Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.
Further to the rumours that Exxon Mobil plans to abandon it's contract at West Qurna-1 in favour of pursuing exploration deals in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has issued the following statement: "In a meeting with President Masoud Barzani in Washington DC this week, the CEO of Exxon Mobil, Rex Tillerson [pictured] stated […]
In the run up to the Iraq Refinery 2012 conference (www.iraqrefinery.com) on 17 -18 April 2012 at the Lancaster London hotel in London, Iraq's Deputy Minister of Oil, Dr Ahmed al-Shamma said: “The Ministry will use this event as an occasion to present the programme for planned future refineries, the redevelopment of the existing refinery […]
Sources in Baghdad have told Iraq Business News that Exxon Mobil has decided to abandon its contract at the giant West Qurna-1 oilfield in Southern Iraq, in favour of pursuing its interests in Iraqi Kurdistan. In recent days the Iraqi Ministry for Oil has claimed to have received a second letter from Exxon in which […]
Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has issued the following update on the ongoing legal battle with Excalibur Ventures: Further to the decision of the English Commercial Court in London, as detailed in the Company's announcement of 15 March 2012, a payment of £6,000,000 has been made into Court by Excalibur Ventures LLC ("Excalibur") as security for […]
Russian-based news agency RT interviews an anti-capitalist campaigner about the excalating tensions between Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan: (Source: RT)
Ashti Hawrami, the natural resources minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), said on Monday that Exxon Mobil is honoring its oil exploration contracts in the region, contradicting the statement from Baghdad's Oil Minster, Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi], who said the deal had been frozen. “What comes out of Baghdad is about 90 percent, with […]
Shares in Heritage Oil reversed their recent downward trend with a 10.9% gain on Tuesday, following the company's update on it's Miran West-3 well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq ("Kurdistan"). Shares in partner company Genel Energy closed the day up 1.2%. Highlights Testing of a reservoir interval above the main Jurassic reservoir resulted in […]
Greece's top refiner, Hellenic Petroleum, is said to be considering taking supplies of Iraq's Kirkuk crude oil, following its suspension of purchases of Iranian crude as a result of sanctions on Tehran. According to the report from Reuters, Greece's financial difficulties had made Athens reluctant to reduce its purchases of cheap Iranian crude ahead of […]
Shares in Gulfsands Petroleum, the oil and gas production, exploration and development company with activities in Iraq, were down nearly 10% in early trading before recovering to close down 4.9%, following the announcement of its annual results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2011. HIGHLIGHTS Financial · Profit after tax up by 23% to […]
A top advisor at JPMorgan Chase has stepped down to appeal a £450,000 ($720,000) fine from the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) for disclosing inside information about a potential offer for Heritage Oil, as well as news of an oil find. In the FSA’s opinion, Ian Hannam disclosed inside information in two emails sent in […]
Iraq's crude oil exports rose to 2.317 million bpd in March, up from 2.014 million bpd in February, thanks largely to he new offshore single-point mooring terminal, the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) said on Sunday. According to Reuters, this was the highest level of exports since 2003, while Bloomberg quotes Oil Ministry spokesman Asim […]
Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] said on Monday that Exxon Mobil had sent a second letter to Iraq's oil ministry confirming its decision to freeze its oil deals with the Kurdistan Regional Governmment (KRG), according to a report from Reuters. The decision may lead the Iraqi government to allow Exxon Mobil to re-enter […]
