5 May 2006 Talks on forming Iraq’s next government seem to be edging closer toward an agreement on the main portfolios, including the Oil Ministry, and an announcement could be made as early as next week, Iraqi sources said Thursday. Two candidates emerged this week as the strongest candidates for the oil portfolio: former Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban, a technocrat who is backed by several parties including some in the…
Month: April 2009
Iraq’s New Minister Courts Oil Firms, Faces Big Challenges
24 May 2006 Iraq’s new Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani sought to send a positive message to international oil companies eyeing Iraq as he took over at the ministry Tuesday. “There is need to pass an oil and gas law to guarantee the right conditions for international companies to help develop the Iraqi oil sector,” al-Shahristani told reporters in Baghdad, after the handover from former acting minister Hashem al-Hashemi. The 64-year-old…
Iraq Fights for Control of Oil Region
31 May 2006 Barely a week after Iraq’s cabinet was sworn in, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani are facing the threat of a major disruption to Iraq’s oil output and exports, amid a Shiite power struggle in the southern province of Basrah. Al-Maliki today plans to make his first trip to Basrah as prime minister, in an attempt to stop turf wars among Shiite Islamist…
Iraq Cracks Down in Basrah, Imposes State of Emergency
1 June 2006 Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday declared a month-long state of emergency in Basrah city, in an attempt to rescue the southern oil region from a power struggle among Shiite factions. “We hope after this month that we will come back to Basrah and see that the situation has improved a lot,” al-Maliki told reporters after announcing the measure and after meeting with tribal leaders, political…