An unknown fate is staring at an oil agreement for Iraq

 

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[size=52]An unknown fate is staring at an oil agreement for Iraq[/size]

[size=45]Under the agreement, Exxon Mobil is building an oil treatment plant and an oil conveyor pipeline, and will be granted the right to work in two oil fields in southern Iraq.
[size=45]ExxonMobil, a US oil company, has been stepping up its recent steps to complete a $ 53 billion contract with Iraq, but disagreement over the terms of the agreement, security concerns and tension between the United States and Iran has slowed those steps.[/size]
[size=45]Four Iraqi officials familiar with the negotiations between Iraq and the US company told Reuters that the negotiations were interrupted by a set of clauses in the contract, most notably in relation to the ExxonMobil proposal to compensate for its expenses. ExxonMobil requested a share of two oilfields as compensation for its expenses.[/size]

[size=45]Iraq rejected the proposal because it considered it a violation of the government's ownership of oil production. One negotiator said in a statement to the British agency that Baghdad would not sign any agreement under ExxonMobil's current conditions.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq's Deputy Oil Minister for Oil Field Affairs, Fayyad Naima, announced last week that negotiations are continuing and the two sides are expected to agree in the near future.[/size]
[size=45]According to the Reuters report, the negotiations faltered twice, after the Exxon Mobil team to leave Iraq as a result of the regional conflict between Tehran and Washington, the first time was in May when the US State Department decided to withdraw the "unnecessary" staff of the US embassy and consulates from Iraq, the second time last week When Exxon Mobil headquarters in southern Iraq was bombed with mortars.[/size]
[size=45]After the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has become a battleground for Iran and America to expand their influence in the region. For 16 years, Iraq has had a major impact on stability in Iraq and has been a major obstacle to reviving Iraq's shattered infrastructure.[/size]
[size=45]"ExxonMobil has withdrawn its crew from Iraq because of the tensions in the region," said an Iraqi official who oversees the activities of foreign companies in Iraq. "The question is how this company will be able to manage a $ 53 billion project under conditions of continued instability in the region. Maybe they will leave their jobs behind them again and this harms our energy sector. "[/size]

[size=45]Iraq is OPEC's second largest oil producer and wants to develop its oil sector significantly to compensate for the losses it has suffered over the years of civil war, the eight-year war with Iran and 13 years of international sanctions.[/size]
[size=45]The contract will strengthen Exxon Mobil's position in Iraq. Under the agreement, ExxonMobil will build an oil treatment plant and an oil conveyor pipeline, and will have the right to work in two oil fields in southern Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]The US Secretary of State discussed with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi the issue of the agreement twice during the three days of May. He also announced in May that his government was close to concluding the $ 53 billion, 30-year deal, with ExxonMobil as its main partner and China's PetroChina.[/size]

[size=45]But well-informed Iraqi officials say the divergent views of the two sides are so large that they do not seem to be able to announce an initial contract in the near future. The US giant is proposing a formula known as "share in output" and has asked for a stake in the production of two oil fields as compensation for its expenses.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq opposes this formula and tends to another formula known as the "contract of service" under which the company receives wages according to the price per barrel of oil. "We told them that we totally reject the mechanism of participation in the output, because it is contrary to the energy policy of our government," says one Iraqi negotiator.[/size]
[size=45]But the official stressed that it is too early to announce the contract formula preferred by Iraq, has previously contracted with contractors companies get these companies a percentage of the profits of projects under those contracts.[/size]


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