24 February 2003 Having missed the boat on sales of natural gas by pipeline to Turkey, despite signing a memorandum of understanding in 1996, Iraqi officials are now drawing up plans to enter the broader international gas market. These include proposals to join a regional gas pipeline network, as well as construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in southern Iraq. Boosting Iraq’s natural gas reserves and export capabilities…
Despite Crisis, Iraq Outlines Grand Oil Plan
21 February 2003 Unfazed by the prospect of an imminent war, Iraqi oil officials are forging ahead with a 10-year plan drawn up last year, which aims to bring on stream early oil production from discovered but not-yet-developed fields, as well as launch an ambitious oil and gas exploration program to boost proven reserves. The 10-year plan, which stretches through 2012, aims at almost doubling oil production capacity in the…
Iraq Favors Transparent Process for Future Upstream Bidding
22 October 2003 Iraqi oil ministry officials favor open bidding for any future contracts for oil fields and exploration blocks, embracing both companies involved in previous negotiations and new contenders, mainly US majors for whom Iraq was off-limits. “We have proposals that we are formulating, but that still need to be submitted for approval by the oil minister and the political echelons in Iraq,” Natik al-Bayati, senior adviser at the…
Iraq: View From Baghdad
21 February 2003 The mood on the streets of Baghdad is as volatile as oil prices these days — hyper when war seems inevitable, more relaxed as the prospect recedes. But if and when war does finally start, it’s the battle for Baghdad that is preoccupying everyone, Iraqis as much as foreign observers based in the Iraqi capital. The recent global anti-war demonstrations astounded Iraqis to the point where they…