitarian aid for Iraq and the EU’s relationship with the Arab world, rather than the foreseen discussions on economic development in Europe.

Press Articles BBC Financial Times Le Monde Sueddeutsche Zeitung Gazeta Wyborcza

Speech Bush address to the nation

Written by Nicola Smith Edited by Andrew Beatty

www.nola.com The Associated Press 3/17/03 6:39 PM

Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-Chackbay, urged Congress to increase the capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to one billion barrels, and to fill the reserve to that capacity when cheaper oil is available.

He made the recommendation in a letter to his colleagues, a copy of which was released Monday.

Current capacity is about 600 million barrels in the reserve facilities on the Louisiana and Texas coasts. A larger reserve will make the country better able to deal with any interruptions in supply that might be caused by such occurrences as the looming war with Iraq, recent supply disruptions in Venezuela and skyrocketing oil prices, said Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Law already authorizes and SPR capacity of a billion barrels. Tauzin said Congress should approve legislation allowing the Department of Energy to go ahead with steps to expand capacity, and to fill the reserve to capacity when oil prices are down. .

ogj.pennnet.com By an OGJ correspondent

PARIS, Mar. 17 --A general lack of markets and pipeline infrastructure is the main reason South America has scarcely developed its abundant natural gas resources, said officials of Paris-based International Energy Agency in a recent study.

Few South American countries have both large natural gas reserves and correspondingly large potential domestic markets to justify the high upfront costs to develop these reserves and to build the transportation network.

Only Argentina has both massive domestic gas reserves and a mature gas market, with a well-developed infrastructure, the IEA study noted. Bolivia, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago have large reserves but limited gas markets. Brazil and Chile have large populations whose annual gas demand is growing at double-digit percentages; yet they depend primarily on imports.

Venezuela and Columbia are constrained in the development of associated gas reserves that are dependent on oil production. "It is doubtful that their domestic gas markets alone will provide enough opportunities and incentives to spur exploration and production of nonassociated gas," concluded the IEA study. With 91% of its proven gas reserves associated with oil, Venezuela is particularly hampered by its oil production quota as a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the study.

Except for Argentina where gas has high penetration of all market sectors, most South American countries use gas primarily to fuel industry and the energy production sector itself. Residential and commercial markets are limited, with no need for space heating in most of the continent. But opportunities could develop for summer cooling, said IEA officials. On the other hand, the use of compressed natural gas (GNG) as a transport fuel is expanding rapidly; Argentina is a world leader in that field.

Large and well-developed hydropower resources also have a limiting effect on gas use for power generation in South America, the study said. But it also found that the recent drought in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela, combined with the high cost of developing more hydro power plants, have caused several South American countries to diversify power generation towards gas.

The report projects that future South American gas demand will be driven largely by increased gas use for electricity: In 1995-2000, gas-fired power generation grew by 8.4%/year in South America, compared with 4.5% annual growth for total power generation. The study also sees the possibility for further substitution of gas for oil in the industrial sector.

Meanwhile, it said, gas pipeline interconnections are most advanced in the Southern Cone, encompassing parts of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay where most South American population and industry is located and where energy demand is highest. Both Argentina and Bolivia have abundant nonassociated gas reserves that they want to export to neighboring countries in this area.

In 2001, gas trade in the Southern Cone amounted to 9 billion cu m, 16% of the area's marketed gas production.

Pipelines, LNG plans Pipeline connections among the Andean countries—Bolivia, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela—will be slower to materialize, the study said. The only project currently under study is a Colombia-to-Venezuela gas link.

While the large gas reserves in the north are too far away to pipe to the Southern Cone, the study found that LNG projects have a promising future.

Trinidad & Tobago is well ahead in LNG trains with two in operation and three more planned by 2005, making Trinidad & Tobago one of the largest LNG suppliers of the Atlantic market.

Bolivia, with its enormous gas reserves, is exploring the possibility of exporting LNG to the west coast of Mexico, via Chile or Peru. Peruvian gas from the giant Camisea field also may one day be exported as LNG, because the local market is small and exports to Brazil must compete against Bolivia's abundant gas supplies, IEA reported.

There are plans to build an LNG import terminal on Brazil's eastern coast to receive gas from Trinidad & Tobago, Nigeria, or, eventually, Venezuela.

The trend towards increased gas production, consumption, and trade is expected to continue, said the IEA study, albeit at a slower rate due to Argentina's financial crisis and its effect on the investment climate in South America as a whole.

www.wbng.com Patrick Frank Mar 17, 2003, 22:51

Schumer stopped at the Kwik Fill on North Avenue in Owego to talk about rising gas prices.

He wants the Federal Trade Commission to investigate, and the federal government to release oil reserves to bring down prices.

Schumer says some businesses may be colluding on gas prices.

Senator Charles Schumer says, "It's very possible, as I said. Even though a few of the companies have no oil from Venezuela or the Middle East, their prices go up the same time the others go up."

Schumer also released a list of the gas stations with the lowest prices in Tioga County.

He encourages buyers to shop around before stopping to buy gas.

www.forbes.com Reuters, 03.17.03, 6:29 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - NYMEX crude oil futures fell by nearly a dollar in after-hours electronic trade Monday, in the wake of three straight losing sessions, as traders speculated that any U.S.-led war with Iraq would be short.

NYMEX April crude fell 96 cents, or 2.6 percent, to at $33.97 a barrel. In regular trading hours, April fell 45 cents, extending losses in the past three sessions to $2.90, or 7.7 percent.

In a roller-coaster day, the contract moved in a wide $2.35 range, shooting up to $36.35 and then quickly diving to $34.00.

"The market psychology has palpably changed and the urgency to buy has disappeared," said Peter Beutel, president of oil trading consultancy Cameron Hanover in New Canaan, Connecticut.

In London, Brent crude's new prompt month May shed 65 cents, or 2.1 percent, to settle at $29.48 a barrel.

The United States, Britain and Spain ended diplomatic efforts on Monday aimed at winning U.N. approval for an ultimatum to Iraq to disarm or face war. That clears the way for the three countries to launch a war without a vote in the Security Council, analysts said.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has ordered the pullout of U.N. staff from Iraq and said all U.N. work in the country, including the oil-for-food program, would be suspended.

U.N. arms inspectors were packing their bags and were expected to leave Baghdad early Tuesday.

U.S. President George W. Bush will deliver a television message at 8:00 p.m. EST in which he is expected to make a final ultimatum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to leave or face invasion.

U.S. Rep. Bill Tauzin of Louisiana, the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said earlier that the 600-million-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve had been switched to "flow mode" and were prepared to be put in the market if ordered by Bush.

Iraq exports about 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude under U.N. supervision as part of sanctions in place following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Crude has lost about $5, or 13 percent, since NYMEX crude hit a 12-year high of $39.99 on Feb. 27. From mid-November to that high point, NYMEX crude prices had risen more than $15, or 60 percent.

Crude prices also rose as U.S. supplies thinned due to a crippling two-month strike in Venezuela backed by its oil workers that began Dec. 2. Venezuela's production is gradually being restored.

Crude futures jumped to an all time high of $41.15 in October 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait in August of that year.