Government formation promises relief from Iraq’s upstream stasis
The new administration’s close ties to Tehran could mould its stance towards potential IOC investors
Iraq’s oil sector has been frozen since elections last year, paralysed by the caretaker government’s constitutional inability to make major policy and spending decisions. While rival Mideast Gulf producers and their foreign partners have spent their oil price windfalls on turbocharging upstream development, Baghdad is lagging, even though it is set to end the year with its coffers at their plumpest for nearly 20 years. As a result, the belated appointment of a new government in late October was greeted by the country’s IOC investors with a general sigh of relief. But the sentiment was largely detached from the character of the administration, moulded as it is by a tactical victory after year
Also in this section
8 November 2024
The energy sector will need all viable technologies to meet surging demand as AI and datacentres drain power grids
8 November 2024
The former president’s victory likely heralds the return of a more market-oriented energy policy
7 November 2024
The move could have major ramifications for the LNG sector
6 November 2024
The crumbling of the country’s postwar political consensus may bolster the country’s LNG demand outlook by stymieing planned nuclear restarts