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KRG Representative to Poland outlines Kurdistan’s oil resources at 8th Energy Forum

Ziyad Raoof, the Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to Poland, highlighted Kurdistan’s oil and gas potential at the 8th Energy Forum, a landmark annual international conference.

The Energy Forum is the biggest conference in Poland and one of the biggest in Europe devoted to the energy sector. The conference themes included the European Union’s energy policy, the gas market in Europe and global issues such as the future of shale gas.

The conference was opened by Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechocinski and was attended by members of the Polish, Russian and Ukrainian parliaments, and Lithuania’s Minister of Energy, Janusz Niewierowicz. Leading energy companies from around the world also participated at the event which ran from December 16 to 18.

Mr Raoof spoke at a session titled Energy Potential: Non-European Perspective and focused on the investment opportunities and potential in the Kurdistan’s energy sector. He outlined the region’s oil and gas resources, current and future pipelines, the region’s oil and gas law and the opportunities for investors. Mr Raoof emphasised that the development of the energy industry is in line with the Iraqi constitution which enables the KRG to explore and export its own resources.

During the three-day conference, Mr Raoof met MPs from several countries, as well as representatives of ministries and energy groups. He held a meeting with Lithuania’s Minister of Energy, Jaroslaw Niewierowicz, who expressed an interest in developing Kurdish-Lithuanian cooperation.

Energy Forum takes place every year in Sopot. The organisers of this event are also responsible for the Economic Forum, an annual international conference in Krynica. Last year, Mr Raoof, along with KRG ministers Ali Sindi and Herish Muharram, participated.

(Source: KRG)

By John Lee.

Energy Global reports that the Turkish construction firm EID Insaat is to build a 120-km pipeline for ExxonMobil in Iraq.

The $90-million project is expected to take approximately one year to complete.

The company Chairman said that this was in addition to an 85-km long pipeline project currently under construction.

The Iraqi marker accounts for 70% of the business volume of EID Insaat, which has operations in the energy and construction sectors in the Middle East and Russia.

(Source: Energy Global)

By Mushreq Abbas for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

On Dec. 8, the body of Yasser Faisal al-Jumaili, an Iraqi photojournalist who was executed by al-Qaeda in Syria, arrived in Fallujah. Only one day before the arrival of the body, dozens of journalists in Sulaimaniyah staged a sit-in to protest against the assassination of journalist Kawa Ahmed Germyani in Kalar at the hands of gunmen.

Speaking to Al-Monitor, Ziad al-Ajaili, the head of the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory in Iraq, said: “No blood money is paid to the families of murdered journalists, who are killed on a daily basis. In Mosul alone, 50 journalists have been killed since 2003.” According to Ajaili, most journalists fled the city after a hit list containing their names was recently published.

According to international statistics, working as a journalist in Iraq is considered to be one of the most dangerous professions in the world. This is true not only because of the persistent threats they receive, but because the Iraqi authorities are unable to protect them in the first place and fail to reveal the identity of those responsible for these killings.

On May 3, on the occasion of World Press Day, the International Committee to Protect Journalists classified Iraq as the worst country in terms of detecting the identity of the journalists' killers, stating that the Iraqi authorities are not doing their job to save journalists.

The index included other countries such as Nigeria, the Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Afghanistan, Mexico, Pakistan, Brazil, India and Russia.

Ajaili, who had called upon the Iraqi government a few days ago to repatriate Jumaili's remains, said that the Turkish government waited an entire day before allowing the journalist’s remains to enter through the Bab al-Hawa crossing in Idlib, Syria, into Turkish territory.

By John Lee.

Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has signed a $1.1 billion contract with Iraq to export T-50 supersonic advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft.

The deal for the 24 aircraft, which includes the training of Iraqi pilots, was signed today in Baghdad by KAI's President and CEO, Ha Sung-yong, Defense Acquisition Program Administration's Administrator, Lee Young-geol and the ROKAF deputy chief of staff, Kim Hyung-chol as well as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Following the contract, KAI will be entitled to supply its follow-on support to the Iraq Air Force for over two decades, bringing the total value to more than $2 billion.

The company says that it faced strong competition from the UK, Russia and the Czech Republic, with the BAE's Hawk-128, Yakovlev's Yak-130, and Aero's L-159 respectively.

(Sources: KAI, Office of the Iraqi Prime Minister)

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

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

China and CNPC are Consolidating Further their Positions in Iraq Petroleum Sector

Four years after the first bid round took place, some international oil companes (IOCs) are consolidating their positions. while others are descending after good start, and some were even unable to make an entry. CNPC stands among the first group, while ExxonMobil exemplifies the second group, and companies such as Chevron, Repsol and Conoco Phillips fall into the third group.

In a previous paper I addressed how Russia has entrenched and solidified its role in the Iraqi petroleum sector. This paper is mainly about CNPC's path to consolidating its presence in this sector.

Please click here to read Ahmed Mousa Jiyad’s report.

Mr Jiyad is an independent development consultant, scholar and Associate with 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: [email protected], Skype ID: Ahmed Mousa Jiyad).

The Department of Foreign Relations has hosted a meeting for the Kurdistan Region’s diplomatic corps, providing them with the first update since the region's elections on the political, economic and security developments both in Kurdistan as well as Iraq.

The Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, welcomed the diplomats and thanked them for the role they have played in the Kurdistan Region. He said, ‘I would like to reiterate that the doors of DFR are open anytime and we will do all that we can to ensure that you succeed in your mission.’

The meeting, the first since the parliamentary elections in September, set out to cover a wide range of topics. ‘There are a number of areas in which we can cooperate; political, economic, cultural, educational, as well as social,' said Minister Mustafa. 'All these areas help build bridges between governments as well as their people.’

Minister Mustafa said the running of the elections ‘was another milestone of political success in the region, as we were able to carry out the elections without any problems and the results were accepted'. He encouraged the diplomats to continue supporting KRG’s political process as they have done through election monitoring to ensure transparency and legitimacy as Kurdistan and Iraq continue their journey of consolidating democracy.

The minister also discussed the Kurdistan Regional Government 's policy of having friendly relations with all its neighbors includes the energy cooperation with Turkey that is set out to benefit all parties equally. “The KRG has no hidden agenda. The revenues from oil exports will go into Iraq’s national treasury,” Mr Mustafa said.

By Mushreq Abbas for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit Tehran following the historic agreement that Tehran reached with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) over its nuclear program.

An Iraqi government source told Al-Monitor on Nov. 24 that Maliki will be visiting Tehran for a few days over the coming weekend, where he will meet for the first time with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and other major figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The source, who did not provide many details on the visit, only noted Maliki’s agenda will include issues such as economic and security cooperation between the two countries, the Syrian issue and the agreement to share the Shatt al-Arab river, commonly known as the Algiers Accord.

The timing of Maliki's visit to Tehran carries a great deal of influence over the course of the talks. The trip comes just weeks after Maliki's early November visit to Washington, which stirred up controversy and prompted conflicting interpretations of its success, particularly with the ambiguous US stance on Maliki’s third term.

The visit coincides with the agreement between Iran and the P5+1. This historic agreement allows Tehran relief from international pressure on its nuclear program and sets off on a new course with the West. The development reflects a broader trend that emerged with the election of Reformist Rouhani to Iran's presidency.

The visit is also accompanied by Syrian variables on the ground, to the advantage of the Syrian regime, that precede the arrangements of the Geneva II meeting. This meeting is supposedly to discuss solutions to the Syrian crisis in consideration of realities that have changed since Geneva I, most notably the convergent US-Russian vision of a solution.

By John Lee.

Russia's Gazprom Neft has postponed initial production at the Badra oilfield until next year, due to safety concerns and logistical problems.

Reuters reports that the company announced in a Eurobond prospectus that it had postponed the December launch due to "the failure on the part of certain contractors to fulfill their contractual obligations and certain issues related to the safety and security of employees and property."

The company also cited delays by Iraqi authorities over tender approvals, holdups to customs clearance for import cargo and a shortage of local contractors.

(Source: Reuters)

By John Lee.

Egypt's Petrojet has won a $100-million tender to design, supply and install the butane pipeline project from Nasiriyah to Khor Al-Zubair in Basra.

Company boss Mohamed Shemy [Mohamed Shimy] said the project is to be completed within 18 months.

According to a report from Egypt Independent, the company beat competition from Russia, China, Pakistan, Italy and Korea.

(Source: Egypt Independent)

By John Lee.

Russia's Gazprom Neft has picked a contractor to drill six production wells in the Badra field in Iraq which it operates. China’s Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group Co., Ltd (ZPEC) has won the tender.

The contract includes engineering, procurement and drilling of wells. Two rigs will start drilling in March 2014.

Two wells are currently undergoing tests in Badra and a third will be launched in early 2014 under earlier signed contracts. The infrastructure required to make the field operational in early 2014 will include the Central Collection Point with a total capacity of 170,000 barrels a day.

The first 60,000 barrels a day unit is due to be launched within months. A pipeline to the Garraf field, shortly to be completed, will deliver oil to Iraq’s long-distance oil transportation system.

(Source: Gazprom Neft)

(Picture: Drilling at Badra oil field)