30 September 2004 Iraq’s interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has taken the unusual step of suggesting that the Iraqi government disengage from running the oil sector, including management of the planned Iraq National Oil Co. (INOC), and that INOC be partly privatized in the future. Although a formal oil policy is desperately needed in Iraq, the proposals have provoked controversy, given their submission ahead of elections scheduled for January, which…
Iraq Sets Year-End Goal for INOC Rebirth
14 October 2004 Iraq’s interim Council of Ministers is expected to review a proposal to recreate a state oil company by next month at the latest, ahead of announcing its reestablishment before the end of the year, Iraq’s interim Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban said Wednesday. The proposal — which calls for the establishment of the Iraq National Oil Co. (INOC) as a holding company, with the existing North Oil Co.,…
Newly Appointed Iraqi Oil Minister Outlines Priorities
1 June 2004 Iraq’s newly appointed interim oil minister, Thamer al-Ghadban, aims to restructure his ministry and the companies under its umbrella, and to launch a number of long delayed oil development projects, he told Energy Intelligence Briefing on Tuesday, in his first interview after being sworn in. Al-Ghadban was named as part of the new interim government that will take over most of the power from the coalition occupation…
Iraqi Firm Forges Ahead With Drilling Plan Despite Potential War
27 February 2003 Unfazed by the current US military buildup and the potential risk to rigs from air raids or invading forces, Iraq’s Oil Drilling Co. (ODC) is forging ahead with drilling across the country’s oil fields in an attempt to beat its record of last year. But separate activities by foreign drillers under the UN’s oil-for-food program have been hit by the threat of war, with international companies either…