Kwok W Wan, LONDON: The Kurdistan region of Iraq is tempting for Total, but the French major is not ready to commit, just yet. Total said in mid-February that it would like to invest in Kurdistan’s oil and gas industry, indicating that the Iraqi government’s fourth-round licensing terms were not very attractive.
But the company is not ready to invest and is wary of gaining approval from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as well as central government permission before striking any deal. “In Kurdistan, you can’t do anything without KRG approval and then probably Baghdad,” Total chief executive officer Christophe de Margerie said. “The way you buy a company or assets doesn’t change the way you must secure approval. It’s not the way to bypass the system.”
He added that Total would continue with its long-held plan to not buy companies, but to look for...