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The CEO of Italian oil and gas company Eni, Paolo Scaroni (pictured), said he expects the consortium led by Eni to invest $18 billion in the Zubair oilfield.

He added that the group, which includes Occidental Petroleum Corp and South Korea's KOGAS, has already invested 4-5 billion euros in the project.

Production at the field is currently running at around 270,000 bpd.

But speaking at an International Energy Agency conference in Rome, Scaroni said:

"Our adrenaline rush now is not what it was when we entered Iraq ... [it's] more complex than we first thought."

Issues with Iraq included bureaucracy, limited energy infrastructure, and the political situation with the Kurdistan region following its own policy when it comes to hydrocarbon activities. The government in Baghdad should consider why some global companies are going to Kurdistan, he added.

Scaroni also confirmed that Eni did not intend to invest in Kurdistan.

(Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones)

By John Lee.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh (pictured) has said that the cabinet has approved a $358.8 million contract with Italy's SICIM and Dubai-based Drake and Scull to lay pipelines in the southern Zubair oilfield.

The two-year extendable deal is part of a series of contracts aimed at developing Zubair which should have an output of 1.2 million bpd by 2017, reports Reuters.

The consortium will lay pipelines to transport crude from oil wells to production facilities, will lay water injection pipelines and will replace old pipelines in the field; it will also build an 18 km (12 mile) pipeline to carry crude oil exports from Zubair to a storage depot.

Italian company Eni is the lead partner on the 20-year Zubair service contract with a 32.81 percent stake; Iraq’s Missan Oil Company holds 25 percent, Occidental Petroleum Corp 23.44 percent, and South Korea’s KOGAS 18.75 percent.

(Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones)

By John Lee.

The Chief Executive of Italian oil and gas group Eni says the company does not plan to compromise its business in Iraq by making energy deals with Kurdistan.

Paolo Scaroni (pictured) said that one of the conditions for developing the Zubair field was that there could be no deals with local governments such as that of Kurdistan, according to Reuters.

"We will not be throwing into doubt those agreements," he said.

Eni is the lead partner in the Zubair project with a 32.81 percent stake; Iraq’s Missan Oil Company holds 25 percent, Occidental Petroleum Corp 23.44 percent, and South Korea’s KOGAS 18.75 percent.

(Source: Reuters)

On Tuesday, Iraq's Cabinet approved an $843 million service contract granted to Weatherford International to install six power stations at the Zubair oil field.

Government spokesman and Minister of State Ali Al-Dabbagh told Bloomberg the plants will take 18 months to install.

Italian company Eni controls almost 33 percent of the Zubair project, with Iraq’s state-run Missan Oil Company owning 25 percent, Occidental Petroleum 23 percent, and Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS) almost 19 percent.

(Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)

Iraq’s oil exports have reached the highest records in decades. Crude oil exports averaged 2.508 million bpd in April 2012 due to the opening of two new floating terminals, easing export constraints. The Iraq Petroleum 2012 Conference will address this recent increase in crude oil exports, in a key session titled ‘Positioning Iraq on the World Energy Map’ led by members of the Iraqi Government, including: H.E. Thamir Ghadban; H.E. Dr Ali Al Dabagh; and H.E. Dr Adnan Janabi.

The Conference receives support from leading industry experts and government officials, as shown by the participation of its distinguished speakers over the years. Speakers for 2012 include: H.E. Dr Rowsch N. Shaways, the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq; H.E. Thamir Ghadhban, Chairman of the Advisory Commission to the PM of Iraq; H.E. Dr Selahattin Cimen, Deputy Energy Minister of Turkey; H.E. Dr Ali Al Dabagh, Minister of State and Iraqi Government Spokesman; H.E. Dr Adnan Janabi, Chairmen of the Oil & Gas Committee, Iraqi Government.

Iraq Petroleum is an internationally renowned Conference and provides a platform for key government officials and senior executives to network, discuss current issues and promote innovative ideas surrounding Iraq’s oil and gas sector. Taking place 18-20 June 2012 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London, the Conference is considered the annual meeting place for the industry and is an opportunity for national and foreign companies to strategically engage with key stakeholders.

“Iraq Petroleum 2011 was an excellent opportunity to meet and hear the main players in the Iraqi oil sector” Yazdi Merchant from Saudi Aramco

Supported by the industry, sponsors for the event include; Shell, Lukoil, Total, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Occidental, Aspect Holdings; General Exploration Partners, Technology Partners, Clyde & Co, Crescent Petroleum, Motorola and Mubadala.

The CWC Group has announced its program for the Iraq Petroleum 2012 Conference; focusing on the new joint venture partnerships in Iraq’s oil and gas industry and the best model of cooperation, this international senior level event is a must attend for industry professionals and government officials.

Other key topics include: Iraq’s New Upstream Opportunities; Boosting Iraq’s Oil & Gas Infrastructure; Iraq’s Oil & Gas Resources Potential; Kurdistan’s Oil & Gas Joint Ventures & Partnerships; Gas & Power Development in Iraq; Financial Framework in Iraq for Energy Investment and Positioning Iraq in the World Energy Map.

Taking place on 18-20 June 2012 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London, a post Conference workshop hosted by Clyde & Co will follow the two day event, and provide a legal toolkit focused on the contractual, legal and commercial framework for oil and gas contracts in the Iraqi energy industry. It will further present a real assessment of Iraq’s oil and gas infrastructure requirements and provide updates on the realities and dynamics of the current Iraqi oil and gas landscape.

Iraq Petroleum is internationally renowned and provides a platform for key government officials and senior oil and gas executives to network, discuss current issues and promote innovative ideas. The Conference is considered as the annual meeting place for the industry and is an outstanding opportunity for national and foreign companies to strategically engage with key stakeholders. Sponsors for the event include: Shell, ExxonMobil, Total, Genel Energy, Occidental, Aspect Holdings, General Exploration Partners, Technology Partners, Clyde & Co, Crescent Petroleum, Motorola and Mubadala.

Exxon Mobil is conspicuously absent from the finalized list of 47 pre-qualified bidders for the Iraq's fourth round of energy exploration rights.

The Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate (PCLD) at the Ministry of Oil has confirmed that the auction will take place as scheduled on May 30-31.

The full list of pre-qualified companies is shown below:

Iraq has postponed its next energy licensing round by more than a month to May 30, a senior government official has said.

Speaking to Reuters on January 31, Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, the Oil Ministry’s Director-General, said the decision to move the date back had been made to allow potential bidders more time to study the contracts following a number of alterations by the department.

“We have made major changes and amendments on the initial contract that concern the economic and contractual terms, and the result was a new model contract,” he said.

“The changes and amendments on the exploration contract were mainly touching the pricing formula and profits of the companies, and how to determine their shares in the contract.”

The two-day round had been scheduled for April 11.

This was the second postponement, with the original auction date delayed last month after a number of requests from international oil companies (IOCs).

“The [existing] technical service contracts are very tight, [as] the Iraqis managed to squeeze companies quite heavily on the terms,” Sam Ciszuk, an analyst with KBC Energy Economics, told The National.

“IOCs were still moving forward with this because of potential future opportunities. Now it seems like those opportunities look fairly unattractive and the Iraqis have seen that they need to do something about that.”

More than 40 operators have qualified to take part in the round, which is expected to add 29 trillion cubic feet (812 bcm) of gas and 10 billion barrels of oil to Iraq’s reserves once exploration work begins.

These include major names such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Lukoil, Total, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), Eni, Occidental Petroleum and Chevron.

In total, 12 exploration blocks are being made available, ranging in size from 5,500 to 9,000 square kilometres.

According to the ministry, seven of these are believed to contain natural gas, and five are thought to contain crude oil.

The blocks are located in the provinces of Basra, Najaf, Babil, Muthanna, Diwaniyah and Dhi Qar, south of Baghdad, Nineveh and Diyala to the north and Anbar to the west.

(Source: NewsBase)

NewsBase was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1995. Its weekly publications cover oil and gas, unconventional resources, LNG, power, petrochemicals, renewable energy and the carbon market. They provide high-level commentary and analysis on developments in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, North America, Russia and the rest of the CIS.

Korea Gas Corp (Kogas) said on Tuesday that it will receive 500,000 barrels of crude oil on 15th December as "remuneration fees" and as a return on investment for helping develop Iraq's Zubair oil field.

Kogas plans to sell the crude in the international market, according to a report from MarketWatch.

Its project partner, Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) will also receive 500,000 barrels.

Kogas and Occidental will likely keep receiving a combined 1 million barrels of crude for a while, with the next batch possibly coming in the first quarter of next year, a Kogas official said.

The amount of crude the companies get is expected to increase in the longer term as the field is fully developed.

(Source: MarketWatch, Reuters)

Thirty-two international companies, including oil majors, have so far bought data packs for Iraq's 4th energy bidding round, according to Dow Jones.

The Iraqi oil ministry has qualified 46 international companies to take part in the bid round, scheduled for March 7, in which 12 exploration blocks will be auctioned.

The purchase of the data packages by these companies mean they are interested in taking part in the bidding round, Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the ministry's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate, told Dow Jones Newswires in an interview in Baghdad.

Meanwhile, a two-day workshop in Amman, Jordan, for participating companies has been postponed from 5th December to 14th December, because of the Muslim Ashora holidays.

Among the companies buying documents so far are:

• Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA),
• Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM),
• BP PLC (BP),
• Eni SpA (ENI.MI),
• Total SA (TOT),
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY),
• Chevron Corp. (CVX),
• Lukoil Holding (LKOH.RS),
• Statoil,
• INPEX Corp. (IPBXHY),
• JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration or Corp., or JX-NOEX,
• Mitsubishi Corp. (8058.TO),
• Sumitomo Corporation, and
• Turkey's TPAO.

(Source: Dow Jones)