Iraq: New Models

14 March 2008 After struggling for five years to restore crude oil production to prewar levels, Baghdad is taking a pragmatic look at ways to involve international oil companies in developing its resources, sidestepping an internal debate over whether production sharing agreements (PSA) — the model preferred by Big Oil — are suited to Iraq. While discussions are ongoing with international oil companies, and between the Iraqi oil ministry and…

Legal Pros and Cons

30 March 2007 Iraqi oil veterans have made no bones about their unhappiness with the petroleum law approved by the cabinet in February. Not only do they criticize the speed at which it could open the upstream doors to major oil companies and the extent of Big Oil’s potential involvement, they say it’s wrong to be deciding the fate of the industry at a time when the state is struggling…