LUKOIL Starts Returning Investment on West Qurna-2
A crude carrier chartered by LITASCO (LUKOIL's international marketing and trading arm) arrived today (Wednesday) in South Iraq's port of Basra to receive the first batch of oil as part of the recovery of LUKOIL's costs from phase one (“Early Oil”) of the West Qurna-2 project. The vessel will spend several days in the port […]
US Approves $700m Lockheed Missile Deal
The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for AGM-114K/N/R Hellfire missiles and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $700 million (816 billion Iraqi dinars). The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on […]
KRG Challenges Texas Court
The KRG Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured), commented today (Wednesday) on the Iraqi federal government’s petition to a US court to seize crude oil produced in the Kurdistan Region. “The KRG’s lawyers sent a letter to a court in Texas to explain the misrepresentations of the Iraqi federal government. The Iraqi federal government […]
Federal Judge Rules On Kurdish Oil
By Patrick M Schmidt. Despite a ruling yesterday that allowed United States Marshals to seize Kurdish oil onboard the United Kalavrvta, a federal judge overturned their own decision. Given the distance of the tanker from American shores, the United States Marshals could not have legally seized the cargo. The judge instead suggested that the dispute […]
Talisman Energy Updates in Kurdistan Operations
By John Lee. As port of its operating and unaudited financial results for the second quarter of 2014, Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM) (NYSE:TLM) has given the following update on its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan: "In the Topkhana Block, testing continues on the T-2 well and is expected to be complete in the coming days. "In […]
Weekly Security Update, 22 - 28 July 2014
By Anne-Laure Barbosa at Constellis Consulting Amid worsening levels of violence owing to the increase in direct clashes between the ISF and ISIS militias, Iraq witnessed movements in the political sphere with the election of a new President. Fouad Massoum, a Kurd member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) put forward by the Kurdish alliance, […]
Kurdistan-Iran Energy Contract
By Patrick M Schmidt. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has announced that they will pursue a new energy contract with Iran. It is expected that this contract will be similar to the current one with Turkey. Sherko Jawdat, Head of the Industry and Energy Committee, said, “strong oil and economic relations with Iran are part […]
Kurdish Oil Shipment Seized
By Patrick M Schmidt. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has successfully obtained the documentation needed to seize oil from the United Kalavrvta and place it under the protection of the United States Marshals. The value of the ship’s payload is approximately $100 million dollars (1.2 billion Iraqi dinars). The oil onboard had been “illegal” piped […]
UN Warns on Terrorist Oil Trade
By Patrick M Schmidt. The United Nations Security Council has released as statement following concerns about radical groups in Iraq and Syria using captured oil fields as a means to generate revenue for their organizations. The statement read “that any oilfields and related infrastructure controlled by terrorist organizations could generate material income for terrorists, which […]
ISIS Urges Turkish Business back to Iraq
In an interview wtih Al-Monitor's Mehmet Cetingulec, Turkey’s Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci said said the Islamic State (IS) is now contacting individual Turkish businessmen to call them back to Iraq: Al-Monitor: The Islamic State is blocking Turkey’s exports to southern Iraq. Are you doing anything to overcome this? Zeybekci: Of our exports, 70% is […]
US Contractor Extradition from Iraq
By John Lee. A former contractor has been extradited from Iraq after six years on the run, making him the first person to be returned to the United States under the U.S.-Iraq extradition treaty of 1936. Metin Atilan, 54, who has dual U.S. and Turkish citizenship, pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges on […]
Does President hold any Real Power?
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. The position of president in Iraq has always been described as an honorific one without privileges, which does not allow its occupant to affect the political course of events. However, this description does not stem […]