Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.
By John Lee. A fire that broke out in a compressor unit at the Salah 2 refinery in Baiji has been brought under control, with refinery operations stabilised shortly afterwards. The incident began at approximately 19:45 on Monday, with safety and firefighting teams bringing the fire under control by 20:00. All containment operations were completed […]
By John Lee. In a statement to the markets this morning, Norway's DNO, which operates the Tawke license in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has said it, "aims to access export markets or export prices later in the year." Some are interpreting this as meaning that DNO is considering joining the agreement that re-started the […]
By John Lee. Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) announced on Wednesday that it intends to complete the Company's previously announced proposal to pursue a dual listing of its shares on Euronext Growth Oslo operated by the Oslo Stock Exchange. Full statement from GKP: Intention to complete listing on Euronext Growth Oslo and fully underwritten retail offer […]
By John Lee. Energy Intelligence reports that Iraq's state-owned Basra Oil Company (BOC) has subcontracted management of the West Qurna-2 oil field to a consortium of Italian engineering firm Bonatti and local firm Hilal al-Basra [Crescent Basra]. West Qurna-2, operated by Lukoil under a service contract, is fully state-owned. Following recent US sanctions on Lukoil […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC) completed the drilling and rehabilitation of 14 oil wells across several Iraqi oilfields in January 2026, in line with approved operational plans to support and increase oil production. The work included four new wells and the rehabilitation of ten existing wells. Kazem Habash Khalaf, Deputy Director General […]
By John Lee. The Ministry of Oil has reviewed progress on major development projects at the Rumaila oil field in Basra governorate. On behalf of Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Minister of Oil Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad, Undersecretary for Upstream Affairs Bassem Mohammed Khudair conducted a field visit to Rumaila to follow up on […]
By John Lee. The Ministry of Oil has announced the successful commissioning of the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) unit at South Refineries Company (SRC), with the start of production of high-octane upgraded petrol. Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Minister of Oil Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad praised the workforce at South Refineries Company for achieving […]
By John Lee. The Deputy Prime Minister for Energy and Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad, has formally assumed his duties as Acting Minister of Electricity, following an official mandate from the Council of Ministers. He replaces Ziyad Ali Fadhil [Fadel], who has taken up his seat as a member of parliament. According to […]
By John Lee. The Ministry of Oil has reviewed progress on the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) in Basra during a site visit to the Artawi [Ratawi] oilfield. Undersecretary for Extraction Affairs Bassem Mohammed Khudair inspected key projects being implemented by TotalEnergies, in partnership with QatarEnergy and Basra Oil Company (BOC). The visit covered the […]
By John Lee. Russia's Lukoil has signed an agreement with US investment company Carlyle for the sale of LUKOIL International GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary that holds the its international assets. The agreement is non-exclusive and subject to regulatory approval, including permission from the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Lukoil […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani opened the Iraq Energy Conference 2026 in Baghdad on Wednesday, emphasising in his keynote speech: Target to export 40% of oil output as higher-value derivative products by 2030 Expansion of refining capacity and cooperation with the private sector to end fuel imports Utilisation of 74% of Iraq's […]
By John Lee. The publicly-traded UK company Kistos Holdings has held discussions in Iraq on matters related to the oil, gas, and energy sectors. The meeting took place between Minister of Oil Hayan Abdul Ghani al-Sawad and Peter Mann, Chief Executive Officer of Kistos. According to the company's website, Kistos was established in October 2020 as an energy […]
