ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the contractual terms in Iraq. Upstream contracts should incorporate key issues such as flaring and accommodate provisions used in the hydrocarbon industry for capturing byproducts of production for processing which could provide additional sources of government revenue. From the days of nationalisation, the Iraqi government realised that foreign companies could assist in developing the oil sector by providing technology, expertise and know-how. Concession agreements are the original form of contract used in much of the oil producing world and given their history tend to be prominent in industrialised countries, as developing nations generally opt for alternative forms of agreement such as service contracts or production sharing contracts. Risk service contracts were designed to avoid passing ownership of reserves from the state to the international oil companies, originating in Latin America in the 1950s and expanding to the Middle East in the 1960s.
