News and Interviews on Iraqi Oil
Iraq managed to award 6 out of 11 exploration block and gas field in its fifth bid round, despite the rushed organisation which kept big players such as Exxon Mobil, Total and Lukoil away despite showing earlier interest. Most of the bidders were first comers to Iraq, vying for a foothold in the country’s prolific oil and gas sector. (Full Results) Coming just two weeks ahead of national elections, it…
Iraq’s fifth bid round launched last year has fallen victim to national electioneering. After missing the first deadline in the timeline announced end of November to conduct a roadshow for the tendered exploration blocks by early February, technocrats at Iraq’s oil ministry received sudden instructions to cut through the usual process and prepare to award exploration and development contracts by April 15. Just like the Iraq National Oil Co (INOC)…
I was privileged two years ago to be invited, as an observer, to attend a roundtable in Paris where about 30 Iraqis from inside and outside of Iraq, with experience in government and the oil sector, convened over three days to discuss in a candid and open manner how to define an oil policy for Iraq. To my surprise – and the shock of everyone else in the room –…