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Petrofac has secured a contract worth US$75 million from South Oil Company (SOC) for its Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project (ICOEEP).

The one-year contract, with a one-year option, was awarded following a competitive tender and Petrofac, as the incumbent, plans to build on its four-year track record of safe and successful delivery on behalf of SOC.

Under the new agreement, Petrofac will continue to facilitate a substantial proportion of Iraq’s oil export which is generated from the facility located 60km offshore the Al Fao Peninsula in Southern Iraq.

The company’s principal role is to provide operations and maintenance services for the export facilities, comprising the central metering and maintenance platform and four Single Point Moorings, and the loading of the tankers for onward transportation.

Mani Rajapathy, Managing Director, Engineering & Production Services East, said:

“Over the last four years we’ve achieved some significant milestones on this project, including the export of more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil. We have remained focused on adding value for our client through the deployment of innovative and differentiated solutions and on working safely in a complex operating environment.

"Earlier this year the teams celebrated achieving five million man-hours worked without a lost time incident which is testament to the safety culture that has been created on the project.”

Hayan A. Abdulzahra, Director General, Southern Oil Company:

“From the beginning of our relationship Petrofac has been aligned to our goals to significantly increase production from the ICOEEP facility. This has been realised through the team’s continued focus on operational excellence and safe and innovative project execution. I look forward to continuing to meet our safety and export milestones with Petrofac as our partner.”

(Source: Petrofac)

By John Lee.

The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that it is conducting a criminal investigation into Unaoil, the Monaco-based company that has been implicated in an international corruption scandal.

A statement from the SFO called for information relating to the allegations:

"The SFO is conducting a criminal investigation into the activities of Unaoil, its officers, its employees and its agents in connection with suspected offences of bribery, corruption and money laundering.  

"We have been approached by a number of sources who may have information relevant to this investigation.  If you have any information please contact us through our secure and confidential reporting channel."

By John Lee.

In its trading update on Tuesday morning, Petrofac has confirmed that it has reached "mechanical completion" of the third and final train on the Badra project.

The scope of work included detailed design, engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning, commissioning and start-up work on the Badra development’s central processing facility.

(Source: Petrofac)

By John Lee.

An investigation by Fairfax Media -- publisher of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers -- and The Huffington Post, claims that Monaco-based Unaoil has been involved in widespread bribery and corruption in the oil industry, including in Iraq, Iran and Libya.

Following examination of tens of thousands of emails, the report says that Unaoil channelled huge bribes to government officials on behalf of its clients to help win billions of dollars worth of government contracts.

In Iraq, it accuses the company, and its country manager Basil Al Jarah, of arranging bribes for clients including Rolls-Royce, Petrofac, Clyde Pumps, Weatherford, Cameron/Natco, FMC Technologies, Saipem, SBM Offshore, MAN Turbo, Rosetti Marino, ABB, The Shaw Group, Core Labs, Leighton Offshore, Weir and Hyundai.

Public officials allegedly implicated include Dr Hussain al-Shahristani, former Minister for Oil and current Minister for Education, who has denied any wrongdoing; Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi [Elaibi], former Minister for Oil; Kifah Numan, Director General of the South Oil Company (SOC); Dhia Jaffar also a Director General of the SOC and since last year a Deputy Minister for Oil in the Iraqi government; and Oday al-Quraishi (SOC).

According to the report, "Unaoil made Dhia Jaffar and Oday al-Quraishi wealthy men."

Family owned and controlled, Unaoil was founded by the Iranian-born Ata Ahsani, who left Tehran at the time of the Islamic revolution. The company says it "strenuously [denies] any wrongdoing and consider[s] the allegations to be baseless and entirely false."

The original story can be read in more detail here.

(Source: The Age)

(Corruption image via Shutterstock)

By John Lee.

Petrofac announced its final results for the year ended 31 December 2015 on Wednesday.

As part of its update, it said  it has completed "the second of three trains on the Badra project in Iraq and the third train is expected to be completed shortly".

(Source: Petrofac)

Petrofac has been awarded a multi-million dollar technical training contract with Shell Iraq, achieving their fourth win with a major operator in the country.

Effective October 2015, Petrofac Training Services (PTS) has joined Shell in the management and operation of Shell’s Majnoon training centre in the Majnoon oil field development in Southern Iraq for two years, with an optional one year extension.

The centre was opened in 2013 and has focused on providing quality technical and non-technical training to the Majnoon workforce. Through its focus on competency development the training centre is making a strong contribution to the growth of Iraqi capabilities.

PTS will also provide human resources, including Project Managers, HSE, Technical, and English Language Trainers, as well as Administrators, with a focus on supporting the competency development of the national workforce.

Karim Osseiran, Vice President, PTS said:

“We are delighted to have been chosen by Shell Iraq to support the development of the local workforce. This award reflects our commitment to Iraq, where we have been very successful with International Oil Companies and National Oil Companies in bringing the best of our operations from around the world and adapting them to meet local needs, facilitating local workforce development.

"We have worked hard to build our multi-lingual team in Iraq since 2011 and this gives us the capability to rapidly mobilize a multi-national team including Iraqi Nationals. We look forward to working with the Shell and SOC team on the Majnoon field.”

Hans Nijkamp, Vice President and Country Chairman for Shell Iraq, said that:

“Creating job opportunities through the skills development of Iraq’s workforce is central to the country’s economic growth. We are proud to work with Petrofac Training Services to continue delivering meaningful technical and educational programmes at the Majnoon Training Centre and are confident that this initiative will deliver long-term benefits for Iraq and its people.”

Petrofac was first awarded a contract by Shell to deliver engineering, procurement and construction management at Majnoon in 2011 and now operates in four locations across the country on projects worth a total of more than US$1 billion.

(Source: Petrofac)

By John Lee.

Petrofac has secured a second contract extension from South Oil Company (SOC) for support on its Iraq Crude Oil Expansion Project.

The 12-month extension, worth around US$106 million, comes into effect in December and brings the total value of the contract to more than US$300 million since it was first awarded in 2012.

Petrofac is responsible for operations and maintenance services on a range of offshore facilities including an offshore platform, Central Metering and Maintenance Platform (CMMP), four single point moorings (SPMs), subsea pipelines and tanker operations, all based 60km offshore the Al Fao Peninsula in southern Iraq.

Mani Rajapathy, Senior Vice President MENA/CIS, Petrofac Offshore Projects & Operations, said:

“This extension builds on Petrofac’s recent successes in Iraq and our commitment to our valued customer SOC. Over the past 24 months we’ve loaded 280 tankers and exported 570 million barrels. We have helped to drive consistent improvement in monthly exports, with export for the last six months averaging in excess of 31 million barrels.

"We have also delivered this with an impeccable safety record, having achieved 2.5 million man hours without a Lost Time Injury.”

Dyeyaa Jaafar Hyjam, Director General, South Oil Company said:

“During the last two years, apart from delivering operations and maintenance and export targets, Petrofac has brought in its wider capabilities in engineering, supply chain and project management for the benefit of SOC. This contract extension reflects Petrofac's significant contribution to SOC’s improved export from Al Fao, in a safe and efficient manner.”

(Source: Petrofac)

By John Lee.

Oil and gas service provided Petrofac has said that the security problems in Iraq have had "no significant impact" on its operations.

In its Interim Management Statement, the company said:

"Our operations in Iraq are south and east of Baghdad and represent less than 5% of the Group's expected revenues for 2014.

"While we continue to monitor events closely, there has been no significant impact on our current operations to date."

(Source: Petrofac)

By John Lee.

Petrofac has also been awarded a major contract in Iraq to provide general construction management services to BP Iraq NV (BP) on the Rumaila field near Basra.

Petrofac will provide management and personnel to manage brownfield modifications to assist BP – and its partners in the Rumaila Operations Organisation (ROO), China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) and South Oil Company (SOC) – in executing its strategy to rapidly and safely increase production from what is one of the world’s largest fields.

The contract, which runs for three years, with an option for further extension of two years, has a potential value of up to $500 million.

Petrofac will provide the overall management and co-ordination of multiple construction projects, including construction management and supervision of work undertaken by third party contractors on the field, 32 km from the Kuwaiti border.

Mani Rajapathy, Senior Vice President, MENA/CIS, said:

“The award builds on an established track record for Petrofac in Iraq, in particular at Rumaila, dating back to 2011. We look forward to sharing in the continued success of the regeneration of Rumaila.”

(Source: Petrofac)

The following article features an interview with Mantid International CEO Ginger Cruz.

Robert Tollast’s opinions expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of Mantid International, nor do the opinions expressed here necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The vast majority of Iraqis, Shi'a, Kurd and Sunni, are preparing themselves to confront the threat of“Daash”. That's the Iraqi shorthand for the “Islamic State of Iraq and ash Sham” (Al Dawalah Al Islamiy fe Al Iraq wal Al Sham).

The idea that ISIL's advance could yet unite a new front of resistance was put to me recently by Ginger Cruz, CEO of Mantid International, who returned last week from a business trip in Iraq.

Her company work in an advisory role to the Karbala governorate and foreign companies, and she kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the current crisis. Mantid International have offices in Washington, Beirut and Baghdad.

Introduction

Baghdad is not about to fall. Undoubtedly, the news is grim: in addition to the fact that the “belts” around the city are contested and huge swathes of central and western Iraq are battlefields or under ISIL control, Iraq’s capital is bracing itself for some kind of offensive.

The possibility of  street fighting in some districts of western Baghdad is very real, and the the situation there is “very tense” according to a friend in al-Ameriya. According to another source, life at Baghdad International airport goes on as normal, but again things are tense.

Sunni majority and mixed areas of the city are worried about a return of widespread sectarian violence, even as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani continues to call for restraint. In some areas outside the capital, Shi’a dominated Iraqi units still cooperate with Sunni “Sahwat”-- men who reject domination by ISIL, even if many despise Maliki.

The Sahwa movement today is a shadow of its former self, but all this bleak news is not the whole story: most of southern Iraq, so vital to the country’s economy, will be unscathed. The same applies to the increasingly confident Kurdish region.