Ashti Hawrami, the natural resources minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), said on Monday that Exxon Mobil is honoring its oil exploration contracts in the region, contradicting the statement from Baghdad's Oil Minster, Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi], who said the deal had been frozen. “What comes out of Baghdad is about 90 percent, with […]
The Basra Investment Commission has approved six projects from Iraqi and Arab investors in the areas of housing, industry and tourism. The projects include construction of a $9.7m (11.3bn IQD) ready-mix concrete plant and a $9m (10.5bn IQD) plant for producing construction thermostone (isolating cement material). Other projects include a $81,500 (95m IQD) Nakhil tourist […]
Bulgaria plans to reopen its embassy in Baghdad and open a new consulate in Erbil this year, according to AKnews. The announcement was made during a meeting between Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov during a recent trip to Bulgaria. Bulgaria's embassy in Baghdad was closed in 2003. In a […]
The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford and currently based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. […]
Shares in Heritage Oil reversed their recent downward trend with a 10.9% gain on Tuesday, following the company's update on it's Miran West-3 well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq ("Kurdistan"). Shares in partner company Genel Energy closed the day up 1.2%. Highlights Testing of a reservoir interval above the main Jurassic reservoir resulted in […]
Greece's top refiner, Hellenic Petroleum, is said to be considering taking supplies of Iraq's Kirkuk crude oil, following its suspension of purchases of Iranian crude as a result of sanctions on Tehran. According to the report from Reuters, Greece's financial difficulties had made Athens reluctant to reduce its purchases of cheap Iranian crude ahead of […]
Shares in Gulfsands Petroleum, the oil and gas production, exploration and development company with activities in Iraq, were down nearly 10% in early trading before recovering to close down 4.9%, following the announcement of its annual results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2011. HIGHLIGHTS Financial · Profit after tax up by 23% to […]
A top advisor at JPMorgan Chase has stepped down to appeal a £450,000 ($720,000) fine from the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) for disclosing inside information about a potential offer for Heritage Oil, as well as news of an oil find. In the FSA’s opinion, Ian Hannam disclosed inside information in two emails sent in […]
Iraq's crude oil exports rose to 2.317 million bpd in March, up from 2.014 million bpd in February, thanks largely to he new offshore single-point mooring terminal, the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) said on Sunday. According to Reuters, this was the highest level of exports since 2003, while Bloomberg quotes Oil Ministry spokesman Asim […]
Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] said on Monday that Exxon Mobil had sent a second letter to Iraq's oil ministry confirming its decision to freeze its oil deals with the Kurdistan Regional Governmment (KRG), according to a report from Reuters. The decision may lead the Iraqi government to allow Exxon Mobil to re-enter […]
The first round of loans, funded by the U.S. Embassy and disbursed through USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program, was awarded this week in Erbil, marking the formal launch of the Iraqi Vulnerable Groups Support Initiative (IVGS). IVGS Initiative will extend small and medium enterprise loans to qualified Iraqi entrepreneurs who have been displaced by civil […]
The ongoing dispute between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reached new heights on Monday as Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister for Energy, Hussain al-Shahristani (pictured), accused the northern region of smuggling rather than meeting its export obligations. According to Reuters, Shahristani told reporters: "Most of the crude produced in the […]
