06-19-2014, 10:02 AM
Interesting take, this:
In terms of oil, the important development is not ISIS’s gains, but the consequent Kurdish takeover of Kirkuk, where northern Iraq’s main oil fields sprawl. The Kurds had long aimed to become oil-thirsty Turkey’s suppliers. The problem was the government in Baghdad. Now ISIS, in its stupidity, has effectively helped its Kurdish enemies consolidate economically, and for good measure, have also stormed the Turkish consulate in Mosul. The Kurds’ takeover of the northern oil is likely to be emulated in the south by the Shiites, for whom the fields near Iran, from Rumaylah to Abu Ghraib, will be an economic bloodline as they confront the Sunni challenge they face. Ultimately, Iraq’s current turmoil can actually improve oil production, placing it in sectarian hands that will benefit most from its recovery, and secure it better than any foreign rule.
Iraq’s unraveling would be good for oil - Amotz Asa-El's View from Jerusalem - MarketWatch

