IOCs and the Future of Basrah

I believe the governor’s views are quite right, very positive and give assurances to the IOCs who signed contracts to develop oil fields in the Basrah governorate. The message is clear to the IOCs to engage with the local community and make an effort to reach out. It’s true that, and in spite of the monopolistic and concessionary nature of the old contracts IOCs had with Iraq, Basrah people did…

Shiltagh Aboud

Basrah Governor Dr Shiltagh Aboud lays down his expectations from international oil companies in an interview with Ruba Husari in his office in Basrah Feb. 4th, 2010. Q: Five of the oil fields development contracts awarded recently concern fields in the Basrah province, how do you see the benefits beyond the oil sector? A: I personally consider that the organization of the bid rounds and the participation of companies from…

The Real Winners

In retrospect, and despite what was considered at the time a ridiculously low fee, producing oil fields awarded to international oil companies in the first bid round turned out to be the most lucrative in terms of the service fee they will be paid. That’s excluding the three fields that will be producing less than 200,000 b/d (see table below). Even with the protracted negotiations over amendments to the final producing…

The Day After

The long-awaited party is over and now the real work is about to start. This is when the winners start going over the nitty-gritty of the model contract to try and tie loose ends in a bid to pull the extra mile out of a service contract. But at the end of the day, a service contract is a service contract. There is only so much one can adjust and…