HOUSTON — The Western oil giants negotiating service deals to help Iraq boost its crude production are hopeful the relationships will lead to greater access to the country’s massive oil fields, industry experts say.
It’s unclear, however, whether the leverage the companies gain by providing technical support to Iraq over the next couple of years will lead to a greater role in tapping Iraq’s vast reservoirs.
Iraq’s oil ministry said Thursday that the country is close to signing oil-service deals with several major oil companies — the first major Iraqi contracts with big Western companies since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The pending deals, once signed, would be something of a stopgap measure to help Iraq begin to increase production until the country is able to approve a new national oil law that’s being held up by political squabbles among Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
But they also could mark the beginning of an important long-term toehold by Western companies into Iraq’s potentially lucrative oil industry, giving the companies a bidding advantage over others in the future.
The relationships would be established at a time when international oil companies are finding it harder and more expensive to gain access to new sources of hydrocarbons.
