EXTRACT: Executives from Royal Dutch Shell have been in talks with Iraq officials this year about exploiting gas reserves.
Published: Sunday, 26 August, 2007, 06:19 AM Doha Time
AMMAN: On first blush, the outlook for Iraq’s petroleum industry looks brighter than at any point since the US-led invasion four years ago, with exports hitting a three-year high in July and foreign oil majors jockeying for lucrative slices of its energy resources.
Yet the surprisingly resilient oil business in Iraq, home to the world’s third biggest oil reserves, is now tottering as many of the country’s respected veteran oil officials are kidnapped, murdered or seek sanctuary beyond its borders.