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Al-Shahrastani Speaks on Iraqi Oil Issues: Shared Fields and Progress

IraqOilMap-UtexasThe independent Kuwaiti Al-Seyassah daily featured a report by the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) covering an address given by Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrastani in parliament this Saturday. According to the report, al-Shahrastani revealed that negotiations are underway between Iraq and its neighbors, Iran and Kuwait, towards reaching an understanding on shared oil fields in border areas. (For a map of Iraqi oil fields see here)

The minister stated that these negotiations seek an agreement consolidating shared fields in order to avoid oil extraction that would be “uneconomical”.

Al-Shahrastani also denied claims made in the press about Iran having control over the large Majnun oil field, stating that the field is clearly within Iraqi borders. He then goes on to say that the al-Amara field, however, does lie in both Iraqi and Iranian territory, and that part of the current problem is that land borders are not clearly marked between the two countries.

The minister also mentions that efforts to work with Iran on this issue have been going slowly, and that Iranian border guards have not allowed some Iraqi oil engineers to properly inspect shared fields in the border town of al-Amara under the pretext that border signs have gone into ruin or have disappeared.

In addition to addressing issues concerning shared oil fields, al-Shahrastani also notes that Iraq has seen unprecedented oil revenues this year as a result of increased output and rising oil prices. He also indicates that acts of sabotage, which significantly hampered exports in the past few years and caused losses in the billions (reportedly $12 billion from 2005-2006), have been significantly curtailed by fortifying facilities.

With regards to smuggling, al-Shahrastani says that crude oil is not subject to such activity. However, he does state that there have been incidents of pipelines being broken in order for oil to be stolen, while there have also been cases of gas station owners selling off their portions of subsidized oil derivatives to smugglers.

While the increased revenues from oil, and the safeguarding of this resource, are undoubtedly positive developments for Iraq's economy, is it also possible that cooperation on shared oil fields could help facilitate stable relations between Iraq and its neighbors?

 

Author

Pete Ajemian

Pete Ajemian is a New York-based analyst who has written on topics of political violence, terrorism, and Arab media politics. He has conducted research for US law enforcement and recently completed graduate studies at the University of St. Andrews where his dissertation research examined issues dealing with new media, politics and security in the Arab world. His interest in Arab political media developed over the course of his Arabic language studies in Lebanon and the US. He has also written previously on the subject for issues of Arab Media & Society.

Areas of Focus:
New Media; Politics; Security;

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