5 September 2008 Since launching its first postwar licensing round in late June, Iraq’s leadership has been struggling to reach a consensus on what commercial terms would best protect long-term national interests while offering quick and efficient solutions for an oil industry worn down by years of war, sanctions and scant resources. The main issue arising from the internal debate is who should operate oil fields — the national oil…
Tag: Kirkuk
Shell’s Upstream Chief Offers His Take on Iraq’s Landmark Bid Round
7 November 2008 Despite its disappointment that Iraqi oil fields it had been studying were opened to international bidding, Royal Dutch Shell says it welcomes the transparent process Iraq has chosen for its first landmark bid round. But the Anglo-Dutch supermajor’s upstream chief, Malcolm Brinded, says he needs to see contract terms before assessing whether the service deals have “long-term robustness” in the absence of a nationwide hydrocarbon law. “It…
Iraq to Send Out Bid Round Packages This Week
28 October 2008 The Iraqi oil ministry is gearing up to send out the initial tender protocol and data packages for the eight oil and gas fields included in its landmark first bid round by the end of this week, and expects international oil companies to pay participation fees for the fields on which they choose to bid by Dec. 31, ministry sources say. Despite the accelerated process, questions persist…
Iraq’s Oil Ministry and KRG Hold Talks on Oil Export Schemes
14 October 2008 Iraq’s oil ministry and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have held talks in recent weeks that could pave the way to export oil produced in the northern region by international oil companies. They could also possibly open the way for an agreement between the federal government and the KRG on the contested production sharing contracts awarded by the KRG in recent years, Iraqi sources said In the…