By concluding a deal with such an incompetent, small and legally bankrupt company, I must say, a serious harm has been inflicted on the Iraqi economy, and the full legal, moral, ethical and patriotic responsibility rests on the shoulders of those within the Ministry who were involved in this deal.
The Ministry should not take advantage of the fiscal and political crisis in the country to conclude a scandalous deal under the pretext of foreign investment and by using a deceptive non-economic argument by saying this refinery will not cost the government anything “ان انشائه سوف لن يكلف الدولة اية مبالغ”
The Ministry of Oil is under the legal obligation to be transparent by publishing on its website the full text of what was concluded with these two companies.
And for that purpose I call upon the Parliamentary related Committees (especially those for Energy, Investment, Finance and Integrity) to exercise their legal authority and duty to compel the Ministry of Oil to disclose the text of the deal and to make submissions before these Committees.
Also special committees and entities at the Council of Ministers such as Energy and PMAC should give their opinion on this deal.
Finally, Iraqi oil professionals, economists and others have to be proactive by asking for the feasibility study and full text of the concluded contract.
The harm has been done, but we need to know how much and how far, to at least limit or eliminate the damage before it is too late!
[i] Doubt Surrounds Satarem-Missan Refinery Deal
Commentary posted on IBN on 17 and 20 December 2013
https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/12/17/doubt-surrounds-satarem-missan-refinery-deal/ and
https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2013/12/20/min-of-oil-statement-on-maysan-refinery/
[ii] The contents of these email exchanges will be revealed when the time comes for their disclosure.
[iii] Long Term Service Contracts Are Good But Not Perfect, has been posted 19 January 2016
on IBN and accessible free-of-charges through the following link: https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2016/01/19/long-term-service-contracts-are-good-but-not-perfect/
Mr Jiyad is an independent development consultant, scholar and Associate with Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES), London. He was formerly a senior economist with the Iraq National Oil Company and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, Chief Expert for the Council of Ministers, Director at the Ministry of Trade, and International Specialist with UN organizations in Uganda, Sudan and Jordan. He is now based in Norway (Email: [email protected], Skype ID: Ahmed Mousa Jiyad).
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