Elf ERAP in Iraq, from 1968 to 1977

From the moment it was founded in 1966, ERAP set itself the aim of increasing the production of 'French' oil by diversifying its sources of supply. However, carving out a place for itself on the global market seemed at the time to be a daunting, if not impossible, task, as the most oil-rich regions were already occupied by the major oil companies, known as the 'Majors'. Nevertheless, the French state-owned company succeeded in establishing a presence in several oil-producing countries, including Iraq in 1968. But, against all expectations, the French state-owned group withdrew from the venture in May 1977, making way for INOC, which took over the project two years ahead of the date stipulated in the original 1968 contract. Had the state-owned company suffered the consequences of its own energy choices, or was such an outcome attributable to Iraqi oil policy? What are the implications of the international oil market situation in the context of such a withdrawal? We have concluded that the squeeze on the oil market between distributors and producers during the 1970s significantly undermined the profitability of intermediary agency-type contracts.