US urging Iraq to develop oil “roadmap”
HOUSTON (Reuters) – The United States is urging Iraqi
officials to create a roadmap for developing its vast oil
reserves, as one of the first steps to attracting foreign
investment, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.
The United States wants Iraq to come up with a model that
spells out the legal and regulatory framework that foreign oil
companies would work within, said Paul Simons, the U.S. state
department deputy assistant secretary for Energy and Sanctions.
Such a model would specify, for example, what shape a
national oil company in Iraq would take, he said. The United
States has not suggested a preference for any particular model
that Iraq should pursue, he said.
“We think the Iraqis need to have a roadmap. They need to
sort that out,” Simons said. “The concern we have relayed to
them is that it is important for them to define a model and put
it into place, to basically have a presentation that they can
bring to gatherings.”
One industry source said the Iraqis were particularly
interested in the Norwegian model of developing a country’s oil
resources.
Three years after the United States invaded Iraq, large
scale foreign investment has yet to materialize in the country.
Western oil company executives say they are eager to tap into
Iraq’s oil wealth, but will not do so until the dire security
conditions there improve.
In any case, Western executives say investing in Iraq is
tough because they aren’t sure who to talk to or what the rules
for operating in the country are. Many had hoped parliamentary
elections in December would pave the way for a stable
government that would quickly outline its oil policies.
So far, however, Iraq’s oil ministry has shown little
ability to move beyond its own internal problems over who
should occupy the oil minister berth.
Hampered by frequent sabotage and a decrepit
infrastructure, Iraq’s exports fell to 1.1 million barrels per
day in December, one of their lowest monthly levels since the
U.S.-led invasion.
(Additional reporting by Chris Baltimore)