A conference to discuss the ailements of the Iraqi oil sector was held in Baghdad in late February with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his deputy Barham Salih publicly putting their weight behind finding practical solutions to the troubled sector and stop the decline in oil production in oil fields in southern Iraq.
The question we ask: Are there practical and short term solutions to the problems suffered by the sector over three decades or does Iraq need a more fundamental overhaul of the sector, its management and its policies and is this the right time to do it?