TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Col. Bobby Nicholson's job securing a major part of Iraq's oil infrastructure is a lot like running a sprawling Texas ranch.

The Army engineer has to watch out for predators, hire workers and like the U.S. ranchers of old -- who drove herds of cattle across miles of hostile lands to sell at auction -- make sure every barrel of oil makes it to market from an area in which sabotage remains a constant worry.

The soft-spoken Texan oversees pipelines, refineries, water and power networks across a vast region stretching north from just above Baghdad to the oil city of Kirkuk and east to the Iranian border.

The chief engineer for the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, Nicholson is responsible for securing and advising those refurbishing the petroleum infrastructure in one of Iraq's most oil-rich regions as well as keeping domestic gas flowing and running regional power and water.

Nicholson told Reuters that restoration work was already producing results with a fairer distribution of energy resources to all Iraqis. Under Saddam Hussein, energy was parceled out to those who were in favor and withheld from those who were not.

"Some of the people complain about not getting enough oil and power, but those are the ones that used to get all they needed and now are getting their fair share," Nicholson said.

According to Nicholson, his area contains around 6.5 percent of the world's oil reserves with an estimated 10 billion barrels. That is about 40 percent of Iraq's known oil.

"DEBAATHIFICATION"

Securing and rebuilding the area has taken a combination of organization, military might and selective hiring, he said, adding that the leap from his training as a forestry engineer to overseeing oil infrastructure was "a big change."

Although Iraq's population is well-educated, few are schooled in the mechanics of running refineries and pipelines. Nicholson has had to rely on foreign contractors and re-hire some of those who worked in oil under Saddam.

"We've had to because there is no one else," Nicholson said. "For a lot of guys, all they have done is change employers."

He said stalwart Saddam supporters were not hired, and that others underwent a "de-Baathification process" to ensure they were no longer part of his political party.

Despite the poor condition of the oil infrastructure, Nicholson said he is impressed with the ability of the Iraqi oil experts to do a lot with a little.

"The North Oil Company is a pretty resilient organization because they were under pressure to produce regardless of the capital investment made or maintenance," he said, referring to the name of the Iraqi national oil company in his region.

Currently, the North Oil Co. is producing about 400,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent, and is refining 200,000 barrels a day of gasoline, kerosene and diesel at the area's main refinery in Baiji, north of Tikrit, he said.

RIDING THE RANGE BY HELICOPTER

Nicholson's team runs helicopter and ground patrols to keep an eye on the miles and miles of oil, natural gas and power lines in the region vulnerable to guerrillas and saboteurs who have been attacking U.S. troops and those who are helping them since major combat was declared over in May.

Working through area sheikhs, Nicholson has even hired local tribes to watch the pipelines and power lines. That is a page taken straight from Saddam and Iraq's colonial history under the British.

"That's the way the British did it before him. But that's not uniform, it's just where we trust the tribes," Nicholson said.

The going rate for protection is $145 a month per mile of pipeline or electric power lines in the tribe's lands, he said, though some haggled for a higher rate.

"What I told them when we went to negotiate is, 'We're going to hold you responsible for what happens on your land, whether or not we pay you."' Nicholson said.

Like his infantry and military police counterparts in the 4th ID, Nicholson and his unit have been training Iraqis to handle security. In his case, it has been separate, specialized units to handle security for the oil, power and water assets.

"The Coalition Provisional Authority decided that each ministry ought to handle its own security," Nicholson said.

That is also similar to the structure under Saddam.

Some of what initially was seen as organized attempts by Saddam's supporters to interrupt reconstruction of the power lines and pipelines often turned out to be simple theft and looting, he said.

Attacks, which were occurring at the rate of about two or three a week in the days just after Washington declared in May that major combat operations in the U.S.-led war that ousted Saddam last year was over, have fallen to about one a month, he said.

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