The Politics of Iraqi Oil

In the run-up to Parliamentary elections late this year – the results of which will determine the course of Iraq oil management for the foreseeable future – Iraq’s political leaders are jockeying for the direction of Iraq’s most important economic resource.

Oil exports account for nearly all state income, and the drop in oil prices over the past year’s highs forced the government to reduce the new budget substantially. Oil production has seen a slight drop in the southern oil fields – home to most of the reserves – and Iraq has been slow in spending its own money and signing outside companies to do the needed reconstruction there.