Thursday, April 12, 2007
Shell will only invest in Iraq if there is a strong legal framework in place
Oil, Business
(Iraq Directory) - Chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell Company said on Thursday that the oil company will invest in Iraq only if they are fully confident of the legal framework that governs the oil and gas projects. Iraqi government had adopted last February a draft law on Iraq's oil, which would facilitate investment to foreign companies and it is important for the organization of dividing the huge oil wealth among the sects and ethnic groups.
However, Jeron van der Veir, the Head of Shell said that his company is still studying the law and it needs to make sure that it would not be facing a different legal framework before it ventures with its funds. He told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Paris, "You must not only think in the legal system existing now, but you must be confident that it will continue in order to invest there". He also prefers to negotiate with Baghdad and not with local governments on oil contracts, saying that it would be "perfectly logical" to conduct negotiations with the central government. He went on to say that the security situation in Iraq must be stabilized well before the flow of investments.
Labels: draft oil law, Jeron van der Veir, oil, Royal Dutch Shell
