Archive | Iraq Oil & Gas News

Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.

Oil Exports Fall Slightly in April

By John Lee. Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced preliminary oil exports for April of 100,197,197 barrels, giving an average for the month of 3.340 million barrels per day (bpd), a slight increase from the 3.453 bpd exported in March. These exports were entirely from the southern terminals, with no exports registered from Kirkuk via Ceyhan. […]

The Dangers of Iraq’s New Oil Law

By John Lee. The formation of the new Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) is "a power grab that could undermine all the progress," according to Nick Butler. Writing in the Financial Times, he says the new company will be a single entity with sole responsibility for all aspects of the development of the oil and […]

Ministry Publishes New Templates for Oil Contracts

By John Lee. The Ministry of Oil's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate (PCLD) has published the templates for the contracts to be used for the 5th oil licensing round, the results of which were announced last week. Exploration, development and production contract (EDPC) Development and production contract (DPD) (Source: Ministry of Oil)

Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Opportunities Forum

Under the Patronage of H.E Prime Minister, Dr. Haider Al Abadi, organized by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and the National Investment Commission (NIC) in cooperation with Economy and Business Group, the Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Opportunities Forum was held in Baghdad on Thursday the 26th April witnessing a wide local, Arab […]

Chinese Companies to build Fao Refinery

By John Lee. Iraq has reportedly signed a contract with two Chinese companies to build the Fao [Faw] oil refinery. An Iraqi oil official told Reuters the 300,000-bpd facility will include a petrochemical plant. It is to be built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) and Norinco. (Source: Reuters)

Shell plans Major Expansion at BGC

By John Lee. Having sold its stake in the West Qurna 1 project to Japan’s Itochu, Shell is now said to be "fully committed" to the giant Basra Gas Company (BGC), which captures gas from Iraq's southern oilfields. Frits Klap, managing director of BGC, told Reuters that processing capacity has more than tripled to 938 […]

Oilfield Service Contracts Explained

By Alessandro Bacci. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Alessandro Bacci is an independent energy consultant in relation to business strategy and corporate diplomacy (policy, government, and public affairs). Much of his activity is linked to the MENA region, an area where […]

New Contracts Signed to operate Majnoon Oilfield

By John Lee. Basra Oil Company (BOC) has signed contracts with the Chinese company Anton Oilfield Services Group (Antonoil) and the US company KBR to operate and maintain the Majnoon oil field. A statement from the Ministry of Oil put the value of the contracts at $118 million, adding that there would be "other secondary […]

Kuwait Energy starts Producing Gas at Siba

By John Lee. Kuwait Energy has started producing natural gas from the Siba field, south of Basra, on Wednesday. Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] (pictured) announced an inital production rate of 25 million cubic feet a day (mcf/d), increasing to 100 mcf/d by the end of the year. Kuwait Energy was awarded a […]

Iraq Awards New Oilfield Licences: FULL LIST

By John Lee. Iraq's Ministy of Oil has awarded all four development projects, and two of the seven exploration blocks, that it offered in its fifth auction of oil licences. Only nine of the 26 companies originally pre-qualified took part in the auction, with majors such as Lukoil (Russia), ExxonMobil (US) and Total (France) not bidding. Development […]

Gazprom Neft commissions Second Well at Sarqala

Gazprom Neft subsidiary Gazprom Neft Middle East B.V. has commissioned a second well — the Sarqala-2 — at its Sarqala field (within the Garmian block), located in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The new well is currently producing 11,000 barrels per day (bpd), with potential to increase this to 15,000. Total daily production at […]

IBBC Spring Conference a Huge Success

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) held its annual Spring Conference at the Mansion House in London and a newly formatted second day forum for Iraqi and UK SMEs to discuss business opportunities at the Royal Overseas League on the 24th and 25th of April. The event proved to be a huge success, with record […]