The exit of British supermajor Shell last week from Iraq’s potentially game-changing US$11-billion Nebras Petrochemical Project is another lost opportunity for Baghdad
Iraq s Endemic Corruption Costs It Another Massive Oil And Gas Opportunity menafn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from menafn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
There is no practical impediment to Iraq becoming a world-leading exporter of petrochemicals, given its huge oil and gas resources. It holds an estimated 145 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves - around 9 percent of world’s total – although .
Iraq has the potential to become a large producer of petrochemicals but the endemic corruption in the country has stymied work on one of its biggest projects
There are three key reasons why the development of a world-class petrochemicals (petchems) sector is vital to Iraq’s future.
First, its heavy reliance on crude oil exports makes it extremely financially vulnerable both to downturns in the oil price and to the political whims of its fellow OPEC members, especially Saudi Arabia. Second, plain crude oil exports, particularly in the depressed pricing environment that is likely to endure for some time, do not provide the much higher export value that petchems do. Third, Iraq has the natural resources of both oil and gas that can make it a world leader in the petchems sector.