Hunt Denies His Political Ties Aided Kurdish Pact
By BOB DAVIS
Wall Street Journal
October 3, 2007
DALLAS -- Hunt Oil Co. Chief Executive Ray Hunt said his ties to the Bush family
and the Republican Party didn't help his company cut a deal last month to
explore for oil in Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region.
The agreement, which gives the closely held Dallas company access to a largely
unexplored part of oil-rich Iraq, has been criticized by the Bush administration
and Iraqi officials as undermining efforts to strengthen the war-torn country's
central government. Some critics also suggested Mr. Hunt was cashing in on his
ties to President Bush, while others claimed he was turning his back on the
president.
In an interview, the 64-year-old Mr. Hunt says that, contrary to the State
Department's assertion, the company received no U.S. government advice before
striking a deal. "The State Department must have been misinformed," he said. "We
did not consult with anyone in the
[U.S. government] prior to signing our
agreement."
Mr. Hunt, a longtime friend of the Bush family,
gave $75,000 to Republican Party fund-raising committees in the past two years,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics. But he said his political ties
didn't play a role; the company saw an opening in Kurdistan and jumped on it.
"It's another example where we're able to move quickly when opportunity presents
itself," said Mr. Hunt, who says Kurdish oil executives turned to Hunt because
of its oil-development record in Yemen.
Mr. Hunt added: "The fact is, as a matter of
policy, we never have and never will go to the government of the U.S. and ask
the government's advice on anything we do from a business point of view."
The State Department says it warned Hunt Oil
against signing a contract that it viewed as "legally uncertain." In a news
conference late last month, Mr. Bush said he was "concerned" the arrangement
would "undermine" negotiations for a national oil law.
The Hunt Oil deal has been touted by Kurdish
officials, who want to bolster their claim to autonomy in oil-related issues and
worry that energy resources are more thoroughly mapped in Shiite-dominated
southern Iraq. But the Hunt contract has angered the Baghdad central government,
which worries about a breakup of the state.
Hunt Oil is much smaller than super majors such
as Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC. But it has a reputation
in the U.S. oil patch as a risk taker. As a closely held company, it feels it
can move faster than larger rivals. Mr. Hunt often refers to his firm as a
"commando" operation, wooing customers with its derring-do.
Under terms of the Kurdistan contract, Hunt Oil
plans to start seismic testing in the next few weeks and to drill its first well
sometime next year. But Mr. Hunt emphasized that the contract is for exploration
only, not for production, which could take an additional few years to begin --
if the company manages to find oil.
The Kurdish regional government yesterday said
it had signed a variety of additional oil deals, which could reduce the
political heat on Hunt. They include exploration agreements with two midsize oil
companies, Heritage Oil Corp., of Canada, and Perenco SA, of France, and
separate agreements to build two oil refineries.
