9 March 2007 Having waited so long for a law offering the framework necessary to regularize and legitimize future investments in Iraq’s vast oil resources, international firms itching to get their hands on the biggest Mideast opportunity in decades now find consensus — perhaps the most important ingredient of all — lacking. Iraqis are divided over the legitimacy of signing contracts while the country is wracked by chaos, and some…
Tag: INOC
Legal Pros and Cons
30 March 2007 Iraqi oil veterans have made no bones about their unhappiness with the petroleum law approved by the cabinet in February. Not only do they criticize the speed at which it could open the upstream doors to major oil companies and the extent of Big Oil’s potential involvement, they say it’s wrong to be deciding the fate of the industry at a time when the state is struggling…
Baghdad’s Oil Priorities
1 June 2007 Iraq has missed a May 31 deadline to approve the country’s first hydrocarbon law since regime change in 2003 — but in Iraqi terms, that’s no big deal. Every other deadline pushed by the US administration in the past four years for rebuilding the country’s institutions has also been missed. But for Iraq’s dilapidated oil sector, the delay is pushing back some initiatives that could provide a…
Iraq’s Emerging Alliances
24 August 2007 When Iraq eventually opens again for upstream business, the new rule in town will be competitive bidding — as opposed to former one-on-one negotiations. In effect, this will throw the game open to all for giant fields previously negotiated by international firms, such as West Qurna, Majnoon and Nahr bin Umar. Alliances have already emerged between some companies — including Russian Lukoil and US ConocoPhillips, Chevron with…