Sporter
07-07-2006, 08:00 PM
July 6, 2006, 12:50PM
Oil Companies Reluctant to Invest in Iraq
By JIM KRANE Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In Iraq's peaceful north, a trio of foreign oil companies have begun classic wildcat exploration, hoping a gusher of black gold will bring them untold wealth.
But the companies are little-known outside the industry _ something that's unlikely to change until security improves. And the deals they have cut with the Kurdish regional administration bypassing the central government leaves them in a murky legal situation.
More than three years after the U.S.-led invasion, no big oil company has stepped forward to spend the huge sums necessary to tap Iraq's giant oil reserves and get crude flowing and revenues pouring into Iraq's government to help pay for food, jobs and even medical care.
"It will take a lot more to bring in the big guys," said Sharif Ghalib, a senior analyst with Energy Intelligence Research in New York.
None is likely to start prospecting until company chiefs feel reasonably assured that their workers won't be sent home in coffins and that their investments have legal protection that won't be taken away by a new government.
"We are interested and they are interested. But we need those conditions in place to take it to the next level," Shell Oil Co. President John Hofmeister told The Associated Press. "It's too soon to make a judgment on how close we are. I suspect we could be a few years away."
The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is eager to get them in quickly. Even with the resources of major oil companies, it would take at least five years to dramatically boost production and refining.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/4028816.html
Oil Companies Reluctant to Invest in Iraq
By JIM KRANE Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In Iraq's peaceful north, a trio of foreign oil companies have begun classic wildcat exploration, hoping a gusher of black gold will bring them untold wealth.
But the companies are little-known outside the industry _ something that's unlikely to change until security improves. And the deals they have cut with the Kurdish regional administration bypassing the central government leaves them in a murky legal situation.
More than three years after the U.S.-led invasion, no big oil company has stepped forward to spend the huge sums necessary to tap Iraq's giant oil reserves and get crude flowing and revenues pouring into Iraq's government to help pay for food, jobs and even medical care.
"It will take a lot more to bring in the big guys," said Sharif Ghalib, a senior analyst with Energy Intelligence Research in New York.
None is likely to start prospecting until company chiefs feel reasonably assured that their workers won't be sent home in coffins and that their investments have legal protection that won't be taken away by a new government.
"We are interested and they are interested. But we need those conditions in place to take it to the next level," Shell Oil Co. President John Hofmeister told The Associated Press. "It's too soon to make a judgment on how close we are. I suspect we could be a few years away."
The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is eager to get them in quickly. Even with the resources of major oil companies, it would take at least five years to dramatically boost production and refining.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/4028816.html