Iraqi Prime Minister's Office

The Iraqi Prime Minister is the direct executive authority responsible for the general policy of the State and the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces. He directs the Council of Ministers, presides over its meetings, and has the right to dismiss any Minister with the consent of the Council of Representatives.

=Role in hydrocarbons industry=

While the Prime Minister’s Office is not directly involved in the day-to-day management of the oil and gas industry, it is tasked with monitoring developments and raising issues for discussion at meetings of the Council of Ministers. Major oil contracts with international companies also require the approval of the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister’s Office is also often directly involved in negotiations between political blocs with regards to proposed legislation related to the oil industry.

The Prime Minister’s Advisory Board (PMAB), headed by former Oil Minister Thamir Ghadban is tasked with formulating Iraq’s long-term strategic oil policy. The PMAB’s energy advisor, Ali Al-Mashat, is responsible for liaising with international organizations including the World Bank.

Starting in February 2011, a "visa blackout" that affected a variety of employees of international oil companies, from labourers to prospective investors, managers to technicians with specialized skills, was reported in March of the same year by Iraq Oil Report journalists, based on two anonymous sources, as the result of a decision by the Prime Minister's Office that applications for visas should go through the Prime Minister's office and not the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.