| 2008: Iraq replaces southern oil chiefs in major shake-up Agencies |
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May 27, 2008 Basra, Iraq: The Iraqi government has replaced key officials in state-owned oil companies in southern Iraq, in a move aimed at tightening its grip on an industry that fuels the economy. The shake-up affects industries in the southern oil hub of Basra, where 30,000 government troops were deployed in March to clamp down on Shiite militias and criminal gangs. The Baghdad government has removed the heads of the South Oil Company, which is in charge of exports, the South Gas Company and the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company since mid-May, local officials and the Oil Ministry told reporters. The head of Basra airport has also been replaced by the Transport Ministry in the shakeup, and the local officials said the head of Basra port could be next. The officials are of the view that the move was an attempt by the central government in Baghdad to take advantage of the improved security situation in Iraq's second city to wrest control of the industry from the locally powerful Shiite Fadhila party. The Oil Ministry defended the shakeup on Monday, saying the officials had been removed under the ministry's "right man in the right place policy". Iraq, which wants to boost oil exports this year to a post-war high, exports the bulk of its crude through Basra, its gateway to the Gulf, at an average of around 1.5 million bpd a day. The oil industry provides more than 90 per cent of government revenues and is seen as crucial to rebuilding an economy shattered by decades of war and sanctions. |