The $120 Billion Agreement with the Russians Has Vanished; Iraq is Attracting Iranian Oil Industry Experts

An Iranian newspaper reported that the Russians have turned their back on a $120 billion agreement with Iran and are attracting Iranian oil industry experts with salaries 10 times higher in Iraq. The newspaper "Ham-Mihan" discussed the challenges of developing the oil industry in an interview with the Secretary-General of the Association of Exploration and Production Companies, stating that Iran's oil contracts have "driven the Russians away from Iran" and that "today we see the Russians investing in Iraq." Ham-Mihan emphasized that in recent months, Iraq has not only attracted foreign investors from Iran but is also luring Iranian oil and operational specialists with offers of salaries five to ten times higher than those in Iran. According to the newspaper, there is a significant migration of specialists from Iran to Iraq, and Iran's upstream industries are more vulnerable than ever to losing their human capital. This is just one side of Iraq's efforts to develop its oil fields, and Ham-Mihan reported on Iraq's new approach, stating that "Iraq is focusing more than ever on shared fields with Iran," which is the other side of the coin; seizing investors and attracting Iranian specialists, ultimately emptying the shared fields with Iran at a time when the Islamic Republic is struggling with U.S. sanctions and supporting Hamas and other proxy groups in the region. The report simply explained that with Iraq's activities and extraction in the shared fields, pressure on Iran decreases, and oil and gas migrate towards Iraq. Another topic discussed is Iraq becoming a competitor to Iran in the global oil and gas market, taking Iran's share of this market, which means that assuming sanctions are lifted, there will be no place for Iranian oil in the market, and regaining market share will be one of the fundamental challenges for the Iranian government. In July 2022, officials from the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Oil called the signing of the agreement with the Russian side one of the "great achievements," which was supposed to rely on these agreements for the Russian side, led by Gazprom, to invest in projects such as the Kish gas field and North Pars. Last year, during the visit of Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and senior officials from that country to Iran, the National Iranian Oil Company and Gazprom signed an energy agreement worth approximately $40 billion in one instance. The Minister of Oil of the Islamic Republic also stated on May 17 of this year that they are "developing seven oil fields with capable Russian companies," and the Deputy Prime Minister of that country has agreed to invest in the development of six new oil fields. The United States has sanctioned Iran's oil industry, and oil sanctions are one of the Islamic Republic's problems. In this regard, in September of this year, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State told the Persian section of Voice of America that the Biden administration continues to implement "stringent" sanctions against the Islamic Republic, including those related to oil and petrochemical trade. 120 mining projects are being handed over to the Russians; Iran's mines are in the hands of the Russians. $361 million in exports in five months; Iran's share of the Russian market is "half a percent." Mehdi Nasiri, a principlist activist, stated that the Islamic Republic has come to an end and is in the "lap of the Russians" and "Chinese." The deputy of Raisi does not consider the increase in migration statistics to be "dangerous." The continuation of the livelihood crisis in Iran; workers are struggling to secure the minimums of their lives.