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

Russian intelligence has spotted up to 12,000 tankers and trucks on the Turkish-Iraqi border, the General Staff of Russia’s armed forces has reported.

“The [aerial] imagery was made in the vicinity of Zakho (a city in Iraqi Kurdistan), there were 11,775 tankers and trucks on both sides of the Turkish-Iraqi border,” Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy told journalists on Friday.

By Simon Kent.

Iraq's oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi (pictured) has spoken to Reuters regarding Iraq's position on OPEC's failure to agree on a production ceiling as the battle to drive out shale production continues.

Abdul Mahdi said that Iraq was now looking at the "real world" and that they would have to monitor production in countries such as Russia and the US, and potentially coordinate with those producers.

The alternative, he said, was for non-OPEC producers to risk cutting production and losing both production and cost if actions were not coordinated to defend prices.

(Source: Reuters) 

By John Lee.

The international airports at Erbil (pictured) and Sulaymaniyah have been closed due to Russian aerial operations against Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) militants in Syria, according to a report from BasNews.

Iraqi aviation authorities told the airports to close on Sunday evening for 48 hours -- flights are scheduled to resume on Tuesday December 8th at 23:00 (20:00 GMT).

(Source: BasNews)

Wood Group has won a new contract worth approximately $90 million to deliver services to one of the world’s leading blue-chip international oil companies (IOC) in Iraq.

Wood Group PSN (WGPSN) will provide project management for an onshore facility under the three year contract, which is effective immediately.

Concept and FEED work for future projects will also be included in the contract, which creates more than 100 new positions and retains 20 jobs.

Personnel will be based in Wood Group offices in Iraq and Dubai.

David Buchan (pictured), WGPSN's Eastern Europe, Russia, Caspian and Middle East (ERC & MER) managing director said:

“This major contract builds on our strong partnerships with clients in Iraq. We look forward to leveraging Wood Group’s international knowledge and expertise towards the continued success and development of our client’s facility.

“Iraq is an area where we see significant growth opportunities for our broad service capabilities and building our presence in this region is a key objective for us.

"This is reflected in our creation of another office in Dubai, which adds to our presence in the Middle East and our commitment to developing local talent, creating job opportunities and building relationships with the supply chain in Iraq.”

(Source: Wood Group)

By John Lee.

The Chairman of Genel Energy has said that the KRG will begin exporting natural gas to Turkey within two or three years.

Tony Hayward (pictured) told the Atlantic Council conference in Istanbul that 20 billion cubic metres will hit the Turkish market by 2020, with KRG Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami saying that initial exports of 10 billion cubic metres should be realised over the next two or three years.

Hayward said:

“Two years ago, I said the KRG would be a major oil exporter. Now I talk about something different as 150 billion cubic meters of gas has been found and a total of 5 trillion cubic meters of gas will be explored in the region. This amount can satisfy Turkey's gas requirement for 50 years.”

According to the report from BasNews, Turkey is heavily reliant on gas from Russia and Iran, and would welcome the option to take cheaper gas from the estimated 300 – 400 billion cubic metres of reserves held in the two Iraqi Kurdistan fields operated by Genel.

(Source: BasNews)

Forces fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant continue to make progress in Iraq and Syria, the Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman said today.

"We're starting to see changes in the way ISIL operates every day on the ground here. That doesn’t mean this is over. We're a long way from over," Army Col. Steve Warren said.

Speaking to Pentagon reporters via teleconference from Baghdad, Warren said indigenous ground forces continue to consolidate gains across the battlefield.

"We're seeing the impacts of our operations to defeat ISIL," he said.

Vetted Syrian opposition forces and New Syrian Forces successfully seized the towns of Harjala and Dalha after a tough fight last week, he said.

"This is important because it’s the first successful offensive operation since June along the Mar'a line," he noted.

Weakening Vehicle Bomb Effectiveness

Warren said the effectiveness of vehicle bombs used by ISIL is at five percent.

He said Iraqi forces have improved their ability in identifying and destroying such bombs, and targeted strikes by coalition and Iraqi aircraft have destroyed vehicle bomb factories.

"Taking out their oil today won't necessarily make something change tomorrow, but it will make something change downstream," he said. "But hitting these ... factories, we are seeing an impact."

There are fewer vehicle bombs on the battlefield, Warren said. The ones that remain are not well-made and will often self-detonate before they reach their target, he said.

"They're softer for us, so they're easier for us to kill, or for the [Iraqi security forces] to kill," the colonel said.

By Simon Kent.

The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority has suspended flights from Baghdad to Sulaymaniyah and Erbil in the Kurdish region of Iraq (KRI) for two days, effective from today.

The move follows concern that Russian jets and cruise missiles pass though that airspace from the Caspian Sea region, to targets in Syria.

It is unclear why the suspension was for two days only, but Iraq coordinates with Russian intelligence in Baghdad, so this may be a reason.

(Source: ABC News)

This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Cap in Hand: Kurdish Will Return to Baghdad to Negotiate Oil Exports

Iraqi Kurdistan's plan to export oil independently does not seem to be working. Sources say politicians will be heading back to Baghdad soon to hammer out a new deal. But nobody seems to think it will succeed.

Just a few days ago it seemed that the financial oil-for-budget standoff between Baghdad and the semi-autonomous northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan had reached a conclusion: Iraq's oil sales had slumped and the Iraqi Kurdish looked to be going it alone, exporting oil produced within their region and keeping the funds from sales.

At the beginning of the year the country's Kurdish region had been trying to keep up their end of a bargain – they export their oil and send the proceeds to Baghdad and in return, Baghdad promised the region's authorities 17 percent of the national budget.

Although there have been conflicting reports about who sent what and when, what was clear was that neither party had kept up their side of the deal exactly.

And by October, there was no Kurdish oil included in federal Iraq's oil exports. The Iraqi Kurdish government justified their independent sales by saying that, if Baghdad didn't pay them their share of the national budget, then they needed to look out for themselves.

And to many observers it seemed as though Iraqi Kurdistan was readying for some version of economic independence.

However that doesn't seem to be the case. Recently Safeen Dizayee, spokesperson for the government of Iraqi Kurdistan, announced that a senior delegation would soon be visiting Baghdad to discuss controversial issues related to oil and the federal budget.

This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Nobody On Team al-Abadi: Iraqi PM Under Attack, Can't Please Anyone, So How Can He Save the Country?

Nobody in Iraqi politics appears to like Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi much anymore. Some dislike him for his proposed reforms, others for not reforming enough. It's a no-win scenario. How long can he last?

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is in trouble – and with almost everyone. Sources from inside Iraq's government say that over the past few weeks politicians from Shiite Muslim parties, one of which is al-Abadi's own, and Sunni Muslim parties, traditionally opposed to the Shiite ones, have held private meetings to discuss whether al-Abadi can be removed from his post.

The same sources suggest Iraqi Kurdish politicians were also involved and that al-Abadi was sent a warning.

The problem is, is that the beleaguered Prime Minister, who came to power with a clever balancing act in August 2014, is under siege from all sides, with all of his critics dissatisfied with him, and for different, opposing reasons. In fact, the only thing all his opponents have in common is that they're critical of al-Abadi.

Much of the most vocal criticism is actually coming from al-Abadi's own political bloc, the State of Law coalition, and within that coalition, his own political party, the Dawa party. There is a split within the Shiite Muslim-dominated State of Law coalition and it appears to be deepening, with local analysts saying that it's likely to manifest most strongly during 2017's planned provincial elections.

Many of the MPs from within the coalition support Iraq's former Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, who was ousted against his will and who has continued to try to undermine al-Abadi.

The other side of the divide within the State of Law consists of the MPs who back al-Abadi – they are far fewer in number and tend to be other members of the Dawa party, most of whom were also political exiles in London, alongside al-Abadi.

The latter group supports al-Abadi's proposed reforms to combat corruption and the idea of creating a National Guard for Iraq, which would annex both the Shiite Muslim volunteer militias and Sunni muslim tribal fighters.

The coalition fighting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq has conducted 7,712 airstrikes since operations began, the majority in Iraq, an Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman said today.

Army Col. Steve Warren, speaking via teleconference from Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon that 5,032 of those airstrikes were in Iraq, while 2,680 were in Syria.

In other developments, Warren recounted how 70 hostages were freed from an ISIL prison in Hawija, Iraq, during an Oct. 22 raid.

Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler was killed by enemy small-arms fire during the operation. "We're all thinking about the family of Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler. He is a hero," Warren said.

'Tough Fight' in Ramadi

Iraqi security forces are conducting "consolidation and reorganization operations" to retake Ramadi, Warren said. Iraqi forces face improvised explosive device attacks, but have "held the line," he added.

Coalition forces have conducted 26 airstrikes in Ramadi since last week, breaking several enemy counterattacks and providing maneuver space as the Iraqi forces continues to clear obstacles and IED clusters, he said.

Warren described the battle to retake Ramadi as a "tough fight," adding that he is confident Ramadi will be liberated. "But I'm not going to predict a timeline," he said.

Meanwhile, Warren said, in Beiji, the elite Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service, federal police and the Popular Mobilization Forces are working to clear the city and the Beiji oil refinery.

New Counter-IED Tools for Iraqis

The United States has adjusted its training and equipping program, in light of the extensive IED clearance and obstacle reductions the Iraqi forces face, Warren said.