he Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC) has taken two significant administrative steps to become operational, signaling a potential sea change in the structure of Iraq’s oil sector.
In an Aug. 25 meeting, the newly constituted INOC board of directors approved company bylaws, according to a copy of the meeting minutes obtained by Iraq Oil Report. And the following day, Ihsan Ismaael — who is both oil minister and president of INOC — issued an order to shift control of seven state-owned oil companies from the Oil Ministry to INOC.