Approaching Basra from the air, you are left with two distinct impressions. The first is beige. As far as the eye can see, the landscape is remorseless beige, broken only by the distant flares of gas out in the oil fields and the resulting plumes of black smoke. The second is the almost unnatural flatness of the landscape, like a vast beige billiard table stretching towards Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

This was my first visit to Basra since 2004. The change is remarkable. Back then the region was on the edge of descending into a prolonged period of insurgency and violence that prevented any meaningful rebuilding of the economy. This time the mood is different. The security situation remains challenging. But the overall environment is much more permissive and the remarkable activity underway in the oil fields is set to transform Basra, Iraq and the region. [Read more…]