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By John Lee.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visited Syria on Sunday, meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

In the first such visit by an Iraqi prime minister in at least 12 years, Sudani said his aim was to, "discuss cooperation in all fields, and to strengthen the relationship, which we believe is important to develop."

The move comes at a time when Syria is actively seeking acceptance from other countries following a protracted civil war, which is still continuing. The Syrian regime, backed by Russia and Iran, has been accused of widespread atrocities.

According to The New Arab, immediately before the visit, Iraq reportedly deported three Syrian Kurdish refugees to Syria, dispite concerns about their safety in their home country.

(Source: Media Office of the Prime Minister, The New Arab)

By John Lee.

A British court has dismissed a claim for defamation against the Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) and its Managing Director, former Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie.

Businessman Mohamed Amersi, who founded the rival Conservative Friends of the Middle East and North Africa (COMENA), claimed that emails and documents sent to influential party members in December 2020 and January 2021 caused serious harm to his reputation.

Among the 22 alleged imputations were that Mr Amersi had undesirible connections to Russia and Iran, that he was implicated in a large-scale tax fraud and money laundering case in Nepal, and that he made donations to the Conservative Party for the purpose of obtaining a knighthood or peerage.

Mr Justice Nicklin struck out the case, saying that Mr Amersi had failed to prove that he had been harmed by the communications.

The judge also said that Mr Amersi's actions, "strongly suggest that [he] has treated this libel action as providing him with an opportunity also to seek to embarrass (and possibly to punish) the Conservative Party for, as he perceives it, having wronged him. That is not a legitimate purpose of civil proceedings for defamation."

The Conservative Middle East Council (CMEC) aims to forge trusted relationships and strengthen understanding between the UK and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Click here to read the full judgement.

(Source: judiciary.uk)

By Simon Watkins for the OilPrice.com. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Three New China-Russia-Iran and Iraq Agreements Confirm The New Oil Market Order

The last week or so has seen a flurry of major cooperation agreements - including in energy, security, and logistics - between various permutations of Iran, Iraq, Russia, and China.

The three most recent principal cooperation agreements will have immediate consequences for oil and gas flows around the world and their pricing.

Click here to read the full report.

By John Lee.

A delegation from the Iraqi Ministry of Transport has travelled to Russia for discussions on cooperation in the transport sector.

The Director of Iraq's General Company for Land Transport, Mortada Karim Al-Shahmani, discussed cooperation in land transportation of people and goods between Iraq and Russia. The meeting resulted in finalising a cooperation agreement between Iraq and Russia, which the Ministry said would contribute to the recovery of the Iraqi economy by facilitating the entry of goods and people and encouraging investment.

Meanwhile, the Director of the State Company for Maritime Transport, Ahmed Al-Asadi, discussed joint cooperation with the Russian maritime transport officials to enhance the role of the Iraqi national carrier. The cooperation agreement aims to provide new opportunities for the transport of goods and people, in line with Iraq's vision to open up to the countries of the world and develop the transport sector.

(Source: Ministry of Transport)

By John Lee.

(Source: Ministry of Industry)

By John Lee.

Iraqi Airways has started new flights between Baghdad, Moscow (Russia) and Medina (Saudi Arabia).

The Ministry of Transport announced the resumption of these routes this week, after a hiatus of more than three decades.

The Director General of Iraqi Airways, Eng. Karim Kazem Hussein, added that the fleet will continue to be upgraded with modern aircraft.

(Sources: Ministry of Transport, Iraqi Airways)

By John Lee.

The Iraqi and Russian governments have signed a draft agreement exempting diplomatic, service, and private passport holders from entry visas.

Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Husseini, the Undersecretary for Administrative and Technical Affairs, signed on behalf of Iraq, and Russian Ambassador Elbrus Kutrashev on behalf of Russia.

According to a statement from Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the agreement is aimed at enhancing the status of the Iraqi passport and facilitating seamless travel between the two nations.

(Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

By John Lee.

The World Bank's latest Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report, a leading global and independent indicator of gas flaring, finds that global gas flaring decreased by three percent to 139 bcm in 2022 from 144 bcm in 2021

Consistent with previous years, flaring during 2022 was dominated by a relatively small number of countries, with the top nine flaring countries responsible for 74 percent of flare volumes and 45 percent of global oil production. These are, in order: Russia, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Venezuela, the United States, Mexico, Libya, and Nigeria.

Click here to download the full report.

(Source: World Bank)

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The recent appointment of Ammar Al-Anbagi as the new, a twelfth in a row, director general of Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), might be an opportunity to review the path of leadership of this very important entity in the petroleum sector and, indeed, for the entire economy of Iraq.

I have known most of SOMOs DGs since early seventies of the last century during either our postgraduate studies in the UK with scholarships from the Ministry of Oil financed by agreements with IOCs prior to mid-seventies oil nationalisation, or during my work with Ministry or INOC or the Council of Ministers before leaving the country in July 1988, or during the exile since then.

Ammar is the twelfth DG since my colleague Ramzi Salman assumed the directorship in 1972 and hold it for twenty years.

During these years the service duration of DGs varies between as short as four months and as long as twenty years. Prior to 2003 invasion, SOMOs leadership was characterised with relative stability, while the immediate aftermath of invasion witnessed frequent changes and instability, before returned to another phase of relative stability since mid-2006.

The following chart, compiled from and based on my database, exhibits SOMOs leadership by name and duration of their term, listed from recent appointment down to the first, during the last fifty years of ups and downs with most daring challenges that faced the country.

A few quick remarks are worthy of making at this occasion.

• All DGs, except Falah Al-Amiry, have had many years of experience within the Iraqi petroleum sector before assuming their leadership of SOMO.
• Prior to 2003 invasion, SOMO was the most secretive entity within the petroleum sector and was directly connected to highest political and authority structures through, first Follow-up and Agreement Execution Committee / Revolution Command Council, then through the Republic Presidency Office, though it was within MoO structure.
• Prior to 2003 invasion, there were only five DGs with Ramzi Salman serving terms from 1972 to March 1991 as the longest DG, who had consolidated SOMO's structure and status. The terms of other four DGs ranging from only 4 months (Ali Rajab) to six years and a half (Sadam Zuban).
• SOMO' leadership witnessed frequent changes immediately after 2003 invasion with four DGs within less than three years in total, reflecting the chaos that dominates due to invasion and causing organisation instability.
• In March 2006, Dr. Falah Al-Ameri was appointed and his term, the second longest ever, ended in September 2017. During his term, the petroleum sector and, consequently, Iraq, witnessed many serious challenges and crucial developments: two oil price collapses, in 2008 and 2014; Daesh and its devastating consequences from mid-June 2014 onwards; the unwise decision to nominate SOMO as the "State Partner" in Al-Ahdab and Rumaila oilfields upstream service contracts; the commencement of limited spot offering through Dubai Auction in April 2017; OPEC+ implication for Iraq; unrealistic proposal for transforming SOMO from oil "marketing" to oil "trading" company; opportune expanding towards East Asian markets; forming temporary, but problematic, partnerships with a Russian company, " Litaso" and a Chines company, "ZhenHua", and immaturely considering oil price hedging, among others.
• Alaa Al-Yassiri term lasted six years and a half, characterised with, mostly, business as usual, except ignoring the idea of converting SOMO from "marketing" to "trading" company and oil price hedging.
• Now, SOMO provides more data than before, particularly in contrast to the firm secrecy of pre-2003, but still more transparency and openness are needed on time and regularly. These includes monthly oil lifting, in volume and price, by IOBs, monthly market destinations, monthly or quarterly oil lifting pursuant to upstream development service contracts, and ministerial meetings regarding export oil prices, among others. Also, SOMO needs to be proactive and should state its position on various projects that have direct implications for the country' oil export outlets, such as pipelines, since it is the only entity that have direct and first-hand knowledge and professional expertise with regards to comparative transport cost to various market destination, price differentials and competitive market shares; all such matters impact the economic feasibility of any project to expand oil exports.
• Due to domestic politics, personal vendetta or legal integrity premises, many accusations of corruption and financial irregularity were raised regarding SOMO, as entity, and some directed against both Al-Ameri and Al-Yassiri, with some even requested their removal from SOMO.

A few cases are referred to here: SOMO itself confirmed, in February 2013, that one of its senior staff was leaking, for a long period, information on prices to foreign companies, and request the Ministry to take, a rather mild action, against him! A more serious case worth mentioning related to legal action taken by the Parliamentarian Uday Awad, resulted in Basra Appeal Court issuing an arrest order against Al-Yassiri, in October 2019, but, apparently, the arrest was not made.

• Ironically, the former Minister of Oil Jabbar Luaiabi considered in an official meeting of the Ministry Advisory Commission- Hayaat Al-Ray, in 12 June 2017, SOMO among seven state-owned companies associated with the ministry as "loss making companies", and gave them six month to improve their fiscal balances; by September that year Al-Ameri was removed. A company that generates almost all of Iraq's foreign exchange was accused of making losses; is there any other manifestation of ignorance and absurdity better than this??!!!
• On the legal and ministry structure levels, SOMO is the only legal sovereign entity in charge of oil exports in the country; this monopoly goes back to MoO Law 101 of 1976 and Decision 272 of 1987. SOMO was, and still is, an issue of whether to include or exclude it from INOC Law, as the said law has been in limbo since the Federal High Court revoked many of its main articles since January 2019.

I had previously addressed SOMO' issues in a few articles written in Arabic, English and were circulated widely and accessible, as listed below. Also, I keep watching its affairs closely and have direct line of communication with SOMO and am very keen to maintain and enhance the contact.

Norway

12 March 2023

SOMO Reveals More Important Data on its Marketing Activities, posted on IBN, 22 July 2019

https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2019/07/22/somo-reveals-more-important-data/

https://www.akhbaar.org/home/2019/7/260413.html  posted on 23 July 2019

SOMO Discloses Data on its Spot Sales, posted on IBN10 July 2019

https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2019/07/10/somo-discloses-data-on-its-spot-sales/

https://www.akhbaar.org/home/2019/7/259802.html  posted on 6 July 2019

SOMO Does Not Work This Way. Posted on 16 August 2018  https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2018/08/13/somo-does-not-work-this-way/

http://www.akhbaar.org/home/2018/11/251035.html posted on 11 Nov 2018

Reforming and Transforming SOMO- A Follow Up,  posted on IBN on 13 Dec 2017 https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2017/12/13/reforming-and-transforming-somo/ and on Al-Akhbaar 13 Dec 2017 http://www.akhbaar.org/home/2017/12/238018.html

Debating SOMO' Transformation.  The English text posted on IBN and AlKhbaar on 5 Sept 2017 https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2017/09/05/expert-blog-debating-somo-transformation/  ; http://www.akhbaar.org/home/2017/9/233074.html and the Arabic text on http://www.akhbaar.org/home/2017/9/233297.html  

Click here to download the full analysis in pdf format.

Mr Jiyad is an independent development consultant, scholar and Associate with the former Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES), London. He was formerly a senior economist with the Iraq National Oil Company and Iraq's Ministry of Oil, Chief Expert for the Council of Ministers, Director at the Ministry of Trade, and International Specialist with UN organizations in Uganda, Sudan and Jordan. He is now based in Norway (Email: mou-jiya(at)online.no, Skype ID: Ahmed Mousa Jiyad). Read more of Mr Jiyad's biography here.

By John Lee.

Russia's LUKoil and Japan's INPEX South Iraq Ltd have received approval from Iraqi state-owned Thi-Qar Oil Company (TOC) for "Declaration of Commerciality of Reserves and Outline Development Proposal" for the Eridu [Arido] oilfield located within Block 10 in Iraq.

Following approval by TOC (also known as Dhi Qar Oil Company, DQOC), LUKoil and Inpex are planning to proceed with the implementation of the Eridu oilfield development plan targeting 250,000 barrels per day production.

Geological exploration at Block 10 started in 2012, 2D and 3D seismic surveys have been carried out, three exploration and six appraisal wells have been drilled.

These activities resulted in discovery of the Eridu oilfield with estimated reserves of 12.9 billion barrels. The field is one of the largest petroleum discoveries in Iraq over the last 20 years.

(Source: Lukoil)