Bloomberg reports that BP will start drilling exploratory wells at the Risha natural gas deposit in Jordan, near the border with Iraq, in the coming weeks.

Jordanian Energy Ministry spokesman Fayez Abu Gaoud told the agency, “if it is proven that the volume of gas in the field is feasible for commercial purposes, the development of the gas field will begin immediately”.

Initial BP studies show that production at Risha could exceed 330 million cubic feet a day.

BP agreed in October 2009 to join Jordan’s state-owned National Petroleum Co. to explore and develop Risha, which occupies an area of about 7,000 square kilometers (2,700 square miles). The kingdom has agreed with Iraq to jointly develop the Risha field, Iraqi State Minister Ali al-Dabbagh said last March.

Jordan, which fills almost all of its energy needs through imports, hopes to attract $14 billion of investments for renewable energy, oil shale and nuclear power.

(Source: Bloomberg)

In its latest corporate update, Gulfsands Petroleum included the following statement on its Iraqi operations:

Gulfsands signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2005 with the Ministry of Oil in Iraq for the Maysan Gas Project in Southern Iraq, following completion of a feasibility study on the project, and is negotiating details of a definitive contract for this regionally important development. The project will gather, process and transmit natural gas that is currently a waste by-product of oil production and as a result of the present practice of gas flaring, contributes to significant environmental damage in the region. Gulfsands has no reserves in Iraq.

Gulfsands has also been pre-qualified by Iraq’s Oil Ministry to participate in the Iraq’s 4th Bid Round which will offer qualified bidders the opportunity to acquire up to 12 exploration licences in southern, western and central Iraq with bids anticipated to be required by the end of May, 2012.

There has been a welcome outbreak of pragmatism in Iraq in recent days.

While the fact that ExxonMobil will apparently be allowed to take part in the auction for the fourth round oil licences was not entirely unexpected, some will see it as a climb down on the part of Baghdad.

Others, such as Hess Corp, which was barred in September as a result of its contracts in Iraqi Kurdistan, will be left in little doubt that some oil companies are more equal than others.

On the party-political front, the return of Iraqiyya deputies to the parliament after several weeks of boycott has generally been seen as a positive, especially with budgets to be finalised.

But this should not lead to any complacency, as tensions between the factions still remain high.

What this all means for the long-awaited hydrocarbon law remains to be seen.

Iraq’s legislation doesn’t prevent oil companies from signing deals with the central government in Baghdad and with the KRG, as ExxonMobil has done, said Adnan al-Janabi, chairman of Iraq’s Oil and Energy Committee.

Speaking on the sidelines of an oil conference in London, he added, “there are no blacklists in parliament”.

“With or without the [new hydrocarbon] law, I don’t think there is anything to constrain any company from operating anywhere in Iraq … I don’t see any legality in announcing anyone as being blacklisted.”

He said he expected a first reading of the law in Iraq’s parliament next month.

As recently as September Baghdad reportedly excluded Hess Corp from participation in the fourth energy licensing round because of its contracts with the KRG.

(Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)

Iraq plans to ship 17 cargoes of Basrah Light crude oil from the Persian Gulf in the first half of February, according to a loading program obtained by Bloomberg.

This would be two cargoes more than in the second half of January.

A total of 28.06 million barrels, or 1.87 million barrels a day, will be loaded from Basrah Oil Terminal (pictured).

The program comprises:

• 12 shipments of 2 million barrels each;
• two shipments of 1 million barrels each;
• two shipments of 715,000-barrels each; and,
• one shipment of 630,000-barrels.

Basrah Light is a so-called medium sour crude, which yields less higher-value refined products than benchmark grades such as Brent.

Loading programs are schedules of crude shipments compiled by field operators to allow buyers and sellers to plan their supply and trading activities.

(Source: Bloomberg)

The World Refining Association (WRA) today announced the return of Middle East Downstream Week (MEDW) 2012. The conference will highlight the significant benefits that can be achieved in the downstream industry through diversification strategies, integrations plans and key business improvements during times of financial unrest where crude is priced at US$100 per barrel.

To be held at the Beach Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE, MEDW will take place from 25 – 28 March 2012.

Preceding the conference will be Axen’s complimentary Middle East Seminar on Refining and Petrochemical Technology. The seminar will provide downstream operators with an in-depth understanding of the practical and daily challenges faced at refineries and petrochemical plants. In addition, it will highlight the efficient use of technology to facilitate productive development, along with ways to meet market demand.

Key highlights of the Axen’s complimentary seminar include: Middle East refining and petrochemical challenges; Hydrocracking Axens’ catalyst and technology outlook; present challenges for Middle distillates hydrotreatment; options for resid upgrading; and Flexene and Olicrack technologies.

Arianna Neri, Project Director, MEDW, said:

“MEDW 2012 is once again Axens’ partner of choice for their Middle East downstream seminar. This partnership considerably strengthens MEDW’s credibility in the region. Furthermore, it is the ideal conference to discuss the status of the industry in an organic and holistic way. The concerns of various stakeholders from industries that include refining, fuel, marketing, integrated refining/petrochemicals, technology providers and others will all be addressed in detail and a comprehensive strategy to efficiently and effectively ensure regional and global downstream success will be defined.”

Day one of the conference will provide attendees with a comprehensive analysis on the latest technologies available to help develop smart refineries. Speakers will discuss the need for innovation and the importance of research and development in order to develop more efficient and profitable refineries.

Dow Jones reports that the gas capture project with Shell and Mitsubishi in Southern Iraq is expected to start production this year.

The head of the South Gas Company, Ali Hussein Khudhier, told the news agency that they expect to produce 50 Mcfd of gas this year.

He added that the floating LNG plant and terminal to be built off the Basra coast is expected to cost around $3 billion, and should be operational in 2017 or 2018. The project would export 600 MMcfd of gas in the form of LNG.

The consortium will soon invite international companies to tender to build the LNG facility.

Before this deal, Iraq was producing around 450 million cubic feet a day of gas from Rumaila, West Qurna Phase 1 and Zubair, but within two years Khudhier expects to also be capturing the 1.1 billion cfd that are currently flared.

Under the agreement, Iraq has to supply the Basra Gas Company with at least 2 Bcfd of raw gas even if it has to bring it from other fields, but it is expected that gas output from these three fields will exceed 2 billion cubic feet a day at full production.

(Source: Dow Jones)

The current political tensions in Iraq are likely to delay the finalisation of a new hydrocarbon law for more than a year, according to Reuters.

“With these chronic political differences I can’t see any possibility of having an oil law this year,” said Adel Barwari, a Kurdish adviser to Maliki.

“If the [differences] were, say for example, 2 or 3 percent, I would say yes we could have a law, but the percentage is much higher.”

(Source: Reuters)