Incremental Steps in Iraq To Let Kurdistan Oil Flow
By SAM DAGHER
Published: January 31, 2010
The New York Times
[Excerpts]
ERBIL, Iraq — The semiautonomous region of Kurdistan is the one place in battered Iraq that promised economic boom times, but some of the foreign oil companies that rushed in over the past few years are becoming increasingly restless. John Ashbridge, chief operating officer of ShaMaran Petroleum Corp., who flew in from Geneva for the occasion, said he was confident the differences between Baghdad and Erbil would eventually be sorted out. He said his main concern was the lack of adequate pipeline infrastructure to export the oil particularly given all the contracts signed recently by Baghdad with oil companies to sharply increase production. ShaMaran, a subsidiary of Swedish oil and mining conglomerate Lundin, has interests in three oil blocks in the Kurdistan region, including Pulkhana, which is south of the city of Kirkuk in the heart of a volatile area subject to a bigger territorial dispute between the region and Baghdad. “This place is a time warp, the whole of Iraq is a time warp,” said Mr. Ashbridge. “If you are an investor in oil and gas, this is the place to be.”
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/wo...ast/01oil.html
By SAM DAGHER
Published: January 31, 2010
The New York Times
[Excerpts]
ERBIL, Iraq — The semiautonomous region of Kurdistan is the one place in battered Iraq that promised economic boom times, but some of the foreign oil companies that rushed in over the past few years are becoming increasingly restless. John Ashbridge, chief operating officer of ShaMaran Petroleum Corp., who flew in from Geneva for the occasion, said he was confident the differences between Baghdad and Erbil would eventually be sorted out. He said his main concern was the lack of adequate pipeline infrastructure to export the oil particularly given all the contracts signed recently by Baghdad with oil companies to sharply increase production. ShaMaran, a subsidiary of Swedish oil and mining conglomerate Lundin, has interests in three oil blocks in the Kurdistan region, including Pulkhana, which is south of the city of Kirkuk in the heart of a volatile area subject to a bigger territorial dispute between the region and Baghdad. “This place is a time warp, the whole of Iraq is a time warp,” said Mr. Ashbridge. “If you are an investor in oil and gas, this is the place to be.”
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/wo...ast/01oil.html