Before being named a board member of the Norwegian oil firm DNO – one of the biggest foreign players in Iraqi Kurdistan – former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad spoke with Iraq Oil Report about the country during and after his tenure.
One of the critical issues he faced as ambassador was the rift between the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in the north and the central government in Baghdad. Their dispute over control of Iraq’s oil sector has been a major front in …
The former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq runs a consulting firm focused on Iraq investments and has just been named to Norwegian oil firm DNO, whose Kurdish projects have stoked controversy. He talks to Iraq Oil Report.
The state-run Oil Exploration Company (OEC), an arm of the Ministry of Oil, wants to lead the rush into Iraq’s mostly underdeveloped natural gas reserves. It’s already working on a variety of projects, and is looking to partner with more foreign firms.
“The lack of funding for OEC from the Ministry of Oil, which is part of the general situation in Iraq, has resulted in a delay in drilling, exploration and delineation of wells to add more reserves for the country,” said Karim Hattab Jaafar, …