MEES 53:48 29 November 2010 Iraq And The Security Of Energy Supplies For Europe ByAhmed Mousa Jiyad Mr Jiyad is an independent development consultant and scholar and Associate with the Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES), London. He was formerly a senior economist with the Iraq National Oil Company and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, Chief Expert for the Council of Ministers, Director at the Ministry of Trade, and International Specialist with UN organizations in Uganda, Sudan and Jordan. He is now based in Norway (Email: mou‐
[email protected]). The following is summary of his presentation to the Politics and Economics of European Energy Security conference organized by the Institute for Energy, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, in Amsterdam on 18‐19 November. Geographical proximity, availability of needed regional infrastructure and the magnitude of petroleum re‐ sources could make Iraq a significant energy partner for the European Union (EU). In addition to the in‐ volvement of many international oil companies (IOCs) from the EU in Iraqi upstream projects, Iraq and the EU have already sufficient modalities and frameworks for energy cooperation. What is needed, though, is to move from intention to action, to put the vehicle of energy cooperation on the right platform, and the EU should be proactive and take the initiative in this direction. EU IOC Participation In Iraq’s Upstream Development Between November 2008 and October 2010 the Iraqi Ministry of Oil conducted three bid rounds, signed 12 long term technical service contracts for 14 brownfield and greenfield oil developments, and held in October 2010 a successful third bid round comprising three gas fields, with over 11 trillion cu ft gas in place.