The Iraqi oil minister’s attempts to reconstitute the Iraq National Oil Company with him at the helm have come unstuck. All projects linked to INOC will now come under increased political scrutiny and could be delayed, or even cancelled.

Attempts by Iraq Oil Minister Ihsan Ismaael to shoehorn the nascent Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) into the country’s upstream sector despite parliament not yet having approved an amended law to establish it always carried considerable risk (MEES, 17 September 2021). Now the future role of INOC is up in the air after parliament voted to overturn the appointment of Mr Ismaael as its president. (CONTINUED - 1139 WORDS)