Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.
The current political tensions in Iraq are likely to delay the finalisation of a new hydrocarbon law for more than a year, according to Reuters. "With these chronic political differences I can’t see any possibility of having an oil law this year,” said Adel Barwari, a Kurdish adviser to Maliki. “If the [differences] were, say […]
Reuters reports that Iraq has delayed its 4th energy auction until the end of May. "The oil ministry has decided to delay the 4th bidding round until May 30-31 to give more time for the interested companies to study the new amended contract," said Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, director of the oil ministry's petroleum contracts and licensing […]
The Sunday Times, citing unidentified industry sources, reports that French oil and gas producer Total is close to securing exploration rights over several exploration blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan. A deal could be announced within weeks, according to the newspaper. Chevron and ConocoPhillips are also believed to be competing for rights in the semi-autonomous region, following […]
According to a report from Bloomberg, Iraq will complete the initial planning for a 150,000 barrel-a-day refinery in Kirkuk in April. Shaw Energy & Chemicals Ltd. has completed 60 percent of the refinery’s front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase, the director general of North Refinery Company, Abdulghafoor Abduljabbar said at an oil forum in Tokyo […]
The following is a presentation by General Barry R McCaffery (USA, retired), on the threat of an Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Barry McCaffrey served in the United States Army for 32 years and retired as a four-star General. At retirement, he was the most highly decorated serving General, having been awarded three […]
Despite objections from Baghdad, ExxonMobil already has personnel on the ground in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Reuters. Whiel the company has kept silent on its exploration agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), one central government regards as illegal, one Western industry source in Erbil told the news agency: "They [Exxon] are definitely here and […]
All interested international companies are invited to participate in the "Iraq Energy EXPO and Conference", April 23th – 26th, 2012 at Baghdad International Convention Center. Iraq Ministry of Oil, is urging all companies to pre-qualify to do business with ministry by participating in Iraq Energy EXPO and Conference, April 23th – 26th, 20121 at Baghdad […]
The opening ceremony to inaugurate Iraq's first floating oil terminal was postponed until further notice, an Oil Ministry spokesman announced on Wednesday. Aswat al-Iraq reports that there were 'operational problems', while Bloomberg's contact gave no reason for the delay, the third since last month. The terminal, which has an export capacity of 900,000 bpd, was […]
Iraq's cabinet announced that it had approved a $998 million oilfield service contract on Tuesday with a South Korean company for the West Qurna 2 oilfield, according to Reuters. While the memo did not name the company, Samsung Engineering was the only South Korean company on the final shortlist. Iraq and its partners, Russia's Lukoil […]
Increased volumes and the higher price of crude oil pushed Iraq's income from oil sales up by nearly 60 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year, according to AFP. Oil ministry figures published on Monday showed that total exports of oil increased 15 percent to 790.5 million barrels of oil, or an average of […]
Iraq would be drastically affected should Iran block the Hormuz Strait. Most of the oil Iraq produces is exported via the Strait. The scenario is seeing Iraq, distinct because of its good relations with both the US and Iran, practice its new diplomacy again, according to this article from NIQASH. Any opinions expressed are those […]
Bloomberg reports that Malaysia's Petronas and the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (JAPEX) will start producing crude from the Gharraf oil field in southern Iraq by September. Sattar Mahdi, head of field development, said the field will initially produce about 35,000 barrels a day by the end of the third quarter, gradually increasing capacity to 230,000 […]
