A lobby group, working on behalf of BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total and ENI, has been advised by the U.K. government on strategies for influencing the Iraqi government
A British campaign group, Hands Off Iraqi Oil, has singled out the role of Shell, which it said had been working closely with Britain and the U.S. to create a policy to allow multinational companies to take control of Iraq's oil.
A spokesman for HOIO claims there has been a revolving door between Shell and the Foreign Office, with four of the last five permanent heads of the Foreign Office going on to become directors of oil and gas companies, two of them at Shell.
HOIO says a lobby group, working on behalf of BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total and ENI, has been advised by the U.K. government on strategies for influencing the Iraqi government.
In March, an all-party group of British MPs expressed concern about involvement by the UK government in drafting Iraq’s new oil laws.
Meanwhile, The New York Times has reported that over between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq’s oil production is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling.
