Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.
Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government pressed the central government today to recognise oil contracts that they have inked with transnational corporations, warning that they will not resume exports until it does, according to Morning Star. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which can reportedly export 150,000 barrels a day, has signed 37 contracts for oil […]
Iraq needs foreign investors in the oil sector to help break a bottleneck at its southern ports, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. "We have no restrictions on their [foreign investors] entry. We want them," Maliki told The Wall Street Journal. "We need speed. We need money." Maliki last year gave the nod to a […]
The Iraqi Oil Ministry has announced a plan to equip three refineries with modern equipment that would help in producing oil derivatives. The Undersecretary of the Oil Ministry, Ahmed Shaiyaa, told AKnews that the ministry plans to rehabilitate three refineries: Baiji [Bayji] (pictured), Kirkuk, and Doraa [Doura]. "The ministry will contract with a number of […]
It is one of the better problems a rebuilding country can have: Iraq is attracting too much oil investment. The problem is that the infrastructure does not exist to export most of the extra oil produced. However, this is going to change as early as next year, perhaps increasing exports by one million barrels of oil per day, an increase […]
Shares in Gulf Keystone fell 30% on Wednesday as markets opened for the first time since last week, when Excalibur Ventures in New York issued a legal challenge. Three hours after the London market opened the share price has recovered somewhat, but still leaves a fall of around 10% at 167 pence. Excalibur believes it is entitled […]
The oil minister, Abdul Karim al-Luaibi, has been busy in the few days since his appointment. Not only has he announced that exports from the northern Kurdistan region are to resume, but he has also promised that the focus will be on rebuilding the decayed oil infrastructure, according to the Arab Times. Al-Luaibi, who has […]
One of the first acts of Iraq's oil minister is to announce that oil exports from the northern, semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan will begin again shortly, according to Associated Press. Abdul Karim al-Luaibi said exports will resume "in the coming few days." Al-Luaibi is independent, but with links to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Daawa party. Just a […]
Iraq's oil minister, Abdul-Karim Elaibi [Luaibi], says the country's daily crude production has exceeded 2.6 million barrels a day. The minister says oil production will reach its planned targets "sooner than expected." Elaibi did not set a date for reaching these new levels in comments to reporters on Monday, although some reports put the target […]
Following Iraq's exit last week from the UN's Chapter VII restrictions, an Iraqi economist has called for a rescheduling of the country's debt repayments. “Iraq’s financial funds are under UN trusteeship, according to UN’s Article 7,” Dr. Nabil Jaafar of Basra Univesity told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, pointing out that “the official and private debtors […]
PetroChina has invited seven contractors to submit the bidding documents for engineering, procurement and construction work on the first phase of development at the Halfaya oilfield in Iraq in the first week of 2011, the Norway-based energy newspaper Upstream has reported. The report said the companies invited to participate in the tender include the UK-listed […]
Iraq's new oil minister, Abdul Kareem Luaibi, put building infrastructure at the top of his priority list and said yesterday he expected the expansion of Basra's crude export facilities to be finished by the end of 2011, according to a report from Gulf Daily News. Luaibi, who was sworn into office with Iraq's new government […]
Iraq's daily oil production rose to 2.5 million barrels, the biggest since 2003, a spokesman for the oil ministry said on Wednesday. “The daily oil production rose by 10% through cooperation among national and foreign companies,” Essam Jehad told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, pointing out that this is the highest production since 2003. Iraq’s newly […]
