Romanian Foreign Minister opens Consular Office in Erbil
Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlăţean concluded an official visit to the Kurdistan Region yesterday in which he met with KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and officially opened the Consular Office of the Romanian Embassy in Erbil. The Foreign Minister expressed admiration for the political and economic developments in the Kurdistan Region and said that the […]
Weekly Security Update
By Gary Sandiford, Olive Group’s Dubai based assessments manager. Olive Group is a leading provider of security and technology solutions and has operated continuously in Iraq since 2003. Overview Olive Groups Iraq statistics are drawn from multiple sources, including media reporting and direct liaison with in country assets. Included within the statistics are a […]
Pakistan Petroleum Signs Contract for Block 8
By John Lee. Iraq has signed a final contract with Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), giving it the right to explore gas Block 8, covering an area of 6,000 sq km in the Diyala and Wassit provinces in eastern Iraq. During the signing ceremony, Iraq's deputy oil minister, Ahmed al-Shamma, said "developing exploration block 8 could […]
DNO Expects KRG Payment Before Year-End
By John Lee. The Norwegian oil producer DNO International expects the Kurdistan Regional Government to pay the company part of the money it’s owed for exports by the end of the year. In September, Baghdad agreed to pay international companies 1 trillion Iraqi dinars ($858 million) and the KRG has received a first tranche of […]
EFG Hermes Eyes Expansion into Iraq
By John Lee. Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes is planning to expand into Turkey, Iraq and Libya, according to a report from Reuters. The company also plans to grow its asset management arm by 50 percent after the completion of its joint venture with Qatar's QInvest. QInvest will hold 60 per cent and EFG's holding […]
Iraqi Government Bonds Rally
By John Lee. The yield on Iraqi bonds has fallen more than three times as much as the average Middle Eastern bond, reports Bloomberg. From the start of June to the end of October, the rate on 5.8 percent dollar-denominated Iraqi government bonds maturing in January 2028 has fallen by 216 basis points to 6.48 […]
DNO Taps Additional Oil in Kurdistan
By John Lee. DNO International, the Norwegian oil and gas company, announced today that the Benenan-3 well drilled on its Erbil license, Kurdistan region of Iraq, encountered an additional 210 meter oil column in the Najmeh reservoir which is expected to more than double the Benenan field's gross 2P oil-in-place volumes from 300 million barrels […]
Petroceltic Operations Update
By John Lee. In its operations update this morning, Petroceltic International issued the follow statement on its operation in Iraqi Kurdistan: Geophysical surveying operations at the Shakrok block (Petroceltic 16% working interest) were completed on 21 September 2012, with 276 kilometres of 2D seismic lines acquired. Drilling remains scheduled to commence on Shakrok in Q3 […]
$4bn for New Refinery in Karbala
By John Lee. The Ministry of Oil has allocated $4 billion for the construction of a new refinery in Karbala. According to a report from Azzaman, the 150,000-bpd refinery will take four years to complete and it will be built by Iraqi technicians and engineers under the supervision of a team of international experts. The […]
KBR Fined $85m for Exposing Iraq Soldiers to Chemical
By John Lee. A federal magistrate in Oregon has ordered Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) to pay $85 million to a dozen National Guard soldiers for illnesses suffered while guarding an oilfield water plant during the Iraq war. The soldiers said they suffer from respiratory ailments after exposure to sodium dichromate, and they fear that […]
Turkey Wins $350m Iraq Drilling Contract
By John Lee. Turkey's Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz (pictured), has said the country has signed a $350 million deal to drill 40 oil wells in the Basra area, and is in talks on drilling 7,000 wells across Iraq. Details of the timeframe or companies involved were not immediately available. According to a report from Reuters, […]
Gulf Keystone Resumes Pumping in Kurdistan
By John Lee. According to industry sources cited by reuters, Gulf Keystone has restarted production in Kurdistan after a gap of six months. The company is now producing between 5,000 and 7,000 bpd for sale on the domestic market, and is developing its Shaikan field to raise output to around 40,000 bpd by the middle […]