29 April 2005 Three months after Iraqis voted in national elections, the first Shiite-led government in Iraq’s modern history has won the support of the elected National Assembly. However, protracted negotiations among political factions and differences within the biggest Shiite bloc mean that the positions of two deputy premiers and five ministers, including the oil portfolio, have yet to be filled. In a sign of the difficult horse-trading since the…
Tag: Ghadban
Bahr Al-Uloum Poised For Iraq Oil Job
6 May 2005 Former Iraqi oil minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum is set to make a comeback as the next oil minister, barring any last-minute hitches, after beating Ahmad Chalabi, the deputy prime minister and acting oil minister, as the candidate backed by a Shiite party. The Shiite Al-Fadhila Party, considered close to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was allocated the oil job in the ethnic carve-up of portfolios in Iraq’s new…
Iraqi Officials Replaced In Political Move
1 July 2005 Two of Iraq’s top oil officials have been replaced by the country’s new oil minister, in a move widely regarded as politically motivated. The changes represent the second major shake up of the oil ministry since Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum was appointed as minister in May, Baghdad sources told International Oil Daily Thursday. Nabil Lamuza, director general of planning and studies, was replaced by an outsider, Fayad Hassan…
Iraq’s Production, Export Status Seen Unchanged Until Late 2006
21 September 2005 Iraq is unlikely to see any major change in its current 2.2 million barrels per day of production capacity or in the paralysis of its northern export route until late 2006 or early 2007 at the earliest, according to former Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban. Upstream progress will only come with the implementation of recently awarded contracts and others under consideration, he told International Oil Daily Tuesday on…