The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
756.
On 30 July,
Mr Fergus Harradence, Head of the UKTI’s Gulf Unit, provided
an
update for
Mr O’Brien on UK commercial success in Iraq.452
757.
Mr Harradence
advised that there were over 60 UK companies working in
Iraq,
involved in
contracts which UKTI estimated were worth a total of
US$2.6bn.
That figure
did not represent the total value of work undertaken and goods
supplied
by UK
companies, but rather the total value of the contracts on which UK
companies
worked as
contractors or subcontractors.
758.
UK companies
had been successful in winning contracts from all the
major
contracting
organisations (the US, the CPA and Iraqi Ministries, the UN and
DFID),
although UK
companies had been particularly successful in winning work as
contractors
or
subcontractors to US Government agencies.
759.
UKTI believed
that it had played a “leading role” in helping UK companies
to
secure work
on contracts worth approximately US$1.8bn (of which AMEC had
secured
work on
contracts worth US$1.6bn).
760.
At BP’s
request, on 30 August, during his introductory call on
Mr Thamir Ghadban,
the Iraqi
Minister of Oil, Mr Chaplin raised BP’s bid for a contract
relating to the Rumalia
oilfield.453
Mr Ghadban
responded that the contract would be awarded on
technical
and
commercial criteria, and commented that BP appeared more cautious
than other
companies
in turning expressions of interest into “real engagement”.
Mr Chaplin
commented:
“This is
not the first time we have heard criticism of excessive caution
from BP
(and to a
lesser extent Shell). Rightly or wrongly, the perception amongst
the Iraqi
oil
establishment is that they are less committed than many of their
international
competitors.”
761.
Sir Stephen
Brown met senior UKTI officials on 5 November 2004 to
discuss
UKTI’s
future engagement on Iraq, on the basis of a paper produced by
UKTI’s Iraq
762.
The paper
stated that private sector interest in Iraq had started at a
“feverish
level”, but
had declined after April 2004 when contractors started to be
targeted by
insurgents,
and had now levelled off. Over 1,300 business people had attended
UKTI
events in
London since August 2003 and over 200 had attended UKTI-supported
events
in the
region. UKTI had organised trade missions from Iraq to the UK
focusing on
financial
services, health, education, oil and gas, and power and
water.
452
Minute
Harradence to PS/O’Brien, 30 July 2004, ‘Impact of UK Firms in
Iraq’.
453
Telegram
167 Baghdad to FCO London, 31 August 2004, ‘Iraq: Introductory Call
on Thamir Ghadban,
Minister of
Oil’.
454
Minute
Lusty to Fletcher, 5 November 2004, ‘Iraq Unit’ attaching Paper
UKTI Iraq Unit, October 2004,
‘Iraq: Next
Steps’.
486