Abstract
For Iraq, the oil industry is the booming sector that massively promotes national and international economic development; it presents the infrastructure that allows Iraq to develop its economy. Various studies have been conducted on Iraq's oil sector, primarily addressing sustainability, logistics efficiency and examining the challenges Iraq faces as a result of internal and external conflicts, as well as a security situation involving war and terrorism impacting investments. Thus, this study conducted a critical investigation of managers’ perceptions of all the oil supply chain to identify the performance issues and challenges that the previous studies failed to capture. Moreover, this thesis sheds light on the International Oil Companies’ (IOCs’) managers’ perceptions of the barriers and enablers of the entire supply chain performance in the Iraqi oil sector. IOCs’ managers’ perceptions of the barriers and enablers of supply chain performance in the Iraqi oil sector have so far been missing, and as a result, this research filled a major gap in academic literature. In order to examine the strategies that might be adopted to mitigate the barriers and promote the enablers to Supply Chain (SC) performance in Iraq’s oil sector, the perspectives of global practices and academic views of the oil supply chain in other countries are synthesised in this thesis’ theoretical framework, which provides strategic insights for explaining and understanding the phenomenon surrounding the generic barriers and enablers to the entire supply chain performance that can be later assessed in light of the analysis of IOCs’ Iraqi managers’ perceptions of the entire supply chain. The research adopts an interpretivism philosophy, focusing on understanding managers’ perceptions of working across the Iraqi supply chain. The research design adopted is descriptive with a qualitative approach. The study uses primarily the deductive method, where data sources from semi-structured interviews are used. A deductive approach is used to critically investigate the supply chain segments and related issues as perceived by IOC managers in Iraq's oil industry for the first time. Qualitative methods are used as they are the best methods for identifying concepts and understanding the entirety of problems and complexities in the "natural setting" of IOCs in Iraq. The sampling design chosen was judgemental, and NVivo software used to analyse the data collected from interviews supplemented by corresponding secondary data. Key findings reveal that the Iraqi oil supply chain currently faces significant challenges, including inefficiencies due to reliance on road transportation, improper management, inconsistent industrial norms, lack of standardisation, and political decisions overriding technical considerations. Key barriers identified by managers include cost increases from Covid-19, delays in customs clearance, interference from neighbouring countries, and a shortage of skilled local workers. However, strong country infrastructure, low extraction costs, vast oil reserves, and potential for rapid return on investment were seen as major enablers. To mitigate barriers, managers suggested strategies such as digitalisation, enhancing stability, improving security, forming an international technical advisory board, reducing corruption, and ensuring a transparent risk mitigation approach. Strategies to promote enablers included constructing pipelines, improving infrastructure, enacting a generic oil and gas law, hiring trained workers, leveraging oil resources, minimizing uncertainty, providing incentives, reducing financial instability, and implementing clear and transparent laws. It is crucial to manage risk and build resilient supply chains to ensure operational continuity, which requires anticipating disruptions and developing robust contingency plans.