Should a national oil company play the role of a welfare state? In many countries around the region, national oil companies have done just that over the years. Saudi Aramco might be the prime example. From schools, to hospitals, to roads, Aramco’s footprints are all over the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. In Iraq, the absence of a national oil company since the dismantling of INOC in 1987 has pushed one of its offsprings, South Oil Co (SOC), to play that role since 2003 and nowhere is in need of such a helping hand than the dilapidated city of Basra.
The capital of the southern oil province was the envy of its neighbors from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi along the Gulf in the 1970’s. But three decades later, as those neighbors entered the 21st century, Basra went three decades backwards. SOC’s newfound freedom after 2003, compared to the iron fist by which it was run from Baghdad under the previous regime, was put to good deeds. As signs went up on the streets indicating where SOC was carrying out work, major arteries in town were lined up with flush green trees; pavements were built; wooden seats and umbrellas started lining the Shatt al Arab river as families became more outgoing once the armed militias were ousted; and the Rose Park, at the foot of the statue of Basrawi poet Bader Shaker al-Sayyab, was open again and adorned with plants and shaded seating areas.
Major services like electricity and running water are still largely lacking across Basra but SOC’s small contributions to the social welfare of the inhabitants are akin to a small candle light in the midst of darkness. What’s more, SOC is also building a new state of the art hospital in Basra that should open its doors before the end of the year. “It’s the work of one visionary man”, Basra residents and SOC staff like to repeat. Indeed, the former head of SOC, Jabbar Luaybi, has made a place for himself in Basra history, not just as the man who kept the oil wells flowing in the darkest days of Iraq’s modern history, but also as the engineer of Basrawis’ wellbeing.
Basra, April 2, 2009