Baker Hughes recently declared force majeure on its Iraq operations, while Schlumberger has scaled back its presence in the oil-rich southern province of Basra, following several violent episodes targeting oil sector workers (see p11 and MEES, 15 November).
Even before the recent bout of unrest, Weatherford faced significant trouble in southern Iraq. In the company’s 3Q13 analyst call, Weatherford CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner said: “[We] will curtail our involvement in Southern Iraq to only contractual commitments at attractive margins and low risk, even if this means shrinking our presence and moving equipment out of that market.” (CONTINUED - 1267 WORDS)
