Buying Time

29 September 2006 It will be 2008, at the earliest, before Iraq’s southern provinces unite to form the giant oil-rich federal region that some Iraqi groups are calling for. That’s the deal reached this week by Shiite and Sunni lawmakers which, for now at least, averts further ethnic and religious strife over a Shiite-backed law outlining the mechanisms whereby Iraq’s provinces can form autonomous regions. But the arrangement, brokered by…

Iraq Edges Toward Deal on Government

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…

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…