Issam al-Chalabi writes:
“Iraq is a landlocked country with a narrow opening to the Gulf. That by itself has been the cause of many conflicts with neighbouring Iran and Kuwait, meaning that, in addition to utilizing its Gulf outlet, Iraq must send oil through other neighboring countries to provide additional and alternative export outlets. This again has been a source of political conflicts and confrontations ever since the commercial discovery of oil in Baba Gurgur in Kirkuk in 1927, when there were differences between the French and the British as to whether the terminal IPC was planning should be in Haifa in Palestine (under British mandate) or Banias in Syria (under French mandate).
The current stampede by the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, spearheaded by Minister of Oil Husain al-Shahristani, to award oil deals to foreign oil companies is not matched by a similar hurry to provide the necessary oil export facilities, which remain the responsibility of Iraq’s Ministry of Oil. The following facts should be borne in mind when considering the potential for Iraqi oil exports.”