Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.
By Padraig O'Hannelly. On the day Iraq announced that Exxon Mobil wants to abandon its business in southern Iraq in favour of potentially more profitable contracts in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Oil Ministry has cancelled a major exploration deal with Turkey's TPAO. The reasons were described as "non-technical", with the decision coming from the cabinet; the […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi cabinet has expelled Turkey's state-owned Turkiye Petrolleri AO (TPAO) from the consortium that was granted the rights to explore energy block 9, and has asked Kuwait Energy to take over the shareholding. Abdul Mahdi Al Ameedi, director of the oil ministry’s Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate (PCLD), said: "For reasons […]
By John Lee. Exxon Mobil has informed the Iraqi government that it wants to pull out of the $50-billion West Qurna-1 oilfield project, according to a report from Reuters. Abdul Mahdi Al Ameedi, director of the oil ministry’s Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate (PCLD), said: "Exxon has stated in its letter that it has started discussions […]
By John Lee. Dana Gas, the Middle East’s first and largest regional private sector natural gas company, has announced that it has reached an in-principle agreement on the restructuring terms of the US$1 billion Sukuk-al-Mudarabah due 31 October 2012 with the Ad Hoc Committee of Sukukholders. The Ad Hoc Committee holds a majority of the […]
Iraq has signed a deal with Russia's LUKoil, and Inpex Corp of Japan, to explore the 5,500-square-kilometer (2,100 square mile) Block 10 in Muthanna and Dhi Qar province. Under the contract, the two firms must invest at least $100 million and will be paid $5.99 for each barrel of oil equivalent it finds. "This contract represents […]
By John Lee. Iraq has signed a final contract with Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), giving it the right to explore gas Block 8, covering an area of 6,000 sq km in the Diyala and Wassit provinces in eastern Iraq. During the signing ceremony, Iraq's deputy oil minister, Ahmed al-Shamma, said "developing exploration block 8 could […]
By John Lee. The Norwegian oil producer DNO International expects the Kurdistan Regional Government to pay the company part of the money it’s owed for exports by the end of the year. In September, Baghdad agreed to pay international companies 1 trillion Iraqi dinars ($858 million) and the KRG has received a first tranche of […]
By John Lee. DNO International, the Norwegian oil and gas company, announced today that the Benenan-3 well drilled on its Erbil license, Kurdistan region of Iraq, encountered an additional 210 meter oil column in the Najmeh reservoir which is expected to more than double the Benenan field's gross 2P oil-in-place volumes from 300 million barrels […]
By John Lee. In its operations update this morning, Petroceltic International issued the follow statement on its operation in Iraqi Kurdistan: Geophysical surveying operations at the Shakrok block (Petroceltic 16% working interest) were completed on 21 September 2012, with 276 kilometres of 2D seismic lines acquired. Drilling remains scheduled to commence on Shakrok in Q3 […]
By John Lee. The Ministry of Oil has allocated $4 billion for the construction of a new refinery in Karbala. According to a report from Azzaman, the 150,000-bpd refinery will take four years to complete and it will be built by Iraqi technicians and engineers under the supervision of a team of international experts. The […]
By John Lee. A federal magistrate in Oregon has ordered Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) to pay $85 million to a dozen National Guard soldiers for illnesses suffered while guarding an oilfield water plant during the Iraq war. The soldiers said they suffer from respiratory ailments after exposure to sodium dichromate, and they fear that […]
By John Lee. Turkey's Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz (pictured), has said the country has signed a $350 million deal to drill 40 oil wells in the Basra area, and is in talks on drilling 7,000 wells across Iraq. Details of the timeframe or companies involved were not immediately available. According to a report from Reuters, […]
