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.

Kurdistan Oil Exports to Resume in February

Reuters reports that Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq has agreed with Baghdad to resume oil exports from the start of February, the Kurdish prime minister Barham Salih (pictured) said, taking the two sides closer to resolving bitter disputes over oil and land. Around 40 companies, such as Norway's DNO, have invested in Kurdistan, but […]

Iraqi Drilling Company - 140 Wells in 2011

Citing a report from Reueters, we reported at the weekend that Iraq's state-owned Iraqi Drilling Company was planning to dig 76 wells in 2011. But according to Aswat al-Iraq, the company dug 189 oil wells in 2010 and is planning to dig and rehabilitate another 140 other oil wells in 2011. "Our Company had dug […]

WesternZagros to Target Over 1 Billion BOEs during 2011/2012 Exploration Program

WesternZagros Resources has announced that Sproule International has completed an independent audit of the Company's resource assessment of: the Tertiary Eocene and Cretaceous reservoir intervals of Kurdamir-1; the Jeribe reservoir at Sarqala-1; and the Upper Fars reservoir at Mil Qasim in the Kalar-Bawanoor Block ("Block K44"). This audit, together with the previous audit results of […]

Stan Harbison on Iraq's Increased Oil Output

By Stan Harbison, Vice President of Research and Analysis at energy consultants EPRINC. In the past week, the ministry announced that two fields won at Iraq’s 2009 oil auctions had achieved their first significant benchmark. Production at Rumaila and Zubair each met the 10% production increase which allows them to begin to earn their per […]

Japan Insures Mitsubishi's Iraqi Gas Project

Bloomberg, quoting the Nikkei newspaper, says Mitsubishi's gas project in Iraq will receive long-term trade credit insurance from Japan's state-backed Nippon Export and Investment Insurance. According to the report, this is the first time in 21 years that Japan has provided this facility for a venture in the Middle East. The company will insure Mitsubishi’s […]

Former Austrian Chancellor: EU Should Source Energy in Kurdistan

In a recent interview on EU's energy security with World Security Network Foundation (WSN), former Austrian Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel (pictured) said that Europe should also diversify sources of energy supply by looking, for instance, to the Kurdish Region of Iraq. Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for its energy supply, especially natural gas, which […]

Iraq Cuts Crude Prices for February Delivery

Iraq, the third-largest producer in OPEC, cut the official price formulas for all its crude grades and destinations for February, according to price lists published by the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO). Basrah Light and Kirkuk, the two grades sold by the Middle Eastern state, will sell for 20 cents a barrel less in February […]

Iraqi Drilling Company Plans 76 Wells in 2011

Iraq's state-run Iraqi Drilling Company plans to drill 76 wells in 2011 as part of a national effort to boost oil output to more than 200,000 barrels per day, the head of the firm said on Friday. According to Reuters, the firm's director, Idrees al-Yassiri, said the plan included drilling more than 15 wells at […]

Emerson Awarded Basra Oil Monitoring Contract

According to a report in The Engineer, Iraq’s South Oil Co. has awarded Emerson Process Management a contract to provide crude oil metering systems and related technologies for the new Al-Basra Oil Terminal (ABOT) now under construction in the Persian Gulf. The new terminal, which includes both onshore and offshore facilities, will boost Iraq’s oil […]

45 Companies Qualified for 3rd Round of Licences

Forty-five companies are qualified to compete for the third round of oil licenses, Iraq's oil minister said on Wednesday. "The coming round will be bigger than the previous ones due to the improvement of the security and political situation in Iraq,' Abdulkarim al-Luhaiebi [Luaibi, Elaibi] told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "There is a new project […]

Merrill Ups Estimates of Iraqi Oil Output

Iraq's oil production could rise to 4.4 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2015, according to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Friday. Reuters reports that the revision from 3.8 million bpd forecast a year earlier had been prompted by "higher reserve estimates" released by the government, the bank's commodities research team […]

Update on Qara Dagh Exploration Well in Kurdistan

Vast Exploration and Groundstar Resources have issued an update on the drilling progress of the Qara Dagh - 1 Exploration Well. Since the last update on December 13, 2010 the well has been drilled down to 2,522 meters, and over the past several days, an intermediate 9 5/8 inch casing string has been successfully set […]