ExxonMobil seeks arbitration against Iraq’s BOC over stalled West Qurna 1 stake sale

After ExxonMobil’s stalled attempt to sell its stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 1 oil field, the U.S. oil giant has filed an arbitration case against Iraq’s state-owned Basra Oil Co. ExxonMobil, the main operator of the field, had in January entered into an agreement with third parties to sell its 32.7% share, but Iraq’s oil minister Ihsan Ismaael had said at the beginning of May that Iraq was seeking to take over the stake itself, after having previously said that it was in talks with unnamed U.S. energy companies to acquire ExxonMobil’s share.