ExxonMobil is in talks to sell its 60% stake in the massive West Qurna-1 oil field, while gearing up to start a controversial drilling program in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing what it described at "people familiar with the matter". Exxon's 2010 deal with the Iraqi central government to improve production in […]
(Note: the speech was read by Minister Ali Saeed, as the Prime Minister was unable to attend). Ladies, gentlemen and distinguished guests, good morning. I wanted very much to be here with you today, but unfortunately I have had to change my plans due to some unforeseeable circumstances. In any event, I would like to […]
By John Lee. As part of a review of the United Kingdom's diplomatic engagement with Iraq, which included the announcement today that the country's consulate in Basra is to close, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague (pictured), has announced increased resources for the embassy in Baghdad and the consulate […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Higher Education Minister last week met government and university representatives in Poland, which has recently been added as a destination for Kurdistan’s scholarship students. Dr Ali Saeed Mohammad, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, came to Poland to explore ways of strengthening […]
By John Lee. Under the management of the US Consulate General in Erbil, the START Social Development Organisation concluded a five-month pilot programme established to empower women and provide key skills. The Kurdistan Economic Enhancement-skills Programme (KEEP) is funded by the US Department of State and is currently available in the rest of the country. […]
By John Lee. Iraq is considering replacing ExxonMobil at the supergiant West Qurna-1 oilfield with Russian companies LUKoil and Gazprom Neft, according to a report from Nefte Compass. Iraq regards Exxon's contracts in the northern Kurdish region of the country as illegal. But if any agreement was reached at this week's meeting between Iraqi Prime […]
By John Lee. Both Russia's Gazprom Neft and the Kurdistan Regional Government have denied that the company has frozen projects in Iraqi Kurdistan. "Gazprom Neft is still working on these projects. The company keeps its interest in Kurdistan," a Gazprom Neft source told Reuters. A spokesman for the KRG said Gazprom had informed the KRG […]
Welcoming the French Ambassador to the Kurdistan Region on Sunday, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani discussed the Region’s growing ties with France as well as ongoing events in the broader region. On his first official visit to Kurdistan since the arrival of the new French Consul General, Mr Alain Guépratte, Ambassador Denis Gauer announced the opening […]
By John Lee. Genel Energy has said it that it will continue shipping crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan, following confirmation from the KRG that it has finally received an initial payment from Baghdad. Despite Iraq's finance ministry issuing an initial payment early last week, by Friday the funds had still not landed in the KRG account, […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is planning to build an oil pipeline to Turkey with a capacity of 1 million barrels a day, according to a report from Platts. KRG natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami (pictured) told an energy conference in Turkey on Thursday that plans were already in place for the […]
By John Lee. Iraq's, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Industrial Affairs, Dr Rowsh N Shaways, told Reuters on Tuesday that Baghdad's Finance Ministry has begun payment of an initial $650 million to Iraqi Kurdistan for oil companies working in the region. Erbil and Baghdad agreed last month to draw a line under a dispute […]
Kurds in Iraq are growing restless and impatient over the violence and open political rivalries in Baghdad, between Shias and Sunnis. Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region of four million is a haven of relative stability and prosperity and what's more has its own oil riches to exploit. HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi speaks to Ashti Hawrami (pictured). For […]
