The Future of Oil Exploration in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Challenge

Ergo was hired by a prominient U.S. private equity firm considering an investment in a Western oil company with operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Our client sought to understand how political, economic, and historical divisions between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdish Regional Government, as well as relations with the Turkish government, will affect oil exploration and production and the awarding of production sharing agreements (PSAs) in KRG-administered areas.

Solution

Using Ergo's vast network and our Kurdish and Iraqi in-country teams, we extracted insights from sources in closest proximity to and at the highest levels of this debate. Our sources were located in Baghdad, Erbil, Istanbul, Ankara, Amman, Washington, and London, and included top officials of the Iraqi, Kurdish, and Turkish governments, senior Western advisors to the Kurdish oil minister, and senior executives of other oil companies currently operating in the region.