Any new contracts signed by Iraq with international companies will now include requirement that 85 per cent of employees must be Iraqi, oil minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said on 9 October.

The new requirement comes amidst growing popular unrest over the state of the Iraqi economy as the general population sees little of its oil wealth. The southern Basra province, Iraq’s biggest oil producing region continues to suffer huge unemployment, with electricity shortages and a lack of access to clean water.

Last week, Iraq’s newly appointed president Barham Salih named former oil and finance minister Adel Abd al-Mahdi as prime minister, and he now has until 2 November to form a new government. It is unclear if Al-Luaibi will stay in office.

Most of Iraq’s biggest oil fields are already being developed by international oil companies under contracts signed since 2009. The latest exploration contracts were signed in April after Iraq’s fifth licensing round. However, the new requirement will be used for all contracts, including upstream developments, downstream refining projects or infrastructure, the oil ministry quoted Al-Luaibi saying in a statement.

The oil ministry’s own construction and building companies will also “contribute 25 per cent in all upcoming contracts”, while Iraqi investors will provide at least 20 per cent of the capital for any project, the statement added.

International oil companies will also have to think about developing local infrastructure projects such as housing, schools, hospitals and water treatment plants if they want to work in Iraq.