Unitization Dilemma

As Iraq and Kuwait forge ahead with their political rapprochement and the demarcation of their international boundaries, a major milestone will be achieved once an agreement is reached on the joint oil fields that straddle the border between the two states. That’s where Iraq needs all its resources to settle the issue in a manner that preserves its sovereignty and safeguards its interests in a way that does not lead…

Pipelines Politics

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…

Maritime Security

The Iraqi navy will have a daunting task of protecting Iraq’s export outlets in the Gulf and securing Iraq’s territorial waters and the tankers routes once the US military wraps up its mission and hands over security responsibilities to the Iraqi side by the end of December 2011. But that won’t be the end. Just as neighboring countries benefit from the presence and the might of the US navy in…

Reserves Politics

Iraq’s newly announced proven oil reserves figure of 143.1 billion barrels is most likely closer to the reality than the old one of 115 billion bbls minus what has been produced since the last revision, which is put at 5 billion bbls. But the question is how did Iraq arrive at this magic number without new exploration or new discoveries and while 3-D seismic surveys for the southern oil fields…