The two companies recently combined to lead the first purely commercial trade mission to Iraq for a number of international oil and gas companies and service providers.  Many of the attendees will be returning to the country in the next few months for further talks with Iraqi officials and International Oil Companies, as Iraq signs first round deals and starts to close second round deals for oil licences. G4S and Upper Quartile expect to organise a series of trade missions, with another planned for Iraq next Spring.

Nigel Billingham, Managing Director of G4S Risk Management, commented: “We are very pleased to partner with Upper Quartile, which is one of the few companies with similar levels of expertise in Iraq and other difficult economies.  Over the years we have seen Iraq change, with their national elections planned for early next year and the growth we believe will follow shortly thereafter, we are committed to building an integrated support capacity to assist their oil and infrastructure investments. In the medium term in Iraq we intend to offer all the services G4S offers in the UK and elsewhere.”

Adrian Green, one of Upper Quartile’s partners, commented: “G4S has a fantastic geographic footprint, over 1,200 staff in Iraq and – uniquely – a strategic interest in PPP and PFI projects and the capital base to support major projects in Iraq from building hospitals to securing airports and immigration support.  The sheer size of the Iraq market – with plans to nearly triple oil output to over 7 million barrels per day over the next 5 years and develop $70 billion of infrastructure – is unrivalled. There is no question this market will grow – and companies’ positioning themselves to assist Iraq in that process has to take place now.   The combination of our unique experience of the issues which affect growth in the region, close working relationships with the Iraqi authorities and G4S’s excellent track record in Iraq made the partnership obvious.”