Foreign oil companies are flocking into Kurdistan, finding new oil fields and bringing hopes that the country could become a big oil producer on its own. Javier Blas, commodities editor of the Financial Times, travels across the Kurdstan region of Iraq to check whether the hopes of many oil executives are for real: Foreign oil […]
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.
Iraq Begins Pumping to New Gulf Oil Terminal
Iraq began pumping oil to the first of five floating terminals in the Gulf on Sunday, according to AFP, and the terminal will be ready for exports in a few days. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki symbolically opened the valve of a pipeline that runs 535 kilometres (332 miles) from Iraq's southern oil fields to the […]
Iraq Blocks Exxon Licence Bid
ExxonMobil is to be excluded from Iraq's fourth licensing auction because of its deals in Iraqi Kurdistan. "The Iraqi government has decided that Exxon won't be allowed to participate in the next oil and gas bidding round," Faisal Abdullah, a spokesman for Iraq's Deputy Prime Minster for Energy, Hussein al-Shahristani, said on Monday. "We are […]
Iraq Warns Total over Kurdistan Deals
Following Total's statement on Friday that it was considering possible investments in Iraqi Kurdistan, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani warned the French major on Sunday that it would bear the "full consequences" if it did. "The position of the Iraqi government will be the same as with the other oil companies, that no company […]
Leighton Alerts Police to Possible Bribery in Iraq
Leighton Holdings Limited (Leighton) has announced that it has reported to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) a possible breach of its Code of Ethics that, if substantiated, may contravene Australian laws. The possible breach related to payments that may have been made by Leighton’s subsidiary company, Leighton Offshore Pte. Limited, in connection with work to […]
Romanian Company wins EUR 3m Contract in Iraq
Romanian company Syscom 18 has won two orders, totalling EUR 3 million, to provide metering skids for petroleum products in Iraq and Bahrain. The products are to be delivered by the end of this spring. Irak and Bahrain chose the Romanian company instead of companies from India and Pakistan, which are the main suppliers for liquids […]
Korea's SK joins Oil Auction after Kurd Oilfield Sale
Reuters reports that Iraq has allowed the privately-owned Korean firm SK Innovation to bid in its fourth energy auction, after the company sold its stake in the Bazian block in Kurdistan. The stake was sold to the state-owned Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC), which was already barred from participating due to its stakes in both […]
Gulf Keystone Appoints Advisers on Akri-Bijeel Sale
Gulf Keystone has announced that it has appointed Strand Hanson Limited and Perella Weinberg Partners UK LLP as Joint Corporate Advisers with immediate effect. Working alongside Strand Hanson, Perella Weinberg Partners will be jointly responsible for coordination of and advice on the sale of the Company's 20 per cent working interest in the Akri-Bijeel block […]
New Detailed Map of Northern Iraqi Oil and Gas
WesternZagros Resources has just published the best publicly-available map of oil and gas exploration activity in Northern Iraq that we have seen so far. It includes recent activity and current forecasts for all fields in the area, and can be freely accessed by clicking here.
Hormuz Tensions and Iraqi Oil Exports
Iraq, and the entire Gulf region is nervously contemplating the risk of possible Iranian action to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to sanctions imposed by the US and EU. And that nervousness is echoed around the world, as something of the order of a quarter of the world's oil supply is shipped through […]
Iraq could Lose 1.7m bpd Export if Hormuz is Shut
Bloomberg reports that Iraq would lose the capacity to export 1.7 million barrels of crude a day if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz. “Iraq will have to depend on the northern route from where it can export 450,000 barrels a day through Turkey’s port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean,” Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad […]
Iraq Delays Licensing Round Again
Iraq has postponed its next energy licensing round by more than a month to May 30, a senior government official has said. Speaking to Reuters on January 31, Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, the Oil Ministry’s Director-General, said the decision to move the date back had been made to allow potential bidders more time to study the […]


