7 July 2005 Regardless of its official name, Iraq Oil Exploration Co. (IOEC) has done little in the way of exploration for the past 15 years — and is unlikely to start exploring the country’s vast areas anytime soon, in the absence of seismic equipment and trained staff. However, since the collapse of the Baath regime in 2003, the company has been focusing on building a modern National Data Center…
Iraq Focuses On Pilot Projects To Counter Big Field Declines
8 July 2005 Iraq’s South Oil Co. (SOC) is launching a handful of pilot production projects at oil fields in southern Iraq, in an attempt to compensate for declines at its large producing fields, according to local industry sources. The big-field problems have been exacerbated by a lack of funds for drilling new wells and working over existing wells, as well as delays in implementing water injection projects. The major…
Three Options for Oil in Iraq Constitution
25 July 2005 As an Aug.15 deadline approaches for agreeing on a final draft of Iraq’s new constitution, Iraqi officials say the document should be ready for debate by a special committee next week, to be followed by the National Assembly. However, agreement remains elusive on how ownership and management of Iraq’s vast oil resources should be formulated in the draft constitution, a member of the constitutional drafting committee told…
Iraq Constitution Vague on Key Oil Issues
24 August 2005 Iraq’s new draft constitution, which is awaiting a final vote by the National Assembly, offers significant power to the country’s many regions in determining how to manage Iraq’s oil wealth. The draft copy of the constitution, however, remains vague on major issues regarding oil policy and future investments, opening the way to different interpretations and possibly disputes which could delay the opening up of Iraq to international…