Employees of Iraq's newest state oil firm say its creation was driven by political timetables and marred by insufficient planning.
Kurdistan's oil sector has been plagued by financial crisis and other setbacks, but the deal announced Friday suggests some investors are seeing value and opportunity.
Iraqi premier claims members of Kurdish police were involved, raising prospect of political motives behind the May 2 attack.
Iraq's top natural gas official outlines new plans, beyond the scope of Basra Gas Company, to capture associated gas and reduce flaring in southern Iraq.
Oil sales have stopped falling as Iraq claims full OPEC compliance, suggesting further production cuts are unlikely.
The attack echoes a series of assassinations targeting northern oil officials in 2015.
After steep reductions in January and February, the Oil Ministry appeared to take its foot off the brakes in March.
Iraq is set to increase gas product exports and reach agreements on gas with with IOCs operating southern oil fields, said Ismaael, who is also the chairman of Basra Gas Company.
Now that the Dhi Qar Oil Company has been spun off, the Oil Ministry rechristened SOC as the Basra Oil Company.
The Oil Ministry plans to develop a new contract model for future projects and has contracted Iraqi-Norwegian consultant Farouk al-Kasim as it explores adjustments to existing TSCs.
