Iraq Upstream Fiscal and Regulatory Report – Sector Challenged by Regulatory Uncertainty and Tough Fiscal Terms

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In April 2018, Iraq held its fifth licensing round on the basis of a new model version of service contracts introduced in the previous weeks. However, with these new service contracts, the levels of state take are among the highest in the world and this explains why the bid round obtained mixed results with only 6 blocks assigned out of 11 on offer and no major international oil companies among the winners. In March 2018, Parliament passed legislation, still to be implemented by the government, whose goal is to reform completely the management of Iraq’s petroleum sector, but the regulatory outlook remains uncertain. The most important element of the legislation would be to re-establish the Iraq National Oil Company, which would be put in charge of Iraq’s petroleum contracts and would be the holding company controlling Iraq’s regional oil companies.

“Iraq Upstream Fiscal and Regulatory Report – Sector Challenged by Regulatory Uncertainty and Tough Fiscal Terms”, presents the essential information relating to the terms which govern investment into Iraq’s upstream oil and gas sector. The report sets out in detail the contractual framework under which firms must operate in the industry, clearly defining factors affecting profitability and quantifying the state’s take from hydrocarbon production. Considering political, economic and industry specific variables, the report also analyses future trends for Iraq’s upstream oil and gas investment climate.

Scope

Overview of current fiscal terms governing upstream oil and gas operations in Iraq

Assessment of the current fiscal regime’s state take and attractiveness to investors

Charts illustrating the regime structure, and legal and institutional frameworks

Detail on legal framework and governing bodies administering the industry

Levels of upfront payments and taxation applicable to oil and gas production

Information on application of fiscal and regulatory terms to specific licenses

Outlook on future of fiscal and regulatory terms in Iraq

Reasons to Buy

Understand the complex regulations and contractual requirements applicable to Iraq’s upstream oil and gas sector

Evaluate factors determining profit levels in the industry

Identify potential regulatory issues facing investors in the country’s upstream sector

Utilize considered insight on future trends to inform decision-making

Table of Contents

1. Table of Contents

1. Table of Contents 1

1.1. List of Tables 3

1.2. List of Figures 3

2. Regime Overview 4

3. State Take Assessment 8

4. Key Fiscal Terms– Service Contract 9

4.1. Bonuses and Fees 9

4.1.1. Signature Bonus 9

4.1.2. Commerciality Bonus ─Round 5 Contracts 10

4.1.3. Employment, Training, and Technology Transfer Fund 10

4.1.4. Infrastructure Fund ─Round 5 Contracts 10

4.2. Royalty–Round 5 Contracts 10

4.3. Cost Recovery – Round 5 Contracts 11

4.3.1. Cost Recovery Limit 11

4.3.2. Recoverable Costs 11

4.4. Remuneration – Round 5 Contracts 12

4.5. Service Fees – Round 1-4 Contracts 12

4.5.1. Recoverable Costs 15

4.5.2. Remuneration Fees 15

4.6. Supplementary Fees ─ Rounds 1-4 17

4.7. Taxation 17

4.7.1. Corporate Income Tax 17

4.7.2. Customs Duties 17

4.7.3. Transfer Tax ─Fifth Licensing Round 18

4.8. State Participation 18

4.9. Abandonment and Site Restoration 18

5. Key Fiscal Terms – Production Sharing Agreement 19

5.1. Bonuses 19

5.1.1. Signature and Capacity Building Bonus 19

5.1.2. Production Bonus 21

5.1.3. Additional Project Funding Support 22

5.2. Surface Rentals 23

5.3. Fees and Contributions 23

5.3.1. Personnel Fees 23

5.3.2. Training Fees 23

5.3.3. Environment Fund Contributions 23

5.3.4. Technological and Logistical Assistance Contributions 24

5.4. Royalty 25

5.5. Cost Recovery 25

5.5.1. Cost Recovery Limit 25

5.5.2. Recoverable Costs 26

5.6. Profit Sharing 27

5.7. Capacity Building Payments 30

5.8. Direct Taxation 34

5.8.1. Corporate Income Tax 34

5.8.2. Deductions and Depreciation 34

5.9. Customs Duties 35

5.10. State Participation 35

6. Regulation and Licensing 36

6.1. Legal Framework 36

6.1.1. Governing Laws 36

6.1.2. Contract Type 37

6.1.3. Title to Hydrocarbons 37

6.2. Institutional Framework 38

6.2.1. Licensing Authority 38

6.2.2. Regulatory Agency 39

6.2.3. National Oil Company 39

6.2.4. Joint Management of Petroleum Operations 39

6.3. Licensing Process 39

6.3.1. Federal Licensing Rounds 39

6.3.2. Bidding in Federal Rounds 40

6.4. License Terms 40

6.4.1. Duration 40

6.4.2. Work Obligations 41

6.4.3. Gas and Natural Gas Liquids Obligations 41

6.4.4. Relinquishment 41

6.5. Local Content 42

7. Outlook 43

8. Appendix 45

8.1. References 45

8.2. Contact Us 49

8.3. Disclaimer 49

Table

1.1. List of Tables

Table 1: Iraq Regime Overview 4

Table 2: Iraq, Signature Bonuses for First Four Licensing Rounds 9

Table 3: Iraq, Winning Remuneration Percentage Bids, Fifth Licensing Round (2018) 12

Table 4: Iraq –Service Contracts, Production Targets and Plateau Periods, First Four Licensing Rounds 14

Table 5: Iraq – Service Contract, Remuneration Fee, First Four Licensing Rounds 15

Table 6: Iraq, Service Contract, Remuneration Fee Adjustment Factors – Rounds 1–3 16

Table 7: Iraq, Service Contract, Remuneration Fee Adjustment Factors – Round 4 16

Table 8: Iraq, PSA, Signature and Capacity Building Bonuses (US$) – Selected PSAs, 2006–2011 19

Table 9: Iraq, PSA, Capacity Building Bonuses, Additional Payments, 2007 and 2008 20

Table 10: Iraq, PSA, Production Bonuses (US$), Standard Rates and Other Variations 21

Table 11: Iraq, PSA, Production Bonuses (US$), Arbat and Baranan PSAs 21

Table 12: Iraqi Kurdistan, Production Bonuses (US$), Acquired Government Interest Stakes, Harir, Safen and Garmian PSAs 22

Table 13: Iraqi, Production Bonuses By Cumulative Production Levels (US$), Wasit Province PSA 22

Table 14: Iraqi Kurdistan, Training Fees By Project Phase, Selected PSAs 23

Table 15: Iraqi Kurdistan, Environment Fund Contributions By Project Phase (US$), Selected PSAs 24

Table 16: Iraqi Kurdistan, Technological and Logistical Assistance Contributions (US$), Selected PSAs 24

Table 17: Iraq, PSA, Cost Recovery Limits (%), Selected PSAs 26

Table 18: Iraq, PSA, Contractor’s Share of Profit Oil (%), 2007 Atrush PSA 27

Table 19: Iraq – PSA, Contractor’s Share of Profit Oil (%) for PSAs Issued from 2006 to 2011 28

Table 20: Iraq – PSA, Contractor’s Share of Profit Oil (%), 2011 Salah ad Din PSA 29

Table 21: Iraq – PSA, Contractor’s Share of Profit Oil (%), 2011 Wasit PSA 30

Table 22: Iraq – PSA, Profit Oil Capacity Building Payments, Selected PSAs 30

Table 23: Iraq – PSA, Capacity Building Payments, Selected PSAs 31

Table 24: Iraq – PSA, Capacity Building Payments, Atrush and Sarsang PSAs, 2007 32

Table 25: Iraq – PSA, Capacity Building Payments, Hawler PSA, 2007 32

Table 26: Iraq – PSA, Capacity Building Payments, Kurdamir PSA 33

Table 27: Iraq – PSA, Capacity Building Payments, Safen and Harir PSAs, 2010 33

Table 28: Iraq – PSA, Capacity Building Payments, Qala Dze, Piramagrun and Taza PSAs, 2011 34

Table 29: Iraq – PSA, Kurdistan Depreciation Rates (%) 34

Table 30: References 45

Figures

1.2. List of Figures

Figure 1: Iraq Regime Flow Chart – Service Contract (Fifth Round) 6

Figure 2: Iraq Regime Flow Chart – Production Sharing Contract 7

Figure 3: Indicative NPV10/boe, IRR and State Take Comparison, Regional Comparison – 2018 8

Figure 4: Iraq, Legal Framework 36

Figure 5: Iraq, Institutional Framework 38

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