Iraq’s reality check for oil production targets

Reality is slowly dawning in Iraq of the implausibility of meeting even half of the 12 million barrels a day (b/d) of oil production the country is targeting by 2017

UNDER two licensing rounds held in 2009, service contracts awarded to international oil companies (IOCs) at existing oilfields were expected to yield a massive output increase. But speculation is rife in Baghdad that Hussein al-Shahristani – the former oil minister who still maintains executive control of oil and gas policy as deputy prime minister – is ready to slash the official production-capacity target and seek a renegotiation of the 20-year service contracts signed with IOCs. Shahristani has denied any intention to scrap the contracts altogether and says the amount of oil Iraq produces will depend on market demand. The head-long pursuit of unattainable Iraqi oil-production expansion se