DNO Launch New Drilling at Tawke
By Simon Kent. Norway's DNO ASA have launched a new drilling campaign at Tawke, Oilvoice reports. The field, currently producing 117,000 bpd and selling at an average price of $34 per barrel, earned DNO $16 million in profit in the second quarter. DNO Chief Executive Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani (pictured) noted that the profits would help underpin the current new investment. […]
Minority Shabaks fear for Future
By Saad Salloum for Al Monitor. Any opinions here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Shabak community is one of the ethnic minorities in Iraq, speaking a language distinct from Arabic and Kurdish. Its members live on the Ninevah plains with other religious minorities […]
Luaibi: Iraq will work with OPEC
By Simon Kent. New Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi has said he wants to work to increase Iraq's oil reserve estimates and increase exports while working with OPEC on quotas, which currently stand at 14% of OPEC production for Iraq. Luaibi noted, "We will work to draw up stable policies and work to achieve […]
Iraq is Back in Business, According to Wyndham Group
By Simon Kent. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is rising again in Iraq, The Wall Street Journal reports. The piece notes General Electric's billion dollar contract in January, which is of course government spending, to highlight how multi-nationals are increasingly confident as the self declared Islamic State begins to collapse. The piece also notes how FDI is […]
New Oil Minister Luaibi Backs Deal With Kurds
By Simon Kent. Iraq's new oil Minister Jabbar Al Luaibi, who was appointed April 14th, has remarked that the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad are planning a new oil exports and revenue sharing deal to replace the one which collapsed in early 2015. According to Gulf News, Safeen Dizayee, a spokesman for the KRG also confirmed new […]
Humanitarian Crisis Warning for Mosul Offensive
By Simon Kent. Amnesty International, the world-wide human rights organization, has published a report warning of imminent humanitarian crisis as the offensive to liberate Mosul from the self declared Islamic State gathers momentum. The organization also warned the current humanitarian emergency, which has seen at least 3 million Iraqis displaced from their homes, is severely […]
Iraq's Environment Faces Grim Reckoning
By Wassim Bassem for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq has been involved in many wars, but soon it will have to turn its attention to yet another front or risk being overwhelmed by an environmental crisis. Two coinciding […]
Abadi Boosted as Oil Minister, other Portfolios Approved
By Simon Kent. Prime Minister Haidar al Abadi has received a huge boost to his embattled reform campaign as parliament approved his initial choice for new Minister of Oil, Jabar Ali al Luaibi. Luaibi was formerly the head of the South Oil Company, and his appointment comes after difficult negotiations with the IMF, that included […]
Iranian Gas Imports for Iraq in September
By Simon Kent. Iran is to start exporting gas to Iraq from the South Pars field after a year long delay, Bloomberg reports. The shipments will begin at 7 million cubic meters a day for power generation in Baghdad. Another export route is planned for 2017, which will serve Basra, totaling 70 million cubic meters a day […]
New Gas Processing Facility in Maysan
By Simon Kent. Iraq's Maysan province, which borders Iran, has opened a new gas processing facility to treat associated gas from the Fakka and Bazargan fields. A statement from Iraq's Ministry of Oil did not say how much gas was being processed, but the gas had previously been flared and will now be used for power […]
Peshmerga Capture Villages Near Mosul
By Simon Kent. Kurdish Peshmerga forces have captured several villages from the self declared Islamic State, near the city of Mosul, the group's last urban stronghold in Iraq. Around 5000 Kurdish fighters participated in the operation, which was backed by Coalition air strikes. IS responded by launching suicide vehicle attacks, but these were not successful. […]
Commando Raid Kills ISIS Oil Chief
By Simon Kent. US Special Forces, possibly in conjunction with Kurdish commandos, have been involved in a targeted raid near the Iraqi border town of Al Qaim, CNN reports. The target of the raid, intended for capture, was killed during a firefight, according to the Kurdish Security Council. The raiding party were attempting to capture Sami […]