Drilling for Oil in Iraq

"On May 22, 2003, the United Nations (U.N) Security Council voted to lift the sanctions, Saddam's regime having been toppled. The vote was 14 to 1 (Syria refusing to vote). But the passing of this resolution was also controversial:" (Anup, 2005) With the reconstruction of Iraqi government into a democratic country, this leaves many business opportunities to do business in Iraqi.

"Under the Hussein regime, foreign investment in Iraq was restricted by statute to resident citizens of Arab countries. CPA Order #39, issued on September 19, 2003, has significantly altered the international business environment in Iraq by permitting 100 percent foreign ownership and management of Iraqi business entities except in natural resources sectors, including oil, and with respect to insurance companies." (Iraq Investment and Reconstruction TASK FORCE U.S. Department of Commerce, 2005) As stated, right now they are not allowing foreign companies to register for oil exploration. Our first step in doing business in Iraqi will be to register. We accomplish this by going to "the Registrar's office is located in the Food Stuff Company Building, across from the Iraqi National Museum, Area Allawi Hilla, Baghdad, Iraq, Military Grid Coordinate: MB42808774."

(Iraq Investment and Reconstruction TASK FORCE U.S. Department of Commerce, 2005) We can either send a representative there to register for us, or we can hire an Iraqi attorney to do this for us. "The CPA does provide a list of Although the Iraqi Ministries is saying they won't allow foreign investment, however in the "past week, Det Norske Oljeselskap (DNO), the Norwegian independent, commenced drilling an exploratory well near Zakho, Iraq - the first new exploration in the country, the company was proud to point out, since the US invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003." (Dev, 2006) The article continues to say they don't have permission to drill under the new government, however they had permission under the democratic party. Our first step to doing business in Iraqi will be to get permission from the "government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari in Baghdad " (Dev, 2006).

Contract Resources

Coalition Provisional Authority (website now static)
www.iraqcoalition.org/
Project and Contracting Office (formerly the Program Management Office) www.rebuilding-iraq.net/
Iraqi Business Centers www.iraqibusinesscenter.org/ http://kirkuk-business-center.org/ www.basrabusinesscentre.com/

U.S. Department of Commerce
Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force
Tel: 1-866-352-4727
Fax: (202) 482-0980
E-mail: IraqInfo@mail.doc.gov
www.export.gov/iraq

U.S. Agency for International Development
www.usaid.gov/iraq/activities.html - for USAID Iraq opportunities

U.S. Department of State
Office of Commercial and Business Affairs
www.state.gov/e/eb/cba/iraq

References:

Anup Shah, Created: Monday, July 20, 1998, Last Updated: Sunday, October 02, 2005, "Effects of Sanctions", Global Issues Review, [Electronic Version] retrieved on December 6, 2006 from http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/MiddleEast/Iraq/Sanctions.asp

U.S. Department of Commerce, May 20, 2005, "Business Guide to Iraqi" [Electronic Version] retrieved on December 6, 2006 from http://www.export.gov/iraq/bus_climate/businessguide_current.html#other_contracts

Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC, May 18, 2005, "Doing Business in Iraqi FAQ". [Electronic Version] retrieved on December 6, 2006 from http://www.export.gov/iraq/bus_climate/faq.html#10

Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force U.S. Department of Commerce
Washington, DC, May 14, 2005, "A Guide to Registering Foreign Companies' Branches
and Trade Representation Offices in Iraq". [Electronic Version] retrieved on December 6, 2006 from http://www.export.gov/iraq/bus_climate/foreign_reg_guide.html

George Dev, Managing Editor, "Now's not the time for divisive drilling" Oil and Gas International, [Electronic Version] retrieved on December 6, 2006 from http://www.oilandgasinternational.com/default.aspx