Interviews

Q&A: Bassim Mohammed Khudair, Deputy Oil Minister for Upstream

Iraq's top upstream oil official confirms that production, curtailed by war, is ready to surge back online — but only once ships can reliably resume Basra Gulf export loadings.

Deputy Oil Minister Bassim Mohammed Khudair (center) and Basra Oil Company Director General Bassim Abdul Karim (right) tour part of the Ratawi project led by TotalEnergies in February 2026. (Photo credit: Oil Ministry)

Dec 4, 2014

Q&A: Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari

The man holding Iraq's purse strings discusses the need to look forward despite years of acrimony over oil, land and revenues.

Sep 11, 2014

Q&A: Mustafa Sayid Qadir, Minister of Peshmerga Affairs

Kurdistan's defense minister spells out the kit needed to take back towns from ISIS, and says the KRG has to "unify and institutionalize" the Peshmerga.

Sep 8, 2014

Q&A: Kirkuk Governor Najmaldin Karim

In the aftermath of the rise of ISIS, Kirkuk's governor discusses Iraq's territorial disputes, control of the province's oil fields, and the future of BP.

Jun 20, 2014

Q&A: Falah Mustafa Bakir

Kurdistan's top ambassador says KRG territory now irreversibly includes the Kirkuk oil field, in a "new reality" of almost total Kurdish independence.

May 29, 2014

Q&A: Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S. Lukman Faily

The Iraqi ambassador discusses stepped-up military cooperation with the U.S., the ongoing sectarian violence in Iraq, and the politics of government formation.

May 7, 2014

Q&A: Lukoil Overseas President Andrey Kuzyaev

The Lukoil Group VP discusses the status of West Qurna 2, bidding on the upcoming Nassiriya project, and whether Kurdistan is on the radar.

Mar 6, 2014

Q&A: TAQA Iraq President Leo Koot

The head of one of the most strategically valuable investors in Iraqi Kurdistan's oil sector talks production plans and pipeline tie-ins.

Mar 4, 2014

Q&A: U.S. International Energy Envoy Carlos Pascual

The U.S. government’s top energy diplomat discusses American efforts to help Iraq rise to the top of the global oil industry.

Feb 26, 2014

Q&A: Thamir Ghadhban

The prime minister's energy czar talks about production, flaring reduction, refining targets and the ongoing dispute between Baghdad and the KRG.

Feb 18, 2014

Q&A: The Calculator

IOR talks to Ali Hama Salih, Kurdistan’s popular MP, and a rising star in the opposition Gorran party.