Thursday, November 25, 2010
Trade Bank Chairman in talks with oil companies on boosting Iraq production
Trade Bank Chairman in talks with oil companies on boosting Iraq production
Hussein Al-Uzri, Chairman of Trade Bank of Iraq, has been holding talks with oil companies licensed to operate in Iraq.
The aim is to help both global and Iraqi businesses to seize the immense investment opportunities arising from the proposed modernization of Iraq's oil and gas industries - likely to be the world's biggest investment project over the next decade.
Speaking at the International Basra Oil and Gas Conference & Exhibition, the largest energy summit to be held in the Gulf region, Chairman Al-Uzri stressed that Iraq's financial and banking framework has now been greatly reformed and strengthened so as to play a leading role in financing Iraq's expansion of oil production and oil exports.
Chairman Al-Uzri said:
"I am increasingly optimistic that significantly higher oil production levels will be achieved - and in a relatively short time. The licensed companies include many of the world's foremost oil businesses. They are more than capable of making the most of the new opportunities now open to them in Iraq.
"And the opportunities to be financed are not only in the upstream sector but also in downstream functions such as refining, transport, gas processing and petrochemicals.
"We now have a comprehensive range of banking and financial services as well as the international partnerships to enable Iraq to take full advantage of growing global demand for our oil and gas. We are discussing with the oil companies the ways and means to ensure that all the banking functions are in place to facilitate the resurgence of Iraq as a global oil power.
"I am confident that the Basra conference will provide a unique meeting point to develop a further range of working relationships."
Trade Bank of Iraq is one of the conference sponsors.
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