The company has now informed Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani and the US State Department of its intentions, a Western diplomat told Reuters.
“ExxonMobil is telling Baghdad: 'We are letting you know we're looking to leave',” said another diplomatic source. “They are shopping around and looking at all the options.”
Iraq was earlier said to be considering replacing the US behemoth with Russian players Lukoil and Gazprom Neft, both already active in the country, as it is angry that ExxonMobil has signed exploration deals with the autonomous region of Kurdistan that the federal regime deems illegal.
The
