Alistair Burt, the UK’s Foreign Office Minister responsible for the Middle East, on Thursday met President Masoud Barzani in Erbil. During his visit, an agreement was made to extend the British National School of Government’s training programme in Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Regional Government allocated land for the British Consulate’s permanent residences. Minister Burt on […]
The UK’s leading trade association for oil and gas supplies and services on Thursday concluded its first mission to the Kurdistan Region. Dr Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Minister of Natural Resources, met the delegation from the Energy Industries Council (EIC), which was accompanied by the British Consul General Hugh Evans. After their meeting […]
Northern Ireland companies are being encouraged to take advantage of a bonanza of economic opportunities in the Middle East. Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster was speaking as she welcomed His Excellency Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to Northern Ireland, on a two-day trade and investment visit organised by Invest NI. Minister Foster […]
Germany’s Federal Minister of Transport, Building, and Urban Development, Peter Ramsauer, led a business delegation to Erbil to meet Kurdistan Regional Government officials and participate in the first Germany-Kurdistan Region economic forum. The German delegation met Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, who thanked them for their willingness to be part of the Kurdistan Region’s development process. […]
By John Lee. A senior Turkish government official has told the Hürriyet Daily News that the Turkish government will continue to encourage Turkish energy companies to sign more agreements with the Kurdistan Regional Government, despite what it describes as Washington’s warnings not to take such steps as they risk partitioning the country. "These are steps […]
By John Lee. Four industry sources have told Reuters that Swiss oil trader Trafigura is still indirectly supplying gasoline to Iraq through another firm, despite being banned from participating in tenders for 2013 after buying oil from Iraqi Kurdistan. Baghdad's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) finalised a deal in November to buy 1.56 million tonnes […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] has issued a stern warning to the KRG over their attempts to export large quantities of crude oil to Turkey, describing it as "a red line". "The Kurds are under obligation to ferry all the oil they produce to the national export systems," said the […]
By John Lee. Iraq has again told Exxon Mobil that it must choose between working in its southern oilfields or in Kurdistan. Reuters reports that Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] expects the company to make a final decision within a few days, adding: "We made it clear to Exxon in the last meeting that the […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Kurdistan's energy minister, Ashti Hawrami, is reported as saying that the KRG has awarded Chevron a stake in the Qara Dagh oil block (pictured). Jay Pryor, Chevron's Vice President for business development, met with Kurdistan President Mr Masoud Barzani at the World Economic Forum in Davos, reports Steel Guru. During the […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki held talks with ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson (pictured) on Monday. AFP reports that the meeting was the first between the two since the firm signed an oil exploration agreement with Kurdistan in October 2011, a move which angered Baghdad, which has said the company must choose between its deals with […]
President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, hosted foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations based in Erbil last week to discuss the latest political and economic developments in Kurdistan and in Iraq and to reflect on 2012. The annual gathering, attended by Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of KRG Department of Foreign Relations, touched on […]
By John Lee. Reuters has reported that BP will undertake work to arrest declining production at the Kirkuk oilfield, in a move that has outraged the Kurdistan Regional Government. Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the oil ministry's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate (PCLD), told The Wall Street Journal that a request has been sent to […]
