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From the Archives: Baghdad and Beirut
Our look into Petroleum Economist's archives continues with October 1960 coverage of another key moment in the history of oil and gas: the founding of OPEC
Iraq Shell
Luay al-Khatteeb
Baghdad
14 November 2017
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Iraq's crazy goings on

Shell's dissatisfaction with its Iraq operations exposes flaws in the country's contract model for IOCs

Iraq has the second-largest proven oil reserves in the Middle East and the fastest growing production. When a major operator, Shell, is considering exiting one of the world's top 10 super-giant fields in that country, something is drastically wrong. The field in question is Majnoon, the Arabic word for crazy. Situated in oil-rich Basra province, southern Iraq, and operated by Shell with a 45% stake, partnered by Petronas (30%) and the Iraqi government (25%), the field has long been one of the most prized in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Shell won the field in Iraq's second bid round and signed a contract in 2010 to develop the 25bn-barrel reserves for a fee of $1.39 per bar

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Iraq’s tangled Ceyhan oil web
25 July 2025
KRG, Iraq’s central government and Turkey are all working to get exports flowing from the key port, but complications remain

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