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.

Heritage Oil Update on Miran West-3 Exploration Well

Heritage Oil has successfully drilled and tested the Miran West-3 well. The well is situated in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, drilling has been taking place since August 2011, ir has successfully reached a total depth of 3,528 metres after encountering the primary gas bearing reservoir interval in the Jurassic. Testing of the main Jurassic […]

Oil Ministry Prepare for Fourth Auction

Preparations are being made for a fourth auction of oil and natural gas exploration zones. This will be in line with the country's aim to rival Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s leading oil producers. Iraq’s official statistics reveal that oil reserves are pegged at 143.1 billion barrels, the fourth largest in the world.  […]

Halliburton Lands $95m Gazprom deal at Badra

Halliburton has won a $95 million contract from Russian state oil producer Gazprom Neft to test and complete 11 wells at its Badra oil field in eastern Iraq, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gazprom said testing of the first well is scheduled to start in the third quarter of this year. "Production will commence […]

Zhenhua Backs Out of Iraq Venture; PPL to Proceed Alone

The Chinese firm Zhenhua has decided not to partner with Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) in a bid for an exploration block in Iraq due to security issues, the Express Tribune reports. "The News", however, reports that Zhenhua walked out on the deal because a re-drawing of the boundary of the Bloc-9 meant "the opportunity became […]

Gazprom to Start Pumping from Badrah early-2013

Russia’s Gazprom Neft is expecting to start exporting from its East Badrah oil field in Wasit [Wassit] province early next year, according to AKnews. Alexander V Kolomatsky, Project director for the Middle East at Gazprom, said the company had initially planned to reach the 15,000 bpd level by the last quarter of 2013 because the […]

Tehran, Baghdad to Resume Talks on Joint Oil Projects

Iran and Iraq will start new round of talks in Tehran on 26th May on issues such as developing the Sohrab joint oilfield and establishing a joint oil company, Iran's Mehr News Agency reports. The managing director of the National Iranian Central Oilfields Company, Mehdi Fakour, said that eight drilling rigs are currently in operation […]

IEA Prepares in-depth Outlook for Iraqi Energy Sector

In preparation for the World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2012 special report on the Iraq energy outlook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) held an informal one-day workshop in Istanbul, Turkey on 4 May 2012. The workshop was chaired by Dr. Fatih Birol, IEA Chief Economist, and had some 85 attendees, including His Excellency Thamir Ghadhban, Chairman […]

Afren Updates on Kurdistan Operations

In its Interim Management Statement this morning, oil explorer Afren gave the following update on its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan: Barda Rash Having received all necessary approvals of the Field Development Plan (FDP) for Barda Rash during November 2011, the Company has commenced the development programme that will initially target approximately 500 million barrels of […]

Genel Energy Acquires Acreage in Kurdistan

In a step that further builds its resource base in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Genel Energy  announced on Monday that it is to acquire a 23 per cent stake in the Bina Bawi exploration licence. The Bina Bawi licence lies alongside the producing Taq Taq oilfield where current potential output is some 80,000 barrels […]

Positioning Iraq on the World Energy Map

Iraq’s oil exports have reached the highest records in decades. Crude oil exports averaged 2.508 million bpd in April 2012 due to the opening of two new floating terminals, easing export constraints. The Iraq Petroleum 2012 Conference will address this recent increase in crude oil exports, in a key session titled ‘Positioning Iraq on the […]

Iraq Invites Firms to Manage Water Injection

Iraq has invited international consultancy firms to assist in managing the country's multi-billion dollar oilfield water injection projects. The scheme would assist in raising the extraction rates in order to stop declines in production at fields such as Majnoon, Zubair and Rumaila. Dhiya Jafaar, head of the state-run South Oil Company, told Reuters that the company […]

After Gas, and the Rise of the Petrochemical Industry

Iraq has ambitious plans to build on its booming energy sector.  The sector will be used to build upon its petrochemicals industry, Iraq is looking to foreign firms to invest up to $35 – 50 billion from 2017 – 2023. During this period the plans aim to produce around 10 million tonnes of petrochemicals a […]