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.

Federal Judge Rules On Kurdish Oil

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 […]

Talisman Energy Updates in Kurdistan Operations

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 […]

Kurdistan-Iran Energy Contract

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 […]

Kurdish Oil Shipment Seized

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 […]

UN Warns on Terrorist Oil Trade

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 […]

Tanker Cleared to Offload Kurdish Oil

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 […]

Baiji Oil Refinery Comes Under Attack

By Patrick M Schmidt. On Saturday, Iraqi security forces reported that ISIS militants had taken control of a portion of the Baiji [Bayji, Beiji] oil refinery. Since then, security forces have driven the militants off of the oil refinery’s premises and are now searching the area for any remaining militants. Over the past month, Baiji […]

Another $1.2bn Compensation Paid to Kuwait

The United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), which settles the damage claims of those who suffered losses due to Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, today made $1.19 billion (1.4 trillion Iraqi dinars) available to the Government of Kuwait. With today’s payment, the Commission has disbursed $46.7 billion, leaving approximately $5.7 billion remaining to be directed to […]

Peshmerga to 'Fill in' for Iraqi Army

By Shaida al-Ameen for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Kurdistan’s Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs said its troops are not attacking armed groups in Iraq, but are just taking defensive positions. It said the speeches of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki do not scare the […]

Kurdish Oil Nears US Marketplace

By Patrick M Schmidt. After a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, the oil-tanker, United Kalavrvta [United Kalavryta], is just miles off the coast of Florida. The tanker is loaded with one million barrels of crude oil that has a current market value of approximately $100 million (117 billion Iraqi dinars). The oil onboard is […]

Gazprom Begins Production at Badra

By Patrick M Schmidt. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has announced that Gazprom Neft, a division of the Russian state-owned Gazprom, had begun production at Badra oilfield in the eastern province of Wasit. "Oil flow from Badra has started on Monday to fill the oilfield storages in preparing to feed the export," said Ministry of […]

ISIS Profits from Captured Oilfields

By Patrick M Schmidt. The Iraqi government has confirmed that ISIS militants, who maintain a foothold in northern Iraq, are taking advantage of the oil infrastructure they have captured during the previous month of battles with security forces. ISIS militants have made attempts to keep oil infrastructure intact and to keep petroleum industry employees on […]