Washington: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said on Monday he wanted another American company to replace Exxon car Corp when out of Iraq.
Exxon, which in 2019 appeared ready to advance with a $ 53 billion project to increase Iraq’s oil output, has been trying to sell 32.7% of its shares in one of Iraq’s largest oilfield, West Qurnus 1.
“Exxon Mobile is considering out of Iraq for reasons that relationship with internal management practices, decisions, and not because of certain situations in Iraq, “said Kadhimi as a small group of journalists in Washington after talks with President Joe Biden.
“When Exxon the car departs, we will not accept the replacement for other than other American companies,” he added, spoke through a translator.
Kadhimi does not determine which American company might be interested.
Chevron Corp.
also operates in Iraq.
In May, Ihsan Iraqi oil minister Abdul Jabbar said the country was considering buying Qurnurn West Exxon shares through Basra Oil Co when contacted by Reuters, Exxon said in a statement that it had signed an agreement with PetroChina and offshore oil China and Major Gas CNOOC LTD to sell Qurnish interest in January 2021.
Exxon added that Pertamina Indonesia has since carried out its right to buy flowers to be sold to CNOOC.
The statement also said Exxon had submitted an arbitration against Oil Basra for the sale of Exxon from the Qurnish stake.
It did not mention sales to US companies.
“This sales aligns with ExxonMobil’s strategy to focus on assets that benefit from the lowest supply costs, including developments in Guyana, Brazil, and US Permian Basin,” said the statement.
Securing foreign investment is very important for Iraq, the second largest producer in the organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC).
Oil income represents at least 95% of Iraq’s income.