Reuters, 07 February 2006
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
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Citation: "US urging Iraq to develop oil "roadmap"," Reuters, 07 February 2006.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060208/ts_nm/iraq_usa_oil_dc
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