Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.
By John Lee. Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has reportedly abandoned plans to sell two grades of crude oil from its southern Gulf terminals next year. Platts reports that SOMO informed customers last week that "due to logistical issues" a single type of crude will continue to be marketed in 2015, but with two […]
By John Lee. Dragon Oil said on Monday that it was backing out of plans to make an offer of 230 pence a share for Irish operator Petroceltic, which has interests in Iraqi Kurdistan. Shares in Petroceltic closed down 35 percent at 112.45 pence on Monday, 50 percent below their recent peak. Chief Executive Brian […]
By John Lee. Total and Marathon Oil have confirmed a discovery of light oil and gas with condensates at the Harir Block, 60 kilometers from the city of Erbil. The Jisik-1 discovery well was drilled to a depth of 4,511 meters and encountered light oil and gas with condensates intervals in Jurassic and Triassic carbonate reservoirs. […]
By John Lee. Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has announced that, further to the recent statement by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) regarding payment to producers for crude oil exports, an initial payment of USD 15 million (17.5 billion Iraqi dinars) gross has been made to the company. Gulf […]
By John Lee. Lukoil's West Qurna-2 project in Iraq has added $1.25 billion to the company's earnings in the third quarter. In a statement to the markets the company said: "The Group launched the "Mishrif Early Oil" stage on the West Qurna-2 field and reached the planned production of 120 thousand barrels per day in […]
By John Lee. Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said he will soon present his proposed 2015 budget to Cabinet, based on an oil price of $70 per barrel. The Minister said: “We are proposing a budget of $100 billion. This is projected ... “We have based our projections on about $70 a barrel. This could fluctuate. […]
By John Lee. Gas Plus Khalakan (GPK) has declared the Shewashan light oil discovery commercial and is preparing the Field Development Plan (FDP) for submission to the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of Natural Resources in accordance with the Khalakan PSC. Shewashan-1 produced light oil (45API) on test from reservoir zones in the Cretaceous Shiranish, Kometan and […]
By Mohammed A. Salih for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. While a recent deal between Baghdad and Erbil to export oil from the northern fields is seen by many as a breakthrough after years of stalemate, the prospect of further progress […]
By John Lee. Swiss-based Sulzer has signed an agreement to form a joint venture with the Unaoil Group to service of rotating equipment for oil and gas, and power customers in Southern Iraq. The joint venture (JV) will operate under the name of Sulzer Rotating Equipment FZCO and will have offices in Dubai, with local operations […]
By John Lee. Platts reports that Italy's Eni has provisionally booked a tanker to load an 80,000 mt cargo of Iraqi crude from the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Market sources said that the cargo is Kirkuk crude, and would be the first such cargo from the port since Baghdad and Erbil agreed to sell 150,000 […]
From ProactiveInvestors. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Alexander Dodds, executive vice president of exploration and production at Hungary-based MOL Group, talks about finding the balance between high risk exploration and declining oil production. Dodds says Kurdistan is the most important region […]
By John Lee. Oil Minister Dr. Adel Abdul Mahdi [Adel Abdel Mehdi] (pictured) has said that oil from the Kirkuk oil fields is now being pumped through the oil pipes and infrastructure built by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The Minister said: "150,000 oil barrels that include some oil produced from Kirkuk oil fields have […]
