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.

Basra Heavy Trading at Discount

By John Lee. According to a report from Reuters, the new Basra Heavy crude oil grade has been trading at a widening discount. Malaysia's Petronas reportedly sold 2 million barrels for June loading to Indian refiner Essar Oil at a discount of more than $1 a barrel to its official selling price. bigger than expected […]

Iraq Plans Big Increase in Oil Exports

By John Lee. Iraq is planning to boost crude exports by about 26 percent, according to a report from Bloomberg. Shipping schedules suggest exports of a record 3.75 million bpd in June. Deputy Oil Minister Fayyad al-Nimaa said recently that export capacity is currently capped at 3.1 million bpd. Commenting in Forbes, petroleum economist Michael […]

Kurdistan Oil Production at Record Levels

According to the April 2015 report published by the Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, Ministry of Natural Resources, KRG commitments under the 2015 Federal Budget Law have been met, and oil production has reached record levels. According to an agreement on oil export and budget, reached last December between the KRG and the Federal Government of […]

Expert Blog: Iraqi Extractive Industry

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Iraq Extractive Industry: Legal, Fiscal and Revenue Allocation and Management Issues This is an Executive Summary of a research work commissioned by the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), USA, as part of the preparation for NRGI’s strategic plan for interlinked and complementary interventions in Iraq during the upcoming three years. This […]

Farmers Compensated for Oil Works in Wassit

By John Lee. The Iraqi Oil Ministry has announced that it has paid compensation of more than 3 million Iraqi dinars ($2.6 million) to farmers whose lands were damaged their lands because of oil projects in Wassit province. The amounts relate to the years from 2012 to early 2015, and were paid to 618 farmers. […]

Basra Light Premium hits Multi-Year High

By John Lee. Reuters reports that spot premiums for Basra Light crude hit a multi-year high on Thursday, after Iraq cut supply of the grade to export more of its new Basra Heavy oil in June. Traders told the news agency that the premium for June-loading Basra Light surged to more than $1 a barrel […]

PM Al-Abadi Receives Presidents of Big Russian Companies

By John Lee. During his visit to Moscow, Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi received the presidents of three major Russian oil and gas companies: Soyuzneftegaz group, Lukoil, and Gazprom. At the start of talks with Abadi in the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is expanding cooperation with Iraq in the area of military technology, […]

Chinese Firm wins $526m Drilling Deal

By John Lee. Iraq has approved a $526.6-million (614 billion Iraqi dinar) drilling deal with China's Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group (ZPEC) for the West Qurna II oilfield, according to Reuters. Under the 28-month contract, ZPEC will drill 66 production oil wells at the Lukoil-operated field. Current production capacity at West Qurna II is […]

Increased Basra Heavy Oil Volumes

By John Lee. A report from Argus claims that Iraq has scheduled greater-than-expected initial volumes of its new Basra Heavy crude oil grade. The State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) plans to load more than 1.2 million bpd of Basra Heavy in June, boosting total Iraqi sales from its southern export terminals to a record high […]

Gazprom Increases Investment in Kurdistan

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has received a delegation from the Russian Federation that included President Vladimir Putin’s Envoy to the Middle East and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Chairman of Gazprom Neft, Alexander Dyukov, and Deputy Energy Minister, Yuri Sentyurin. The delegation highlighted historic relations between Kurdistan and Russia, and their intention to […]