"The entire future of the subsea pipeline project hangs in the balance as it is subjected to intense political scrutiny, halting an expansion that would allow exporting 500,000 bpd."
Iraq's Cabinet issued a shock decision to abruptly withdraw funding approval for a major infrastructure project that could have bolstered the country's oil export capacity by half a million barrels per day.
In an act of seemingly senseless aggression, the government suspended the authorization granted just weeks earlier to allocate $417 million to Sealine 3, a venture led by Dutch firm Boskalis and Basra Oil Company (BOC).
This crushing move unraveled hopes of ending infrastructure bottlenecks that were limiting Iraq's production potential and revenue growth. A government spokesperson stated that the Cabinet's sudden about-face had been sparked by "new data" requiring further assessment - though no further details were provided.
