China’s CNPC and its partners in Waha Co have started work on Al Ahdab oilfield near the town of Kut with the wrong foot. Lorrying their seismic survey rigs through farmers’ lands, destroying their wheat crop at a time when Iraq is importing wheat and when the agricultural sector is struggling for survival, is hardly a well-thought act. Destitute farmers have only their crops as a source of living. No…
Author: Ruba Husari
IOF Editor
Thamir Al-Ghadban
Former Oil Minister and Chief Advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister Thamir al-Ghadban talks to Ruba Husari in London April 29, 2009 Q: What are the chances that the first bid round concludes according to schedule this summer? A: Based on what has been done so far starting from the announcement of the first licensing round last year and all the steps that followed, including the road-show in London, the…
Baghdad Feb Conference
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…
Oil Provinces Offer High Stakes in Iraqi Poll
30 January 2009 Iraqis go to the polls on Saturday to choose their local council representatives for the next four years, in the second such elections held in postwar Iraq. The outcome will reflect the balance of power between the major political parties across 14 of the country’s 18 provinces and give an indication of the shape of things to come as Iraq prepares for its next parliamentary elections, most…