TotalEnergies employees return to Iraq after dispute over projects
The TotalEnergies logo placed on the company’s headquarters in Paris, France. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Sources revealed on Friday that foreign employees of the French oil giant company, TotalEnergies, returned to Iraq after disagreements with Baghdad over a group of major energy projects worth 27 billion USD led to their withdrawal, Reuters reported.
Neither TotalEnergies nor the Iraqi Ministry of Oil responded to a request for comment.
“We do not know if this dismissal is real or if it is only a way to put pressure for further negotiations,” Iraqi MP, Mustafa Jabbar Sanad, mentioned via Twitter on January 30.
Sources said that Iraq’s demand for a 40 percent partnership in the projects is a major sticking point in the long-delayed agreement, while the French company wants a majority stake.
A source stated that the dispute caused failure of a meeting held last week by the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who took office last October, with the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné.
Two sources pointed out that Baghdad could not cancel the previous government’s decision to demand a 40 percent partnership because that would be a waiver of Iraq’s rights.
Both Exxon Mobil and British Petroleum (BP) sought to reduce their operations in Iraq in the past years, which contributed to a slowdown in Iraqi oil production.
Total Energies revived hopes in the sector in 2021 when it signed an agreement with Baghdad on four projects related to oil, gas and renewable energy, with initial investments worth 10 billion USD, in southern Iraq over a period of 25 years.
The production capacity of Iraqi oil increased to about five million barrels per day after it was three million in previous years. But there were hopes to rival Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, which produces 12 million barrels per day, or more than a tenth of the global demand.
Sources told Reuters early last year that the agreement with TotalEnergies stumbled amid disagreements between Iraqi politicians over its terms, which were not announced.