Shell exits Iraq but enters Iran, as instability threatens Baghdad’s ambitions

Amid a surge in violence in Iraq’s southern oil fields, Royal Dutch Shell’s mid-September announcement of a withdrawal from the Majnoon oilfield spells further bad news for oil minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi. The veteran ex-South Oil Company (SOC) chief must face up to the compelling evidence that Shell has switched its attention to the Azadegan field, which lies across the border in Iran’s strategic West Karoun oil cluster (extending into Iraq’s Majnoon area).