Iraqi lawmakers on June 6 confirmed the appointment of Ihsan Ismael as the country’s new oil minister, according to local media. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now Ismaael — who was the director-general of Basra Oil Company (BOC) — takes over for Ali Allawi, the finance minister, who had been serving as interim oil minister and has been elevated to deputy prime minister for economics and energy, overseeing the oil ministry. BOC operates in Iraq’s south and is the country’s largest state-run oil company. Ismaael now has the challenging task of boosting Iraq’s production and export capacity after years of underinvestment and infrastructure damage due to war, as well as negotiating contracts with international […]