Letter from Iraq: Licences fail to lure IOCs
Oil majors play it safe amid unfavourable terms in latest oil and gas licensing bid rounds allowing Chinese low-ball moves
Iraq held its combined ‘fifth-plus’ and sixth licensing rounds in May. The offering had been since two years previously, when the Ministry of Oil announced the round with 30 blocks. The projects are distributed into 16 within the fifth-plus round, including eight exploratory oil blocks, and 14 blocks within the sixth round, including 11 blocks for non-associated gas exploration and three oil and gas blocks. The ministry was keen on the geographical distribution of these projects, and they included all the governorates of Iraq—from Nineveh and Anbar through to Salah al-Din, Najaf, Karbala, Babylon, Qadisiyah, Muthanna, Basra, Maysan, Wasit, Diyala and the capital, Baghdad—to contribute to ach
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