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Pragmatism prevails in Iraq's oil sector
Despite a disappointing licensing round and political opposition to private-sector investment, Iraq is making gradual upstream progress – with the help of IOCs, writes Digby Lidstone
WITH 115bn barrels of proved and relatively accessible crude reserves, Iraq's geology rarely fazes oil prospectors. It is above ground that the obstacles lie. Delays to a new oil law, tensions between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish north, and a botched licensing round in June have offered no encouragement to foreign oil companies considering investing in Iraq's upstream. Yet many are persisting regardless: last month, Iraq approved a deal for BP and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to develop the 17bn barrels Rumaila field (PE 10/09 p26). Shell is in the process of brokering a gas deal in the south. Meanwhile, companies continue to beat a trail to Iraqi Kurdistan. With a second licensing round scheduled for December, politicians, oil executives ...Click here to continue reading Pragmatism prevails in Iraq's oil sector
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