By John Lee.
The formation of the new Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) is “a power grab that could undermine all the progress,” according to Nick Butler.
Writing in the Financial Times, he says the new company will be a single entity with sole responsibility for all aspects of the development of the oil and gas sector across Iraq.
It will:
- control all hydrocarbon revenues, and itself determine what is passed to the national treasury;
- own all upstream, midstream, downstream, marketing and tanker interests and the associated pipeline and export infrastructure;
- be the only authority to sign contracts with international companies investing in oil and gas and other parts of the energy sector;
- have the power to create a fund to distribute the profits to every citizen;
- control a new next generations or sovereign wealth fund;
- invest in strategic projects in areas of the country in which it operates and in industrial and agriculture projects on any land it owns.
The full article can be read here.
(Source: Financial Times)