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By John Lee.

Iraq's Ministry of Oil has requested proposals from international oil companies interestsed in developing a number of small- and medium-sized oil fields.

The fields concerned are:

• Sindebad (Basra governorate);
• Umm Qasr [Um Qaser] (Basra governorate);
• Rachi (Basra governorate);
• Abu Khema (Basra governorate);
• Kumait (Missan governorate);
• Noor (Missan governorate);
• Umara (Missan governorate);
• Dema (Missan governorate);
• Dujaila (Missan governorate);
• Mid-Euphrates fields (Mergan, Kifl, West Kifl).

The companies already qualified to bid are:

• China Zhenhua Oil Company (China)
• Dragon Oil (UAE)
• Edison (Italy)
• Glencore Exploration (Switzerland)
• Gulfsands Petroleum (UK)
• Inpex (Japan)
• Itochu (Japan)
• Japex (Japan)
• JOGMEC (Japan)
• JX Nippon (Japan)
• Kuwait Energy (Kuwait)
• Mitsui Oil Exploration (MOECO) (Japan)
• Mubadala Oil (UAE)
• OSJC Rosneft (Russia)
• Pertamina (Indonesia)
• PetroVietnam (Vietnam)
• PTTEP (Thailand)
• SNGN Romgaz (Romania)
• Crescent Petroleum (UAE)

Tenders from non-qualified companies will also be considered.

More information here, here and here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

By Wilson Fache for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

On Oct. 10, the Iraqi president approved a law passed by the parliament to provide comprehensive support to doctors in order to prevent the massive emigration in this sector and encourage overseas doctors to return to Iraq.

Yet it is not known to what extent the law will achieve its goals and how the Iraqi government will implement it.

A growing number of Iraqi doctors are departing their war-torn country despite a shortage of medical professionals, namely because of threats to their personal safety, a lack of career prospects and unbearable working conditions.

The situation in remote areas such as Dahuk province in the north of Iraqi Kurdistan is worse, as doctors face more challenges and less support. The large number of Iraqis and foreigners who are displaced in Dahuk make health-care conditions there seem out of control.

In Dahuk, the imbalance between the number of doctors and patients has become excruciating as nearly half a million Syrian refugees and Iraqis displaced by the Islamic State (IS) onslaught in Iraq have found shelter in this area, while the number of physicians has been steadily decreasing as more and more choose to emigrate.

“The lack of doctors is an issue for Iraq as a whole … but [in] Dahuk [we are] suffering more than anywhere else,” Dr. Nezar Ismet, the director of Dahuk's Health Ministry, told al-Monitor. “We are trying not to shut down any hospital,” he added, “but we are hardly managing because of the lack of human resources.”

By John Lee.

Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has announced the appointment of David H Thomas and Garrett Soden to its board as Non-Executive Directors with immediate effect.

The company said in a statement:

David H Thomas is a highly experienced oil and gas professional, having held a number of board level, senior executive and international management roles in a career spanning over 35 years. He started his career as a petroleum engineer with Conoco UK, working in the North Sea and Dubai before moving into reservoir engineering and operational asset management positions.

Subsequently, he joined LASMO where he became the Group General Manager Operations and, following the company's acquisition, held three consecutive Regional Vice President roles with Eni SpA including managing the North Sea, Russia/Asia/Australia and West Africa asset portfolios. David's subsequent Board directorships have included positions with several London and Canadian listed companies including President and COO of Centurion Energy, CEO of Melrose Resources and COO with Petroceltic International.

Most recently, in mid-2015 he briefly served on a caretaker Board at Afren and was subsequently retained by the company's administrators to provide business stability and industry advice. David has a BSc in Mining Engineering from Nottingham University and an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College.

Garrett Soden has worked with the Lundin Group of Companies since 2007 as a senior executive and board member. He is a director of Panoro Energy ASA, a Norwegian oil and gas E&P company focused on West Africa. He is also a director of Etrion Corporation, a Canadian solar power producer with assets in Italy, Chile and Japan. Garrett is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RusForest AB, a Swedish forestry company with interests in Russia.

He is the former Chief Financial Officer of both Etrion and PetroFalcon Corporation, a Canadian oil and gas E&P company focused on Venezuela. Garrett previously worked at Lehman Brothers in equity research and at Salomon Brothers in mergers and acquisitions. He also previously served as Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Energy.  He holds a BSc honors degree from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Appointment of Corporate Broker

The Board of Gulf Keystone is also pleased to announce that it has appointed Canaccord Genuity Limited as the Company's sole corporate broker with immediate effect.

Commenting on today's announcement, Keith Lough, Chairman said:

"Throughout the restructuring we have focused on balancing the interests of all of GKP's stakeholders.  Given the challenging set of circumstances that we faced, I am pleased with the outcome of what has been a long and complex process.  With its restructured balance sheet, the Company is now in a far stronger position than it has been for several years and we can look forward to continuing to develop Shaikan and rebuilding value for all stakeholders."

"I would like to thank Cuth McDowell for his significant contribution since joining the Board in December 2015 and to welcome both David Thomas and Garrett Soden to the GKP Board. They bring a wealth of relevant experience to the Company and we look forward to their contribution at this exciting time. On behalf of the Board I would also like to welcome Canaccord Genuity as the Company's corporate broker."

(Source: GKP)

By John Lee.

Reuters reports that Glencore is seeking to increase oil trading with Libya, Iran and Iraq to beat what looks to be a much tougher trading environment compared with last year.

Alex Beard, the company's global head of oil, told the Reuters Commodities Summit that Glencore would be seeking to trade more crude from the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran, as well as from Libya and Russia.

(Source: Reuters)

By John Lee.

Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi (Allibi) met the President of Russia's Lukoil, Vagit Alkpirov [Alekperov], at the his office on Sunday.

The Minister confirmed plans to develop the production and investment gas this year and next year, at called for Lukoil to participate in new projects to be started next year.

Mr Alekperov said that its existing service contract for West Qurna 2 needs to be amended "to establish conditions for further investments to the project."

(Sources: Ministry of Oil, Lukoil)

Iraq Signs a Joint Convention on Cooperation and Coordination in Issues of Sexual Violence in Conflicts

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ibrahim Al-Jaafari signed a joint convention concerning cooperation and coordination in sexual violence in conflicts, with the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms Zainab Bangura.

The United States Deputy Secretary of State, delegation of Russian Federation to the United Nations, and the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission to Iraq Mr Ján Kubiš have attended the Signing ceremony.

The convention included starting data documentation and collecting evidence of sexual violence and terrorism crimes committed against all Iraqi components in Iraq.

In a speech he delivered on this occasion in the United Nation, New York, Dr Al-Jaafari said:

"This convention will evolve into a mechanism of work on the ground as it has become an international organisation. And before acquiring this character; there is the genuine Iraqi will. We shall work together to find appropriate environments. We shall remedy the sufferings of women."

"Women must attain their place in all institutions, including: education, health, factors, agriculture, trade and art. As they represent half of the society; they must assume their places in half of the institutions, and this is a normal thing."

His Excellency called upon the international community and donors to enhance national expertise, built capabilities, and spread awareness and education in fields of enabling and improving the rights of women, adding:

"What happened in Iraq is a combined expression that represents the various violations of the terrorist gangs of Da'esh. They have abused women so as to uproot the values from the society; as women are the makers of the future."

"Currently, the situation is better than before. We still have some difficult phases to pass in favour of woman and society. A humanitarian culture was promoted in Iraq, and it has been reflected on the Iraqi parliament which includes 82 female parliamentarians. In the transitional government there were 6 female ministers."

By John Lee.

Major oil companies including BP, Shell and Lukoil are reported to be cutting investment in Iraq.

“You’re going through difficult months,” said Ariel Flores, general manager of the BP-led Rumaila Operating Organization (ROO) told the Wall Street Journal. “You slow down and you make decisions to pause efforts.”

Rumaila oil field now has two rigs drilling for new oil, down from as many as six earlier this year, but the company says it still wants to increase production and can do so more cost-effectively by focusing on wells that already exist. Output is expected to remain at around 1.4 million bpd this year.

Production at Shell's Majnoon oil field has stalled at 200,000 bpd, and although it has plans to double output, the company is just focusing on sustaining production this year.

Russia’s Lukoil said earlier this year that it needed to invest more just to keep production steady at the giant West Qurna-2 oil field. “We’re not ready to proceed to the next phase of development until our negotiations with Iraq lead to some changes in the economics of the contract,” said Pavel Zhdanov, Lukoil’s head of capital markets and M&A, on an investor call last month.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

The coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has the momentum to end the terror group’s hold in Iraq and Syria, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the Senate Armed Services Committee today.

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford also told the panel that he is worried about the joint force and the ability of the force to operate in the future.

The chairman testified alongside Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

The coalition, led by indigenous forces in Iraq and Syria, has made significant progress against ISIL, Dunford said. The coalition has also hit the group in other areas where it has established a foothold -- Libya, Afghanistan and West Africa, the chairman added.

“Coalition operations supporting indigenous ground forces … have disrupted core ISIL’s ability to mount external attacks, reduced its territorial control, limited its freedom of movement, eliminated many of their leaders and reduced the resources that they had available,” Dunford said. “Most importantly, the coalition has begun to discredit ISIL’s narrative and its aura of invincibility.”

More Challenges

While more needs to happen, he said, “it’s clear we have the momentum in the military campaign.”

The chairman backed up testimony from last week by the military chiefs. They spoke about readiness shortfalls in personnel, equipment and in modernization and research funding. “I fully concur with their assessment of the operational tempo and the budget challenges faced by each of the services and across department,” he said.

While the challenges are present, the joint force remains the most capable and professional military in the world, the chairman said. “We can defend the nation, we can meet our alliance responsibilities and today we have a competitive advantage over any adversary,” he added.

By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

The official website of the League of the Righteous movement (Asaib Ahl al-Haq) reported Aug. 14 a visit by the Italian ambassador to Baghdad, Marco Carnelos, to league Secretary-General Qais al-Khazali. The article stated that Khazali received Carnelos in his office in Baghdad and discussed with him the ongoing preparations for the liberation of the city of Mosul. For his part, Carnelos published a photo of his meeting with Khazali on his embassy Twitter account with the caption “The ambassador acknowledges the significant role of the PMU in fighting IS.”

According to the movement’s website, Carnelos “praised the positions of the Popular Mobilization Units [PMU] and stressed that without the PMU, Iraq would have been in a bad situation.” He emphasized “the unity of the Iraqi territory.”

This is not the first time that Khazali has received an ambassador of an important state. On April 15, he received Russian Ambassador to Baghdad Elijah Morgunov to discuss the latest political developments. However, this was the first official visit paid by a European Union ambassador to a prominent leader of the PMU.

The Iraqi media did not focus on the visit and the points that might have been discussed; it only focused on Carnelos’ tribute to the PMU and the importance of these units taking part in the battle of Mosul. The two parties settled for a brief statement issued by the information league's office.

Italy, which was part of the coalition that overthrew the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in 2003, is now taking part in the protection of the Mosul Dam; it has deployed its troops there as part of efforts by the US-led international coalition to eliminate the Islamic State (IS).

By Simon Kent.

Gazprom Neft, the Russian oil and gas giant, has announced increased production at the Badra field, reaching an aggregate production of 3 million tons in less than two years, according to Sputnik news.

Badra has estimated reserves of over 3 billion barrels, and this year Gazprom added another 3 wells, totaling an additional 30,500 bpd production. More wells are planned next year in the field, which is 25% owned by the Iraqi Drilling and Exploration Company.

(Source: Sputnik)