Perspective: Iraq plays for high stakes

12 November 2004 Iraq plans to revive its national oil company, dismantled by Saddam Hussein, by the end of the year. But the structure and role of Iraq National Oil Co. are proving highly contentious, with arguments between Iraqi oil veterans, oil ministry officials and politicians in the interim establishment a reflection of the conflicting visions of Iraq’s future. Energy Intelligence Middle East correspondent Ruba Husari reports on the controversy,…

Iraq Prepares Ground for Future Contracts

14 June 2004 Iraq’s oil ministry is setting out on a process of preparing a new oil policy, as well as drafting model contracts and a petroleum law, to be approved later by the country’s elected bodies, Iraq’s new Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban said in an interview. The work aims to prepare Iraq for its political evolution, which should see the adoption of a new constitution in around 18 months,…

Iraq Establishes Supreme Council for Oil, Gas

19 July 2004 Iraq’s interim government has taken its first step toward institutionalizing oil policy in Iraq by establishing the first supreme council for oil and gas. “We don’t want oil policy to be in the hands of one person but it’s a matter for the whole nation represented by the prime minister and other members of the cabinet,” Thamer al-Ghadban, Iraq’s interim oil minister, told International Oil Daily from…

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.,…