By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government's long-serving Minister of Natural Resources (MNR), Ashti Hawrami (pictured), is to be appointed to the post of Assistant Prime Minister for Energy Affairs in the new KRG cabinet. According to a report from Rudaw, it is not currently clear whether the move will result in the scrapping of […]
Russia's Rosneft and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as part of the XXI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, signed a series of agreements on widening their cooperation in exploration and production of hydrocarbons, commerce and logistics. The documents were signed ahead of the meeting between the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and the […]
By Simon Kent. Two recent reports point to the possibility of an imminent oil deal between Baghdad and Erbil over revenues and exports, following the breakdown of the fourth revenue and exports deal in early 2015. In an interview with Kurdish publication Rudaw, KRG spokesman Safeen Dizayee (pictured) noted that there was a positive view of new Iraqi Minister […]
By Simon Kent. In a striking admission of the policy of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami (pictured) has described the outcome of the political deadlock with Baghdad, which has led to secret oil exports by the KRG. Quoted in Reuters, Hawrami says that following former PM Nouri-al Maliki's blocking of the KRG […]
By Simon Kent. The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has released a statement saying it has put aside $75 million to pay three IOCs, Genel Energy, DNO and Gulf Keystone. The announcement follows payment disruption to the IOCs from the ongoing Baghdad--Erbil revenues and exports dispute. Additionally, the KRG has pledged regular payments, welcome news to the […]
By Simon Kent. Sources at Ceyhan have told Reuters that there is insufficient oil in the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) tanks at the port to fill planned cargoes. Both BP and Spain's Cepsa have cancelled shipments, and no oil has gone to SOMO storage for the past ten days. According to sources, this […]
By Padraig O'Hannelly. Dr Ashti Hawrami (pictured), the KRG's Minister for Natural Resources, has clarified the two stage process involved in the recent agreement between Erbil and Baghdad regarding oil exports. Speaking at CWC's Kurdistan-Iraq Oil & Gas Conference recently in London, Dr Hawrami said that the first stage of the resolution covers the issues […]
Highlights from December’s London Conference. By Robert Tollast. According to current plans, the Kurdish region of Iraq will be able to export 1 million barrels of oil in the not too distant future--by some accounts by the end of 2015. By 2020 as much as 10 billion cubic metres of gas will be exported from […]
By John Lee. It's a deal that could cement a prosperous shared future for Baghdad and Arbil. But despite the new good will between the two sides, there is huge political opposition from Iraqi Arabs who object to the current terms. In the Kurdish region, many feel that the history has already turned toward their […]
By John Lee. The KRG's Minister for Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured), has told Reuters that the Kurds have plans to increase their oil exports eight-fold by the end of 2015. He said Kurdish oil exports could double "within a month or so" to around 250,000 bpd and hit 400,000 bpd by the end of […]
By John Lee. The key to Iraq's unity is power-sharing, revenue-sharing and the implementation of the Constitution, Dr Ashti Hawrami (pictured), the Kurdistan Regional Government's Minister of Natural Resources, told a London conference yesterday, saying: “The policies of centralisation and discrimination have put Iraq's future at risk ... As of last week (following the crisis […]
By John Lee. Abullah Akrayi, the Kurdish representative for Iran affairs has announced plans for two pipelines to Iran, intended to exchange refined oil and natural gas from Iran for crude oil from the KRG, Anadolu Agency reports. Iranian trade envoy to Iraq Rostem Qasimi apparently signed the deal in Erbil with KRG natural resources minister Ashti […]
