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Iraq Oil - Iraq Oil Fields - Iraq Oil Reserves
Iraqi oil fields: Iraq's proven oil
reserves of 112 billion barrels are the
world's second largest, behind Saudi
Arabia.
Lack of investment and restrictions on
imports of machinery and technology
have taken their toll on the oil industry
? which was battered during the Gulf
War.
Under the UN's oil-for-food programme
Iraq has only been allowed to export
oil if the profits are spent on
humanitarian supplies.
reserves of 112 billion barrels are the
world's second largest, behind Saudi
Arabia.
Lack of investment and restrictions on
imports of machinery and technology
have taken their toll on the oil industry
? which was battered during the Gulf
War.
Under the UN's oil-for-food programme
Iraq has only been allowed to export
oil if the profits are spent on
humanitarian supplies.
Iraq Oil Links
Iraq Oil News
- Chevron, Total in Services Pact on Iraq Majnoon Field-Sources (August 10, 2007)
- Iraqis Oppose Oil Development Plans, Poll Finds (August 7, 2007)
- Top Iraq MP: No Oil Law under Occupation (August 3 2007)
- Good News from Baghdad at Last: The Oil Law Has Stalled (August 3, 2007)
- According to experts, Iraq’s oil reserves could be the biggest in the world, exceeding 400 billion
barrels - IHS launches first detailed report on Iraq’s oil reserves and production potential since start of
Iraq conflict At 116 Billion Barrels, Iraq’s Oil Reserves are World’s Third Largest;
Iraq has the world’s second largest proven oil reserves. According to oil industry
experts, new exploration will probably raise Iraq’s reserves to 200+ billion barrels of
high-grade crude, extraordinarily cheap to produce. The four giant firms located in
the US and the UK have been keen to get back into Iraq, from which they were
excluded with the nationalization of 1972. During the final years of the Saddam era,
they envied companies from France, Russia, China, and elsewhere, who had
obtained major contracts. But UN sanctions (kept in place by the US and the UK)
kept those contracts inoperable. Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003,
everything has changed. In the new setting, with Washington running the show,
"friendly" companies expect to gain most of the lucrative oil deals that will be worth
hundreds of billions of dollars in profits in the coming decades. The new Iraqi
constitution of 2005, greatly influenced by US advisors, contains language that
guarantees a major role for foreign companies. Negotiators hope soon to complete
deals on Production Sharing Agreements that will give the companies control over
dozens of fields, including the fabled super-giant Majnoon. However, despite
pressure from the US government and foreign oil companies, the current Iraqi
government has not passed a national oil law. While regional governments angle for
influence over the foreign oil contracts, most Iraqis favor continued control by a
national company and the powerful oil workers union opposes de-nationalization.
Iraq's political future is very much in flux, but oil remains the central feature of the
political landscape.
experts, new exploration will probably raise Iraq’s reserves to 200+ billion barrels of
high-grade crude, extraordinarily cheap to produce. The four giant firms located in
the US and the UK have been keen to get back into Iraq, from which they were
excluded with the nationalization of 1972. During the final years of the Saddam era,
they envied companies from France, Russia, China, and elsewhere, who had
obtained major contracts. But UN sanctions (kept in place by the US and the UK)
kept those contracts inoperable. Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003,
everything has changed. In the new setting, with Washington running the show,
"friendly" companies expect to gain most of the lucrative oil deals that will be worth
hundreds of billions of dollars in profits in the coming decades. The new Iraqi
constitution of 2005, greatly influenced by US advisors, contains language that
guarantees a major role for foreign companies. Negotiators hope soon to complete
deals on Production Sharing Agreements that will give the companies control over
dozens of fields, including the fabled super-giant Majnoon. However, despite
pressure from the US government and foreign oil companies, the current Iraqi
government has not passed a national oil law. While regional governments angle for
influence over the foreign oil contracts, most Iraqis favor continued control by a
national company and the powerful oil workers union opposes de-nationalization.
Iraq's political future is very much in flux, but oil remains the central feature of the
political landscape.
Iraq Oil