- 17 Sep 2013
THE GEOPOLITICS OF IRAQ’S PETROLEUM SECTOR
Abstract
Ten years have now passed since the start of the Iraq war. The swift collapse of the Ba’athist regime in 2003 marked the beginning of a new era for the people of Iraq.
Since January 2006, Iraqis have experienced what was to be the new constitution that redefined the centrally controlled rentier state into a Federal State, where market economy, private sector and foreign investment are few of many attributes that have been introduced to help reduce the dominance of the public sector, centralization of authority as well as put an end to the dependency on the state’s single source of income, “Oil”. However, the transition period to implement federalism was rather eventful and challenging as the Iraqi political factions are still struggling to reach consensus on the vital draft laws of “Federal Revenue Sharing” and “Federal Hydrocarbon Policy”.
The 10 years of on-going transition in this complex country, while current governing practices are still overruled by legacy regimes to “serve” a diversely challenging ethno-sectarian society, could be a learning curve for many countries in the MENA region that were hit by the so called “Arab Spring” eight years post regime change in Baghdad.
This presentation explains the state of affairs in Iraq, and how the wealth of natural resources became a divisive issue within a nation when it should have been a uniting instrument for a long lasting national reconciliation and prosperity.
About the Speakers
Luay al-Khatteeb is the Founder and Executive Director of Iraq Energy Institute (for public policy). Also a Senior Advisor to the Federal Parliament of Iraq on energy and economic development.
His past experience spans over 20 years in management consulting and business development with executive capacities as Director and Senior Advisor, served at various international companies including PwC, Anderson Consulting, ING Bank, Credit Suisse, British Gas, Prudential PLC, Crescent Petroleum and Shell E&P International. Moreover, he played an active role through IEI in cooperation with UNAMI, the Iraqi Federal Parliament and Regional Governments to debate vital issues on economic and legislative reform with focus on Federalism, Revenue Sharing, Hydrocarbon Policy, Fiscal Regimes, Power Sharing and National Reconciliation.
In addition to his professional commitments, Luay al-Khatteeb is an active participant at the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House), Brooking Institution (Doha-Centre), the Revenue Watch Institute, and a frequent commentator for MEES, MEED, Interfax, the Petroleum Economist, and the Financial Times. Furthermore, Luay is the Editor and Reviewer of various research papers and commercial reports in regional energy, economy and politics. Academically, Luay earned his Honours Degree from Kingston University (UK) and studied his PhD on Petroleum Policies at the University of Salford (UK). He is also a research-contributor to Harvard Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University) and James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy (Rice University).
