You remember your oil industry history very well Sneak. The types of considerations you hint at have indeed been in play in other hook ups. Here is an example:
"Not about profit
Could it be that geopolitical and intelligence-gathering considerations overrode economic calculations in the CNOOC boardroom? That might explain why, after initially passing on Unocal’s invitation to bid, the Chinese firm reversed course and made a last-minute offer after Unocal’s board had already agreed to submit a $16.6 billion deal with Chevron Corp. to a shareholder vote.
Otherwise, why would a deal that made little economic sense two months earlier suddenly become so desirable that it’s worth paying not only top dollar to Unocal but an additional $500 million in breakup fees to Chevron?
Small wonder that Chevron Vice Chairman Peter Robertson complains, “Clearly, this is not a commercial competition. We are competing with the Chinese government.”
Members of Congress have asked the Bush administration to have the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States investigate CNOOC’s bid and assess how the deal would affect national security. It seems the Treasury-chaired, interagency CFIUS would have ample cause to deny a foreign power’s bid to acquire any major oil company with offshore assets adjacent to strategic U.S. military facilities.
That may not sit well with free-trade purists or some free-trade pragmatists. But this may well be a case where vital security concerns outweigh economic ideology."
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