What does TotalEnergies see in Iraq?
The major has bucked the trend of Iraqi exits and reorganisations. Why is it going where others fear to tread?
September’s announcement of a new $27bn, 25-year investment contract between TotalEnergies and Iraq’s Oil and Electricity Ministry looks very much an outlier after months of IOC partner dissatisfaction. The French major has not, though, made such a big bet on upstream oil production, infrastructure and solar generation on a whim. It is therefore important to understand how the commitment fits with the firm’s overall strategy. But what are also telling are the subtle differences between what TotalEnergies has agreed and the broadly similar, but much larger, $53bn Southern Iraq Integrated Project (SIIP)—the development originally spearheaded by ExxonMobil to develop a seawater injection facili
Also in this section
23 April 2024
Cheaper Russian barrels and lower overall crude prices have helped cut key oil consumer’s import bills in election year
22 April 2024
Pursuing three different goals as part of the same package may mean achieving none of them
22 April 2024
Beijing’s renewed targeting of NOC management could threaten investment
19 April 2024
Cairo’s currency problems have hindered investment, but Pharos sees considerable potential as Egypt emerges from crisis