Truck and Barter: Thamir Ghadbhan & Iraqi Oil

June 08, 2004

Thamir Ghadbhan & Iraqi Oil

By Kevin

"We are totally now in control, there are no more advisers," Ghadbhan said. "We are running the show, the oil policies will be implemented 100 percent by Iraqis."

I have no idea whether a bulk of ordinary Iraqis actually care who runs the industry, as long as profits go back to themselves. It seems, however, that unlike the Saudi oil industry run by foreigners, not only will top decisions be made by Iraqis, but the day-to-day operations are run by Iraqis:

In March, al-Obaydi, who has spent 34 years with North Oil, traveled to Bahrain for his first oil industry seminar outside Iraq since 1990. The trip was part of a broader effort that has sent almost 500 Iraqi oil experts abroad for technical exchanges with specialists with companies such as ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil and Shell.

Under Saddam, Iraq was isolated from technological advances in the oil industry. Vital practices such as three-dimensional seismic surveys, directional drilling and gas injection remain unfamiliar here.

The new head of the Iraqi Oil ministry, Thamir Ghadbhan (pictured above), will have to centrally direct the entire national oil industry. I wish the technocrat the best of luck.

Mr. Ghadbjan briefly oversaw oil operations in Iraq, after the initial liberation, although he was replaced during most of the occupation:

The new oil minister is Thamir Ghadbhan, a British-trained former Iraqi official, who has effectively presided over the oil industry since he was installed last year as the ministry’s “chief executive” by the US-led Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. Ghadbhan has worked closely with Phillip Carroll, former US chief executive of Royal Dutch/Shell, who oversaw the ministry on behalf of the Bush administration.

A more traditional biography:

Oil Minister Thamir Abbas Ghadban: born 1945 in Babylon; earned bachelor's degree in geology from University College in London, master's degree in petroleum reservoir engineering from the Imperial College at the London University. Has written and co-written more than 50 studies on Iraqi oil fields. Was detained and demoted from his position in the former regime's oil ministry for supporting democratic reforms.[Emphasis Added].

The more recent history of oil as a political weapon was catalogued by Reuters.

The experienced former head of planning at Iraq's oil ministry became "chief executive" of the ministry after a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in April 2003.

He took on the challenge of raising spirits in an oil industry that survived years of crippling United Nations sanctions but continues to face uncertainty over crude production vital to reviving Iraq's ravaged economy.

Ghadhban lost his position when Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, from Iraq's Shi'ite majority, became oil minister in what industry insiders say was a move that reflected party politics.

"They wanted to cater to the parties. He is a very capable technocrat who knows the Iraqi oil industry. He started as a reservoir engineer and was eventually moved to the ministry," said Fadhil Othman, an Iraqi exile with 20 years' experience in the top ranks of Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization.

Posted at June 8, 2004 04:18 PM

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