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.

Shell Opens Majnoon Oil Field

By John Lee. Shell has officially inaugurated Iraq's huge Majnoon oil field on Sunday, and said it aims to reach 175,000 barrels a day in the coming weeks. Production from the field's first well started on 20th September, and Hussein al Shahristani, the Iraqi deputy prime minister for energy, said in Dubai that output is […]

KRG Approves Development of Atrush

By John Lee. ShaMaran Petroleum has announced that the Atrush partners have received approval from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for the first phase in the development of the Atrush Block. The TAQA-operated Block, located 85 km northwest of Erbil, is expected to initially produce approximately 30,000 barrels of gross oil per day (bpd) with […]

Dana Gas "Breached Confidentiality, Owes KRG"

By John Lee. Rudaw reports that the KRG’s Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured), has dismissed as “inaccurate and misleading” claims by Dana Gas that the KRG owes the company millions of dollars in overdue payments. In a letter sent to Dana Gas managing director, Majid Hamid Jafar, he said: “The statements made in […]

Debate Renewed Over Oil Revenue Surplus

By Omar al-Shaher for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The project designed to distribute the country’s oil revenue surplus directly to Iraqis is once again at the forefront of recent events, as political blocs have begun to prepare for the general […]

Basra Locals Move Because of Oil Pollution

By Saleem al-Wazzan. This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Fighting for Clean Air: Locals Living Near Basra Oil Wells Move Because of Pollution The oil wells in southern Iraq have made the areas relatively prosperous. […]

Iran, Iraq Sign Oil and Gas Drilling Pact

By John Lee. The National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has signed an agreement with the Iraqi Drilling Company under which Iran will provide personnel training and supervision of Iraqi drilling operations. According to a report from Iran's PressTV, the agreement was signed by NIDC Managing Director Hamid-Reza Golpayegani and Deputy Director-General of the Iraqi Drilling […]

Lukoil Forecasts Exports from West Qurna-2

By John Lee. Andrei Kuzyayev [Andrey Kuzyaev] (pictured), head of Lukoil's overseas operations, has said that Lukoil plans to reach commercial levels of oil production at West Qurna-2 in the first quarter of 2014, and is interested in participating in the Kirkuk oilfield in northern Iraq. He told Reuters: "There are no infrastructure risks [in […]

Southern Oil Exports Down

By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq's southern oil exports averaged 1.821 million barrels per day (bpd) in September. This is down from from the 2.308 million bpd in August as a result of maintenance work at that al-Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT) (pictured). The work has closed two of the port's four berths, and the […]

KRG Cracks Down on Unauthorized Gas Stations

By John Lee. The KRG's Ministry of Natural Resources plans to monitor tanker trucks carrying fuel from local refineries to petrol stations in order to regulate the price and quality of petrol in the region, according to a report from Rudaw. Petrol stations receiving petrol from the government at a subsidized price are required to […]

Electricity Shortage "Costs Iraq $40bn a Year"

By Walid Khadduri for Al-Monitor, translated from Al-Hayat. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On Sept. 14, 2013, the Iraqi parliament's Oil and Energy Committee published a report drafted by the advisory board of the Prime Minister's Office, which indicated that Iraq […]

Militias Control Home-Made Oil Refineries

By Ahmad al-Sayegh. This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Refining crude oil at home is a major business in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. And Islamic militias in charge here are selling the crude […]