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Russia’s Gazprom Neft is expecting to start exporting from its East Badrah oil field in Wasit [Wassit] province early next year, according to AKnews.

Alexander V Kolomatsky, Project director for the Middle East at Gazprom, said the company had initially planned to reach the 15,000 bpd level by the last quarter of 2013 because the oil field, which is near Iraq’s border with Iran, had to be first cleared of landmines.

But progress in the de-mining work however has led to this figure being pulled forward to early 2013, with 60,000 bpd expected by mid year, and 120,000 bpd by the beginning of 2014.

The field, which has estimated reserves of 100 million barrels of oil, is being developed by Gazprom (30%), Korea’s KOGAS (22.5%), Malaysia’s Petronas (15%), Turkey’s TPAO (7.5%), and Iraq (25%).

(Source: AKnews. Iraq Energy)

Lukoil, Russia's second-largest crude oil producer, has confirmed that it will be able to develop Iraq's West Qurna-2 oilfield without partners.

"Today we are able to implement this project by ourselves," president Vagit Alekperov told reporters in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Friday.

Reuters reports that production from the field will reach 150,000 barrels per day by the end of 2013, and increase steadily to 500,000 barrels in the second half of 2014.

(Source: Reuters)

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Tuesday that both Libya and Iraq continue to show interest in buying Russian-made weaponry despite regime changes in these countries.

According to RIA, the minister, who oversees the Russian defense industry, told reporters in Moscow: “The Libyan military leadership and the Iraqi government have shown serious interest [in Russian weaponry].”

After the fall of Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, many experts had suggested Russia lost both lucrative arms markets.

He said acting Iraqi Defence Minister, Sadoun al-Dulaimi [Sadun al-Dulaymi] (pictured), had recently visited Russia and discussed the current state of bilateral military-technical cooperation with the Russian officials.

(Source: RIA)

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:

Shares in Heritage Oil (LSE: HOIL) closed down 2% on Wednesday following the announcement of its results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2011:

2011 Operational Highlights

• Awarded new licences in Tanzania which Heritage believes could be geologically analogous to the Lake Albert Basin, providing the Company with a key advantage in assessing the blocks
• Entered Libya through an acquisition which makes Heritage well placed to be able to play a significant role in the future development of the oil and gas industry in Libya
• Appraisal drilling, in Kurdistan, commenced on the Miran West-3 well and results to date have confirmed oil in the Upper Cretaceous and gas in the Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic reservoirs
• An interval, above the main Jurassic reservoir, in the Miran West-3 well has recently been tested and resulted in a flow of up to 17.5 MMscfd of dry gas
• Acquired seismic on the southern portion of the Miran Block which has identified the presence of a structure capable of containing additional resources
• Completed seismic in Mali, Malta and Tanzania
• Drilled first horizontal well in Russia which exceeded pre-drill expectations resulting in a year-on-year increase in production of 24%

2011 Financial Highlights

• Cash of $311 million, excluding amounts relating to the Ugandan tax dispute
• Production averaged 673 bopd, an increase of 24% from 2010 levels
• Average realised price of $36.9/bbl, an increase of 45% from 2010 levels
• Total cash capital expenditures increased to $135 million

Outlook

• Miran East-1 well commenced drilling in March 2012 with results expected at the end of the third quarter 2012
• Further test results expected from the Miran West-3 well
• Undertaking work to identify a suitable drilling location in the southern portion of the Miran Block
• Work programmes are commencing in Tanzania on newly awarded acreage
• Planning for a high-impact exploration well offshore Malta
• Actively looking for further opportunities

Tony Buckingham (pictured), Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"2011 has been a year in which we have enhanced the asset portfolio through the addition of acreage, investing in opportunities and through existing work programmes. We currently have two rigs drilling in Kurdistan and are reviewing results from seismic campaigns that could provide future growth in the portfolio. We are looking to further develop the existing portfolio and continue to look for value generating opportunities within our core areas."

For some, last week’s Arab League summit was a dream come true; for others, it was a traffic, business and security nightmare. according to this article from NIQASH.

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

Praise and criticism has been flying ever since - as have rumours about cell phone censorship and why the waiters wore Italian suits.

Last week the “Iraqi dream” came true. At least, that is, if one is to believe the organizers of the Arab League summit, held in Baghdad last week. They said that the summit was incredibly successful simply because it brought together representatives of all the Arab states in the League in Baghdad for the first time in over two decades – with the exception of Syria, of course, whose membership has been suspended due to ongoing violence there.

Additionally the summit was also attended by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and former Turkish diplomat, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, now the Secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, a body that aims to encourage cooperation between nations that are mostly Muslim.

“The summit was able to bring Iraq out of isolation and put the country back on the map,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said – this was after years of isolation brought about, firstly, by the policies of former dictator Saddam Hussein and then through the US occupation of Iraq.

“The Iraqi government succeeded in organizing this regional summit and it was able to handle all of the security, organizational and administrative aspects. It was even capable of handling the political aspects efficiently. By all standards, the summit was a huge success,” Zebari enthused. “We’ve passed a very difficult test with flying colours.”

Russian-based news agency RT interviews an anti-capitalist campaigner about the excalating tensions between Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan:

(Source: RT)

Greece's top refiner, Hellenic Petroleum, is said to be considering taking supplies of Iraq's Kirkuk crude oil, following its suspension of purchases of Iranian crude as a result of sanctions on Tehran.

According to the report from Reuters, Greece's financial difficulties had made Athens reluctant to reduce its purchases of cheap Iranian crude ahead of a EU-wide embargo from 1st July, but no European Union banks were willing to handle the business any more, forcing it to suspend buying this month.

The company is now buying crude grades similar to Iranian oil, mainly Urals crude from Russia, as well as Saudi Arab Light grade, although the high official selling prices for the latter have capped April purchases at just one cargo.

(Source: Reuters)

Iraq’s Minister of Transport Hadi al-Amiri (pictured) talks to NIQASH about Iraq’s role in alleged Iranian weapons smuggling into Syria as well US spy drones over Iraq monitoring Iranian activities. “It’s a lie,” al-Amiri says.

Al-Amiri also talks about how a recent visit to Iraq’s neighbour, Kuwait, could see Iraqi Airways flying again. And he clarifies what really went on when the group he heads, the formerly militant Badr Organization, split from the Islamic Supreme Council last week – the move caused ripples in Iraqi political circles where usually, the sect that votes together, rules together.

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

NIQASH: This week at the United Nations, officials from the United States and Britain accused Iran of shipping weapons to Syria – weapons that are being used by the Syrian government against their own people. And they say the weapons are travelling through Iraqi airspace to get to Iran. What do you think?

Hadi Al-Amiri:  It’s a lie. If weapons were being transported, we would have been informed. Some time ago, weapons heading for the United Arab Emirates went through Iraq; we were informed about that, we gave our permission and the shipment went through. That’s how things should be done.

Now the US claims that Iran is transporting weapons to Syria through the Iraqi air space.  This is just another part of the way the US lies and spreads propaganda. Yes, there are flights from Iran to Syria passing over Iraq – but there are also flights heading to Jordan, and to Europe. Thousands of plans use Iraqi air space every month. Some just fly over, others land here. There’s no country in the world that forces all flights passing overhead to land so that their cargo can be inspected!

NIQASH: So you’re saying that Iraqi officials wouldn’t even know if weapons were actually being transported through their airspace?

Al-Amiri: If there is any doubt about this, we won’t give an air craft permission to use our airspace.  The Americans told us that there were weapons being transported through our airspace so we asked them to provide us with evidence of this. We also contacted the Iranians and told them that we don’t allow weapons transported through our airspace. We also said that if we get any evidence that indicates that this is happening, we’ll stop Iranian planes flying through our airspace.

Additionally Iran would be shipping US-made weapons – that’s what they have. And the Syrian regime has Russian-made weapons. The only people in Syria using US-made weapons are the Syrian [anti-Assad regime] revolutionaries and they’re getting these from Turkey.

I’d also like to point out that Iran can ship far more weapons to Syria by sea – ten times more, in fact. So why would it be using our air space?

Gulftainer, the largest privately owned port operator in the world based in Sharjah, has recently appointed Jay New as its new Commercial Director. Jay will be based in the Sharjah headquarters, overseeing and progressing the company's commercial operations in the region and worldwide.

Jay has worked in the ports, shipping and logistics field for over 20 years and brings with him an abundance of knowledge gained from across the entire transport supply chain. He holds an Honours Degree from the University of Leeds as well as being a graduate of the London Business School in the UK.

Jay has spent 10 years with Maersk Line working as both Line Manager for four major global traders and then as Managing Director of a Maersk Line Shipping Agency and Logistics unit. Jay left Maersk Line in 2007 and moved into the port industry working for Hutchison Port Holdings, where his most recent position was Chief Representative for the Africa region. Jay's background will allow him to grow the existing business within the current Gulftainer portfolio and to work on increasing the presence of Gulftainer in business ventures across the globe.

With a strong commercial background and experience in contract negotiations and competitive analysis, Jay has been responsible for setting the strategic direction and targets of organizations, in addition to managing overall performance.

Gulftainer has been able to maintain a strong position in the UAE through its ports at Sharjah and Khorfakkan, and in recent years it has invested in Iraq, Russia and Brazil. This trend is expected to continue and Jay is already working on many opportunities where Gulftainer will bring its experience in pure container management, but also in the development of multi-purpose ports into modern functioning facilities.

Peter Richards, Gulftainer MD, said:

"In keeping with our growing operations and expansion in the region and beyond, we are delighted to appoint Jay as Commercial Director at Gulftainer, with responsibility for all commercial activities within the company. Jay has a wealth of experience in international shipping and logistics and brings with him a range of skills and expertise that will enable him to empower the team in pursuit of a clear and positive strategy."

"I am delighted to have joined Gulftainer at such an exciting time in the company's history," said Jay "Gulftainer has an incredible reputation for excellent service and productivity around the region and I am looking forward to taking that reputation onto the global stage."

Gulftainer Group has been operating in the UAE and around the world for over 35 years. In the UAE it operates three main UAE ports: two on behalf of the Sharjah Port Authority - Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) and Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT); and one in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, on behalf of the international plastics solutions company, Borouge.