27 May 2008 Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani has named the director-general of South Oil Co. (SOC), Jabbar al-Luaibi, as a special adviser. Al-Luaibi’s deputy at SOC, Kifah Numan, will take over as the new director-general in the coming days, an Iraqi oil source in Baghdad told International Oil Daily Friday. It is not clear why al-Shahristani moved al-Luaibi, but analysts said it could be because of a power struggle…
Tag: Jaafari
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…
Iraq, Iran Oil Deal Raises Suspicions
15 August 2006 Iraq and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sunday to swap Iraqi Basrah oil for refined products, the second such deal since July 2005. The two Mideast nations also agreed over the weekend to jointly develop shared oil fields, an issue that is expected to raise suspicion by critics of an Iran-Iraq alliance. With Iraq in the midst of its worst fuel crisis since 2003,…
Chalabi Named Acting Oil Minister in Iraq
29 April 2005 Three months after Iraqis voted in national elections, the first Shiite-led government in Iraq’s modern history has won the support of the elected National Assembly. However, protracted negotiations among political factions and differences within the biggest Shiite bloc mean that the positions of two deputy premiers and five ministers, including the oil portfolio, have yet to be filled. In a sign of the difficult horse-trading since the…