‘We’re not afraid of risk’: Big Oil goes back to Iraq

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

No gift articles left

You've used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.

“Buy to the sound of cannons, sell to the sound of trumpets.” The ancient stock market maxim resonates in today’s Middle East.

While the US and Iran fight, Big Oil is heading into neighbouring Iraq.

Baron Nathan Rothschild, the 19th-century British banker who financed the Napoleonic wars, probably never uttered the investment precept many attribute to him.

But there are echoes of his philosophy in what we hear today from oil executives: “Look, returns follow risk; and you know, we’re not afraid of risk,” Mike Wirth, the head of Chevron, told a recent industry gathering, explaining why he’s negotiating with Baghdad.

Few if any in the audience raised an eyebrow. Yes, Iraq is a risky destination, even more so today with a war raging in the neighbourhood. But for the first time in decades, the country offers Big Oil the kind of returns it aspires to.

When the cannons fall silent, Baghdad is likely to emerge as a winner of the regional crisis, attracting billions of dollars from the likes of Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips and even ExxonMobil. TotalEnergies, the French oil giant, is already a major investor.

“Look,........

© Brisbane Times