BP Wants Stability, Oil, Contract Laws, Before Entering Iraq

23 March 2007 UK supermajor BP is staying away from Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, to avoid antagonizing the central government in Baghdad. However, despite the Iraqi government’s recent approval of a draft hydrocarbon law, BP will not venture into the country until there is a rule of law and it can be sure that contracts signed with the existing authorities would survive political change, a senior company executive said. “Every…

Iraq Courts Four Majors for Technical Deals

6 December 2007 Four majors met with Iraqi oil ministry officials in Amman last week to initiate talks on the first commercial technical support contracts to be awarded since the US-led invasion over four years ago, Iraqi and industry sources told International Oil Daily Wednesday. The ministry is aiming to raise output by 500,000 barrels per day over the next two years. The talks with BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and…

Iraq: Big Hopes, Little Progress

14  September 2007 International oil companies, big and small, flocked to Dubai over the past two weeks to hear Iraqi oil officials expound the riches of their oil fields. Few needed convincing of the country’s potential: After all, where else in the world are there 110 discovered reservoirs in almost 80 oil fields, with less than half developed, mostly partially? Yet their mood was dampened by the simple fact that…

Firms Line Up to Give Iraq Free Services

14 April 2005 The pending appointment of a new government in Iraq — the third since September 2003 — appears unlikely to open the doors to large investments by international oil companies, although the drawing up of a constitution later this year may take them one step closer. But that’s not deterring firms from getting a foot in the door, with some 29 companies signing memorandums of understanding (MOU) with…