Iraq baulks at greater Chinese control of its oilfields

Timely intervention: The West Qurna-1 oil field operated by ExxonMobil, in Basra. Iraqi officials intervened last year to stop Chinese state-backed firms buying Exxon’s stake in the oil field. — Reuters

IRAQ’S oil ministry thwarted three prospective deals last year that would have handed Chinese firms more control over its oilfields and led to an exodus of international oil majors that Baghdad wants to invest in its creaking economy.

Since the start of 2021, plans by Russia’s Lukoil and United States oil major Exxon Mobil to sell stakes in major fields to Chinese state-backed firms have hit the buffers after interventions from Iraq’s oil ministry, according to Iraqi oil officials and industry executives.