Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.
By John Lee. Shares in Afren plc have fallen by more than 30 percent on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, following the announcement that the Board has temporarily suspended the CEO, Osman Shahenshah (pictured) and the COO, Shahid Ullah, pending the investigation of alleged “unauthorised payments”. The company has operations at the Barda Rash, […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. For over a week, the oil pipeline from Kurdistan to Turkish port facilities has been shut off. Government officials have stated that all the available storage tanks are full of Kurdish oil and remain in holding for when shipment continues. "The flow has stopped. It's been around a week. The tanks […]
By John Lee. As part of his statement to the AGM of Petrel Resources, Executive Chairman John Teeling made the following comment on the company's operations in Iraq: "Petrel has a 5% full free carry on the interests held by Oryx in the Wasit province of Iraq. "This is held via a 20% shareholding in […]
After months of remaining out of public knowledge, the buyer of Kurdish oil in America has been revealed. The chemical firm LyondellBasell purchased two tankers worth of Kurdish oil in May. The shipments totaled nearly 533,000 barrels of oil and at the time did not result in any legal action. Data retrieved from the U.S. […]
A crude carrier chartered by LITASCO (LUKOIL's international marketing and trading arm) arrived today (Wednesday) in South Iraq's port of Basra to receive the first batch of oil as part of the recovery of LUKOIL's costs from phase one (“Early Oil”) of the West Qurna-2 project. The vessel will spend several days in the port […]
The KRG Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured), commented today (Wednesday) on the Iraqi federal government’s petition to a US court to seize crude oil produced in the Kurdistan Region. “The KRG’s lawyers sent a letter to a court in Texas to explain the misrepresentations of the Iraqi federal government. The Iraqi federal government […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. Despite a ruling yesterday that allowed United States Marshals to seize Kurdish oil onboard the United Kalavrvta, a federal judge overturned their own decision. Given the distance of the tanker from American shores, the United States Marshals could not have legally seized the cargo. The judge instead suggested that the dispute […]
By John Lee. As port of its operating and unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2014, Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM) (NYSE:TLM) has given the following update on its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan: "In the Topkhana Block, testing continues on the T-2 well and is expected to be complete in the coming days. "In […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has announced that they will pursue a new energy contract with Iran. It is expected that this contract will be similar to the current one with Turkey. Sherko Jawdat, Head of the Industry and Energy Committee, said, “strong oil and economic relations with Iran are part […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has successfully obtained the documentation needed to seize oil from the United Kalavrvta and place it under the protection of the United States Marshals. The value of the ship’s payload is approximately $100 million dollars (1.2 billion Iraqi dinars). The oil onboard had been “illegal” piped […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. The United Nations Security Council has released as statement following concerns about radical groups in Iraq and Syria using captured oil fields as a means to generate revenue for their organizations. The statement read “that any oilfields and related infrastructure controlled by terrorist organizations could generate material income for terrorists, which […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. On Sunday, the United States Coast Guard granted permission for the Kurdish oil tanker, United Kalavrvta, to offload its payload of crude oil from Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) controlled oilfields in northern Iraq. The State Department further indicated that they would not prevent tanker from offloading at port in Galveston, Texas […]
