The Middle East Research Institute (MERI) launched a two-day forum in Erbil on Tuesday, focusing on Iraq’s development, regional partnerships, and international engagement amid escalating Middle East tensions.
In a session titled “Making Iraq Investable: Challenges and Opportunities,” Abdulla al-Qadi, Crescent Petroleum’s executive director for exploration and production, highlighted issues facing foreign investors in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Crescent was one of the first upstream private oil and gas companies in the Middle East. With its affiliate, Dana Gas, they struck a deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2007 to develop the Region’s gas resources.
Qadi identified security issues, inadequate legal protections for foreign investment, and bureaucracy as significant barriers to foreign investment in Iraq.
"The working environment in Iraq is suffering from these challenges," Qadi said, referencing “stability” and "security challenges” in the country.
The company has operated in Khor Mor, a critical gas field in Sulaimani province’s Chamchamal district which was struck by a drone in April.
"Security concerns still remain for investors, especially in Iraq. A robust security system is needed,” he added.
In September, Dana Gas announced that its consortium had begun legal proceedings against Enerflex, a gas industry supplier, over performance issues it claimed led to delays at a Khor Mor gas field expansion project. Enerflex attributed the cause of the delays to security concerns, referring to the drone strike.
“Any new investor who comes to Iraq sees that the work environment has a lot of challenges,” said Qadi. He also cited bureaucratic hurdles and burdensome frameworks that discourage investment and increase costs, especially in state-partnered projects.
In advanced economies, Qadi said: “the private sector is what leads the economy, the government’s role is the role of the regulator…[the role of the state] must be limited to this area.”
When the government acts both as regulator and implementer, he noted, it often produces “negative outcomes.”
“Cooperation between the public sector and private sector is very important to develop any investment,” Qadi emphasized.
Government regulations, he noted, can increase confidence from private investors.
“If the government in Iraq or the countries in the region truly want to encourage investment, it must form a real partnership with the private sector by encouraging it and putting forth rules and regulations that enable them to carry out their work,” Qadi said.
