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.

Oil Exports Up nearly 6 percent in April

By John Lee. Iraq's crude oil exports increased nearly 6 percent in April from the previous month. Shipments averaged 2.51 million bpd in April, bringing in revenues of $7.582 billion at an average price of $100.691 per barrel. March's 2.37 million bpd brought in $7,507 billion. (Source: Ministry of Oil)

Swara Tika Discovery Declared Commercial

HKN Energy Ltd. (HKN) has announced that it has notified the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) that the Swara Tika discovery is a “Commercial Discovery” pursuant to the terms of the Sarsang Production Sharing Contract. HKN, as operator of the Sarsang Block, has drilled two wells on the Swara Tika structure. The Swara Tika-1 […]

WesternZagros Up on Possible "Eye-Popping" Increase

By John Lee. Shares in WesternZagros Resources were up 8 percent in early trading on Wednesday following the announcement of its operating and financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014. Commenting on the first quarter results and subsequent events, WesternZagros's Chief Executive Officer Simon Hatfield (pictured) said: "There have been several key […]

Iraq parliament Supports Basra-Aqaba Pipeline

By John Lee. Iraq’s parliament fully supports a project to build an $18 billion pipeline to export crude oil from Basra to Jordan’s port city of Aqaba. Speaking to The Jordan Times, Adnan Al Janabi, chairman of the Iraqi parliament's energy committee said: “We are very supportive of this strategic project with Jordan, which will […]

ERGIL Receives Approval from KRG

By John Lee. Turkish-based ERGIL, a worldwide specialist in engineering, construction and manufacturing for oil, gas, water, chemical and petrochemical industries has announced that it has been enlisted as an approved supplier/contractor by the Kurdistan Regional Government Ministry of Natural Resources in Erbil, Iraq. As an official party, ERGIL is now qualified to participate in […]

Iraqi Kurdistan Boosts Dana Gas Production

By John Lee. Dana Gas has reported a 67 percent rise in operating profits in 1Q 2014 to US$ 45 million (AED 164 million) as compared to US$ 27 million (AED 98 million) in Q1 2013. This excludes the one-off gains of US$ 39 million (AED 143 million) profits arising out of the partial sale […]

Afren Shares Fall on Interims

By John Lee. Shares in Afren were down as much as 7 percent during the day on Tuesday, closing down 5.7 percent, as the company's earnings came in below target. In its Interim Management Statement this morning, Afren gave the following update on its Iraq operations: "On the Barda Rash block in Kurdistan, the BR-4 […]

The Governance of the Iraq Energy Sector

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Governance of the Iraq Energy Sector and the Relevance of Association with Energy Charter Treaty This is an extended abstract of PowerPoint slides and interventions I delivered during the Executive Training […]

Genel, ShaMaran Issue Bonds

By John Lee. Genel Energy has announced that it has completed its issue of $500 million of 7.5% senior unsecured bonds due 2019. Also, ShaMaran Petroleum has announced the listing on Oslo Børs of the USD 150 million senior secured bond issued by its wholly owned subsidiary, General Exploration Partners, Inc. The bonds carry a […]

Petroceltic Gives Update on Operations

By John Lee. In its Preliminary Results Announcement on Friday, Petroceltic International has issued the following update on its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan: Kurdistan - material prospects in a dynamic region Petroceltic has been active in Kurdistan since 2011 and has worked closely with the operator, Hess, to undertake a comprehensive survey and analysis and […]

Fugro wins Contract from Basra Gas Company

Fugro has been awarded a contract for one year, plus a year extension option, by Basra Gas Company (BGC) for the provision of Geotechnical Investigations and Topographic Services in the Basrah province of Southern Iraq. Fugro will provide geotechnical and topographical survey investigation services at various locations throughout the project area to support a number […]

GKP Falls on Payment Delays

By John Lee. Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) closed 7 percent lower on Wednesday after the company warned of delays in receiving payments for exports. The full text of the interim management statement for the period from 1 January 2014 to today is shown below: Overview On 25 March 2014, Gulf Keystone's common shares […]