CNPC, CNOOC and SINOPEC in Iraq: Successful Start and Ambitious Cooperation Plan

Abstract: When China started to look for oil overseas in the 1990s, Iraq was struggling against the economic sanctions after the first Gulf War. At that time, China and Iraq had no chance for oil cooperation until the second half of the 1990s when the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted the program of oil for food in 1996, which was in the signing of the first oil contract on the Al-Ahdab oil field. But this deal faced many problems due to the conflict between the Iraqi government and the UNSC at that time. The real beginning was after American invasion of Iraq in 2003, when the Chinese oil companies participated in the first and second biddings offered by the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the Chinese oil companies. Especially CNPC won very important contracts, when it signed contracts on big oil fields in the southeastern and southern parts of Iraq. In addition, the Chinese importing oil from Iraq started to increase rapidly during the last few years, and it is expected to reach high levels in the near future.