9 August 2006 More than two months after taking over Iraq’s embattled oil sector and pledging to fight corruption, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani is taking timid steps to put the ministry back on track. Al-Shahristani’s first move has been to oust directors-general who were appointed on political merit or as a result of pressure from influential politicians. The purge involves about six employees who were brought in as directors…
Month: April 2009
Turmoil in Oil-Rich Southern Iraq Continues
11 August 2006 Iraq’s Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has so far failed to impose his authority over the city council of Basrah while calls for the establishment of an autonomous federation of the south are increasing. Basrah — the capital of the southern oil province and currently home to all of Iraq’s oil exports — has been wrought by a power struggle among Shiite factions over the past year,…
Iraq, Iran Oil Deal Raises Suspicions
15 August 2006 Iraq and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sunday to swap Iraqi Basrah oil for refined products, the second such deal since July 2005. The two Mideast nations also agreed over the weekend to jointly develop shared oil fields, an issue that is expected to raise suspicion by critics of an Iran-Iraq alliance. With Iraq in the midst of its worst fuel crisis since 2003,…
Iraqi Panel Hammers Away at Draft Oil Law
31 August 2006 An Iraqi government committee has been hammering away at contentious issues in a draft hydrocarbon law to regulate the oil and gas industry before it is submitted to the cabinet and parliament for approval. But it risks being blocked by a Sunni minority which also disputed the Iraqi constitution adopted by referendum last year. The committee which has been meeting over the past weeks is made up…