17 August 2004 Despite its deteriorating security situation and unstable future, Iraq managed to attract a strong turnout for a contract to conduct reservoir and engineering studies at its largest two oil fields, Kirkuk and Rumaila. Some 14 bids were submitted from companies in Europe, North America and Australia, a senior Iraqi official said Monday. Iraq in June invited more than 30 companies to participate in the tender, which would…
Category: 2004
A historical
Iraqi Reservoir Damage May Be Long-Lasting
28 September 2004 Iraq’s leading oil field, Kirkuk, may have suffered irreparable damage to its reservoir as a result of the reinjection of fuel oil, refinery residue and gas-stripped oil over the last 15 years, according to Iraqi industry sources. The reinjected products amount to some 1.5 billion barrels, according to one estimate. The process, which was widespread under the former regime of Saddam Hussein, is still continuing, as Iraq…
Iraqi Plan for Radical Oil Reform Runs Into Controversy
30 September 2004 Iraq’s interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has taken the unusual step of suggesting that the Iraqi government disengage from running the oil sector, including management of the planned Iraq National Oil Co. (INOC), and that INOC be partly privatized in the future. Although a formal oil policy is desperately needed in Iraq, the proposals have provoked controversy, given their submission ahead of elections scheduled for January, which…
Iraq Sets Year-End Goal for INOC Rebirth
14 October 2004 Iraq’s interim Council of Ministers is expected to review a proposal to recreate a state oil company by next month at the latest, ahead of announcing its reestablishment before the end of the year, Iraq’s interim Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban said Wednesday. The proposal — which calls for the establishment of the Iraq National Oil Co. (INOC) as a holding company, with the existing North Oil Co.,…