Iraq Business News brings you the latest information on developments and opportunities in the oil and gas industry in Iraq.
Iraq has raised the level of the oil reserves it claims to own by 24% in its first revision since the change of regime in 2003. The country has 143.1bn barrels of known and extractible oil, up from the 115bn barrels previously estimated. If correct, the revision means that Iraq now has bigger oil reserves […]
Nouri al-Maliki has made progress in his bid to retain power, having secured the backing of the main Shi'ite parliamentary bloc for his re-nomination for the post of Prime Minister. He notably received support from the self-exiled, hard-line cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, leading to increased concerns amongst the Sunni population. Al-Maliki still requires the support of […]
The General Manager of Turkey’s Genel Enerji, Orhan Duran, said on Thursday that plans to set up a refinery in northern Iraq, shelved due to the global financial crisis, were back on the agenda and planned total investment was $500 million. He also told Reuters in an interview the company was continuing work on building […]
A second tranche of a World Bank loan to Iraq, amounting to $741 million [890 billion Iraqi dinars], will be allocated for the improvement of the country’s electricity sector, an Iraqi academician and economist said on Sunday. “The agreement between Iraq and the World Bank offered Iraq a $3.6-billion credit, the first tranche of which […]
Iraq is set to announce a "big increase" in its oil reserves on Monday, which currently stand at 115 billion barrels, a spokesman for the oil ministry said. Iraq's crude reserves are the world's third largest but its production rate is low thanks to years of sanctions, under-investment and war. Baghdad has signed a series […]
Iraq offers $200 billion investment opportunities to foreign investors, making it one of the most lucrative investment destinations in the region, an Iraqi government adviser said on Thurday. "To be or not to be is not the question here as huge investment opportunities do exist in Iraq and the government will ensure the security to […]
By Tariq Abdell, Founder & Chairman, Mesopotamia Insight. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The absence, thus far, of a democratically elected and accountable government -- over six months of political horse-trading -- underscores Iraq's fragile democracy that is exacerbated by […]
An initial agreement has been reached with a Russian company to invest in gas produced from the Missan oilfields, the Chairman of the local council’s energy committee said on Tuesday. “The agreement will help to increase the revenues allocated to the province, and to meet the local demand, in addition to using the gas produced […]
Iraq's cabinet has just approved a $733 million [880 billion Iraqi dinar] deal to build a new oil export terminal in Basra, a spokesman for the Iraqi government said on Tuesday. The work will be carried out by Leighton Offshore Private Ltd., which was selected from four international companies invited to tender for the project. […]
The Iraqi cabinet has delayed finalising a multibillion-dollar deal with Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell and Japan's Mitsubishi to capture gas from Basra's oilfields because of legal issues related to the joint venture, AKnews reports. The cabinet already approved the planned $12 billion investment in June, but it is now waiting to sign the final […]
Jordan is hoping to triple oil imports from neighbouring Iraq to help meet domestic demand, the Jordanian energy minister, Khalid Irani, has said. The country currently imports almost all of its energy needs, and has asked Iraq to increase supplies of crude transported by truck from the current level of 10,000 barrels a day to […]
Further to our report yesterday on the police raid on CNPC's al-ahdab oilfield, Iraq's Oil Ministry said on Tuesday that security forces had violated the law, and expressed concern for the affect it could have on foreign investment in the oil sector. "Oil sites and facilities are under the control of the Central Government and […]
