The Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling invalidating the decision of the Iraqi Cabinet that established the Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC) on the grounds that the decision was unconstitutional. As a result, the INOC, which was created two years ago, will no longer be allowed to operate. The INOC was part of the Ministry of Petroleum and played an important role in the immigration process as a liaison between the oil and gas companies and the Ministry of the Interior for the issuance of invitation letters and visa approvals. It is expected that the Ministry of Petroleum will put in place new mechanisms for private sector companies and government agencies responsible for visa approvals to liaise with each other now that the INOC will not will no longer work. This will likely take a long time and, combined with the current political unrest in Iraq, could negatively impact immigration processes for oil and gas companies by lengthening related visa processing times and creating uncertainty about how the new processes will work. In addition, companies with INOC-approved oil and gas contracts may be required to reformulate their contracts to meet new criteria and resubmit them to a new body within the Ministry of Petroleum. Further information will be provided to affected customers.
The Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling invalidating the decision of the Iraqi Cabinet that established the Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC) on the grounds that the decision was unconstitutional. As a result, the INOC, which was created two years ago, will no longer be allowed to operate. The INOC was part of the Ministry of Petroleum and played an important role in the immigration process as a liaison between the oil and gas companies and the Ministry of the Interior for the issuance of invitation letters and visa approvals. It is expected that the Ministry of Petroleum will put in place new mechanisms for private sector companies and government agencies responsible for visa approvals to liaise with each other now that the INOC will not will no longer work. This will likely take a long time and, combined with the current political unrest in Iraq, could negatively impact immigration processes for oil and gas companies by lengthening related visa processing times and creating uncertainty about how the new processes will work. In addition, companies with INOC-approved oil and gas contracts may be required to reformulate their contracts to meet new criteria and resubmit them to a new body within the Ministry of Petroleum. Further information will be provided to affected customers.