What if an oil-rich country held a development auction and nobody came? That's what happened this week in Iraq. Iraq's televised oil field development auction turned out to be a ratings loser. It was also a revenue loser for the government. By 5 p.m. Baghdad time, Monday, of more than three dozen oil firms, only BP and its fuel hungry partner, the China National Petroleum Corporation, acquired an immunity idol. Big Oil was looking for a price that was just right ... for them. Barriers to entry remain higher than what oil companies are prepared to pay. Experts are acknowledging that there is a Grand Canyon-sized chasm between the Iraqi government and the Big Oil. The Iraqis are not ruling out the possibility of further negotiations because the country needs the money to rebuild its shattered economy. Governmental infighting is partly to blame along with some right-guided paranoia about being taken for a ride by the oil companies. That there will be a television sequel is a given. Whether it will benefit the viewers in the long run remains to be seen.
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