Iraqi oil execs bid for sale of the century Iraqi oil

Do I hear a $4bn bid for Basra Gas from Shell? No, that was a no-bid deal, do we have a bid for Rumeilla for BP? Lukoil are on the phone with a bid for West Qurna....the auction begins..

First to put his Chevron-logo-ed foot down against the climate chaos-creating, greenwashing, war profiteering energy companies at Iraq Petroleum 2008 was ChevronBear.

The cuddly but bluesome looking Polar Bear was made/hijacked by Chevron to demonstrate the company's supposed renewable energy credentials.

Chevron is bidding for one of Iraq's largest brownfields - West Qurna in Basra province, and is committed to expanding its portfolio of fossil fuels.

Linda Cook of Shell Exploration and Development, Majid Jawad of Emirati oil company Crescent Petroleum, and BP chief Tony Hayward (below) all jostled for lucrative oil and gas contracts at the Iraq Petroleum 2008 conference.

14 fields were put up for grabs under secret contracts.

Tony Haywood (right) wizened and grumpy because China Petroleum out-bid him ...

The Carbon Town Crier (left) lambasts the Millennium Hotel for holding the pilage event.

Majid Jawad of Crescent Petroleum (above), muses with his mirrored Crescent bidder's paddle (all the better to admire himself in). He left empty-handed despite appeals to Arab identity and Iraqi Unity, underlined with the blatent and urgent desire for Production Sharing Agreement contracts.