New Iraqi oil contracts to require local workforce be hired

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq will require all new contracts with foreign oil companies include the hiring of an 85 percent Iraqi workforce, the country’s Oil Minister, Jabar al-Luaibi, said on Monday.

The requirement will be included in all future contracts, whether in extraction, refining, the use of gas by-products, or infrastructure development, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said in a statement, quoting Luaibi.

His comment came during an address to attendees of the Basra Megaprojects Conference, which was held in Istanbul.

Luaibi stated that stipulations allowing Iraqi investors to invest at least 20 percent of the capital needed for a project would be introduced, Reuters reported.

The Iraqi official also noted that construction companies that are part of the Ministry “would contribute by at least 25 percent in all upcoming contracts,” without offering more details.

The new oil contracts would also make sure that foreign companies introduce projects that improve the educational sector, distribution of water, and health and infrastructure services, according to Luaibi.

The Minister’s speech came months after widespread protests in central and southern provinces of Iraq, namely Basra, over massive corruption, lack of basic services, high unemployment, and lack of access to clean water.

Editing by Nadia Riva