Iraq Watch – Zero-Sum Game

6 February 2009 Collapsing oil prices and dwindling revenues are forcing Iraq’s oil ministry to review the terms of the first bid round it launched last summer. After all, the state entity might not be able to finance a 51% carried interest in each of the six oil fields as stipulated in the bid round’s tender protocol and draft model contract. As a result, companies meeting ministry officials at a…

Iraqi Plan for Radical Oil Reform Runs Into Controversy

30 September 2004 Iraq’s interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has taken the unusual step of suggesting that the Iraqi government disengage from running the oil sector, including management of the planned Iraq National Oil Co. (INOC), and that INOC be partly privatized in the future. Although a formal oil policy is desperately needed in Iraq, the proposals have provoked controversy, given their submission ahead of elections scheduled for January, which…

Iraqi Oil Officials Weigh US Policy Role

7 May 2003 With current efforts in Iraq’s oil sector focusing on near-term repairs and restoration, cooperation between officials from the US and Iraq is proceeding smoothly. But Iraqi oil technocrats appear more skeptical about cooperation with the US on long-term policy, according to soundings by International Oil Daily in Baghdad. There is already internal debate among Iraqi officials about the correct course for the industry going forward, with some…