LNG exploration in Iraq

• India is looking to strengthen its energy ties with Iraq with plans for an LNG terminal in the West Asian nation and ONGC Videsh resuming exploration in a block under force majeure since 2003.
• Iraq does not possess the technology to capture gas from its hydrocarbon blocks, which are burnt and released into the environment.
• Iraq is one of the biggest gas-flaring countries as it lacks facilities to capture and process the gas to convert it into fuels or export it as LNG.
• ‘‘Block 20’’, earlier known as Block 8, is a large on-land exploration block in the western desert of Iraq, spread over 10,500 sq km.
• OVL had acquired a 100 % stake in the block by signing the exploration and development contract in November 2000. However, force majeure was declared in 2003 amid security concerns.

ABOUT FORCE MAJEURE

• Force majeure means “greater force” in French.
• It refers to an extraordinary event rendering the legal obligations between two or more contractually bound parties impossible to fulfill.
• It is related to the concept of an act of God, an event for which no party can be held accountable.
• This type of event must be entirely beyond the parties’ reasonable control.
• Notable events include war, riots, criminal activity, epidemics, pandemics, and other unforeseeable events.
• Force majeure conflicts with the concept of “pacta sunt servanda,” a principle in international law that agreements must be kept and not wriggled out of.