Energy Infrastructure Planning Group
The administration's examination of the subject of Iraq's oil industry began last September when Douglas J. Feith, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, asked an adviser to oversee plans for Iraq's oil industry in the event of war, according to a Pentagon official involved in the project.
The result was the Energy Infrastructure Planning Group (EIPG), whose existence has not previously been disclosed. It drew on the expertise of government specialists including the Central Intelligence Agency and retired senior energy executives. Its mission was to plan how to secure the oil industry during the war and to afterward restore it to its prewar capacity.
The task force's job was not to make a direct assessment of how much money the oil industry could contribute to rebuilding Iraq; but determining Iraq's actual oil production capacity was important. First, it could help other administration officials gauge how much revenue might be generated for the reconstruction effort. Second, the administration was concerned that it did not want to be seen as profiting from invading an oil-rich nation and giving oil production levels a boost.
- 23 April 2003: "Michael H. Mobbs is the Civil Administration Coordinator for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. He also serves as Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy": "Mr. Mobbs' other recent assignments in the Department of Defense include serving as head of the Energy Infrastructure Planning Group, an interagency group that developed contingency plans on post-conflict energy matters."
