Ground Truth
It is believed that Iraq holds the second highest oil and third highest gas deposits in the world and the market is braced for an increase in investment from foreign companies. As the Iraq oil and gas sector further prepares itself for liberalisation, qualified companies are now working with the local government on bids in both the north and south of the country. It is anticipated that the Iraqi Government will take a balanced and pragmatic approach when selecting foreign investors and is likely to spread contracts across investors from multiple countries including Russia, China and the United States.
While this is good news for international oil and gas companies, there remain some crucial challenges for these organisations. These challenges range from the threat of attacks on critical oil and gas infrastructures and people, understanding the legal frameworks that are being put into place, financial and insurance risks as well as ensuring adequate liaison and coordination with key stakeholders including the Iraqi Government, the Ministry of Oil, law enforcement, industry partners, suppliers and local communities.
In response to these challenges, GLOBAL, together with our strategic partners, has developed an extensive and unique range of services and technologies designed to enable foreign and domestic oil companies to operate securely and effectively, by mitigating risk and optimising revenue generation in a manner that protects lives, assets and the client’s reputation, locally and internationally.
Unlike the majority of international organisations in Iraq, GLOBAL works directly with the Government of Iraq in support of risk and development programmes - our team has extensive knowledge, experience and relationships within the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and its regional and provincial offices. In addition, our extensive experience in working throughout Iraq on high profile projects - including the management of security and support operations at Baghdad International Airport (BIAP), the protection of the International Zone (IZ) as well as the provision of security services at the Port of Umm Qasr – has enabled us to develop and maintain significant contacts within and an understanding of key local and international stakeholders. All of these relationships allow for effective business facilitation in support of oil and gas clients despite the sensitive nature of working in Iraq.
Our continued management of BIAP and operational expertise in regions including Baghdad, Basra, Maysan, Umm Qasr as well as Kirkuk, Mosul and Kurdistan, enables us to establish secure headquarters and regional hubs for clients. This is of key importance as it enables clients to establish their functional operations quickly while offering secure access to accommodation and life support services when required to liaise with government entities in the IZ.
By partnering with leading companies in the oil and gas sector, the GLOBAL team is able to deliver a wide range of services that can be leveraged by our clients to understand and mitigate risks, rapidly mobilise operations, assure oil and gas infrastructures and assets, and access expertise and oil field equipment and services quickly and effectively. This is further supported by our local knowledge and experience in vetting and recruiting local suppliers and staff.
For further information on how GLOBAL can assist companies seeking to operate within Iraq's oil and gas sector, please contact info@globalgroup.com