New Iraqi National Oil Company to take ownership of 9 state oil companies

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi has issued a decree to transfer the ownership of nine state-owned oil companies, including oil marketer SOMO, from the Oil Ministry to the newly-formed National Oil Company, which Luaibi also heads, a ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

Spokesperson Asim Jihad stated that Luaibi made the move in his capacity as National Oil Company chief, not as minister.

The decision will be “followed by others within the same framework,” Jihad said, quoted by Reuters.

The Iraqi federal government last week named Luaibi as head of the new National Oil Company, which is to serve as an umbrella organization for all the state oil companies.

The positions of company chief and minister are not related, but Luaibi currently holds both.

In March, the Iraqi Parliament voted to establish the company, which is meant to manage the country’s upstream operations, freeing up the ministry to set plans and strategies to develop the sector.

The nine state-owned firms included in Luaibi’s decree, are SOMO, the Iraqi Oil Exploration Company, the Iraqi Drilling Company, the North Oil Company, the Midland Oil Company, Basra Oil Company, Dhi Qar Oil Company, Maysan Oil Company, and the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company.

Recently, Prime Minister-designate Adil Abdul-Mahdi called on current Iraqi officials in the outgoing government cabinet to refrain from signing urgent deals, making non-essential hires, or other critical decisions. It was unclear if his statement was referring to Luaibi’s decision.

Editing by Nadia Riva