Boycott oil US products

Despite the Bush administration’s claims that the proposed war on Iraq is only about weapons of mass destruction, simmering below the surface is Bush’s ‘need’ to secure a continued supply of cheap oil.

While oil is not the only factor motivating Bush’s preparations for war, US oil dependency is playing a large part in fuelling conflict in the Middle East region.

Iraq is sitting on 10% of the world’s oil reserves - 112bn barrels, second only to Saudi Arabia. That’s 16 years worth of US oil consumption. It is only currently producing a fraction of that potential, and large sectors of Iraqi territory have never been fully explored, so there is a good chance that their actual reserves may be far greater. The US Department of Energy recently confirmed that ‘Iraq's oil production costs are amongst the lowest in the world, making it a highly attractive oil prospect.’

Now US energy policy is setting the path for the nation’s foreign policy. Yet there are alternative routes. As Peter Hain, UK Foreign Office Minister of State, has said:
‘There is no better way to enhance our energy security, and thus to increase our ability to pursue our broader foreign policy objectives, than by finding innovative and cost-effective ways to reduce our dependence on oil as a transport fuel. Doing so would also have the added benefit of boosting other domestic and foreign policy objectives, particularly those on air quality and climate change.’

ExxonMobil/Esso

The company that has done more than any other to keep the US hooked on oil is ExxonMobil (known as Esso in the UK and Europe). In order to protect its business in fossil fuels, ExxonMobil has spent the last decade sabotaging international action on climate change and directing US climate and energy policy. It has made concerted efforts to undermine the accepted scientific consensus on climate change, and is still misleading the public and policy makers over the economic implications of tackling global warming. It has also funded ‘climate sceptic’ scientists and industry front groups to lobby on its behalf. When Bush pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, ExxonMobil was the architect of his climb-down.

For More information:
Stop Esso

ChevronTexaco

Another large US oil multinational, based in Texas, already subject to a boycott because of it's environmental and human rights record. It also stands to gain a significant amount from a change in regime in Iraq.

For More information:
Corporate Watch: ChevronTexaco boycott