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.

WesternZagros Awards Contract for 2 High-Spec Rigs

By John Lee. WesternZagros Resources has awarded a contract for two 2,000 horse-power drilling rigs with a leading North American drilling contractor. The two rigs have been contracted to drill the Hasira-1 well, the Baram-1 well and subsequent wells on the Company's Garmian Block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The drilling services contract was […]

Iraq Reserves Right to Sue over Oil Exports

Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has issued a statement suggesting it will take legal action against companies exporting crude oil without dealing with the central government, including the confiscation of cargoes and the filing of lawsuits against sellers, buyers and transporters. The statement reads as follows: "In accordance with the provisions of Laws No. […]

Oil Exports from Basra Resume After Bad Weather

By John Lee. Oil exports from Iraq's southern Basra terminals were restored to 2.35 million barrels on Saturday bad weather on Friday, according to a report from The National. Output was said to have fallen to just 1.32 million barrels on Friday. Exports from Basra's offshore terminals, Iraq's main oil hub, tend to fluctuate because […]

The New Iraq: 2013 Discovering Business

This week marks the 150th edition of our Iraq Business News newsletter, and we are delighted to mark the occasion by bringing you a major new guide to business in Iraq. Published by Allurentis, in association with Iraq's National Investment Commission (NIC) and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the fourth edition in the annual New […]

Kuwait Energy In, Turkey's TPAO Out

By John Lee. Iraq has approved the deal under which Kuwait Energy would replace Turkey's state-owned Turkiye Petrolleri AO (TPAO) on the Block-9 exploration contract. Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, director of the ministry's contracts directorate, told Reuters: "Kuwait Energy has acquired the stake of the Turkish company TPAO, and now it's holding 70 percent of the contract, […]

Oil Exports Down in December

By John Lee. Iraq's crude oil exports fell by 11 percent in December due to bad weather in southern oil export terminals and the suspension of exports from Kurdistan, according to a report from Dow Jones. Exports averaged 2.348 million bpd, down from 2.620 million bpd in November. From the south, Iraq exported 2.023 million bpd, […]

Genel Energy Starts Direct Oil Export to Turkey

By John Lee. Genel Energy has started shipping crude oil directly into Turkey from its Taq Taq oil field (pictured) in Iraqi Kurdistan, two weeks after exports from the region were halted, reports Bloomberg. According to the report, the KRG won’t resume exports through the central government pipeline network until the federal authorities pay the […]

Iraq Names New Deputy Oil Minister

By John Lee. The former head of the South Oil Company (SOC), Fayadh Hassan Nima [Niama], has been named to replace Ahmad Shamaa [Ahmed al-Shamma] (pictured) as Deputy Oil Minister. Shamma, whose responsibilities included downstream activities and overseeing the Basra Gas Company -- the  joint venture between Shell, Mitsubishi and the South Gas Company -- […]

Petroceltic Updates on Iraqi Operations

By John Lee. As part of its operational update yesterday, Petroceltic gave an update on its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan: An active exploration and development programme is scheduled for 2013 with a capital expenditure budget of US$150 million. Exploration drilling and seismic acquisition accounts for approximately 43 percent of the budget with the balance committed […]

New Boss at North Oil Company

By John Lee. Sameer Salman Al Taei has been named as the new head of the state-run North Oil Company (NOC), which oversees oil fields in northern Iraq. Formerly head of the oil fields department in the NOC, Al Taei replaces Hamid Al Saedi, who has been director general since 2010. (Source: The National)

UK's Amarinth Wins Business at Zubair

Amarinth, a leading company specialising in the design, application and manufacture of centrifugal pumps and associated equipment to Oil & Gas, petrochemical, chemical and industrial markets, has won its first order in Iraq to supply 12 API 610 OH2 A-Series pumps for the Zubair Initial Production Facility and has appointed Horizon Development International (Basra) as […]