Is Iraq’s foreign policy at the regional and international levels dictated by its position as an oil producer and exporter or is Iraq managing its resources in function of what its alliances and relationships allows it to do? Judging by the past, oil has mostly been a victim of the politics of the regime. This does not only apply to the last one, but goes back as far as the…
Tag: gas exports
Anatomy of a Deal
(Mr Asri Mousa was one of the main Iraqi negotiators of the south gas utilization project with Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi Corp between 2008 and 2011) Iraq has been, since 2008, negotiating with Royal Dutch Shell to establish a joint gas company to capture flared gas from three giant oil fields in the province of Basra. The joint venture is based on a proposal by Iraq to create a…
Basrah Gas Co
The Basra Gas Company project is a great milestone to Iraq’s gas industry and a remarkable achievement for the country in its endeavor to monetize its natural resources. The utilization of associated gas is a huge challenge to the oil industry and many oil-producing countries worldwide. Russia, a leading world gas producer and exporter, flares 3500 million cubic feet of associated gas daily, about five times the amounts Iraq is…
A History of Waste
Iraq is struggling between the urge to become a regional – and eventually an international – player on the gas scene and the need to supply a domestic market whose demand for gas for power generation is expected to continue rising drastically. That urge is exacerbated by the KRG’s ability to conclude swift deals to export gas regardless of whether such deals – which, like exporting oil, would require state…