The oil and gas industry is experiencing a third price collapse in 12 years. In the current situation, the shock of supply is combined with an unprecedented drop in demand and a global humanitarian crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the financial and structural condition of the oil and gas industry is worse than during previous crises. The emergence of shale production, excessive supply of raw materials and generous financial markets, ignoring the discipline of capital restrictions, all contributed to the low profitability of oil and gas enterprises. Today, when prices hit 30-year lows and pressure from society increases, enterprise leaders understand that changes in the organization of risk management are inevitable. In order to change the current paradigm, the industry needs to focus more on using institutional and financial leverage to implement structural change, innovation, and secure financial transactions to ensure the sustainable development of Iraq's economy under the most challenging conditions. The current situation in Iraq's oil market is of particular interest, as it clearly shows that those who can use this crisis to adapt their financial portfolios and transform operational models will benefit. Enterprises that do not do this will not be able to continue operations. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.