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 […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani welcomed the Netherlands' new Ambassador to Iraq, Mr Harry Molenaar (pictured), recently, discussing the growing relationship between their governments. Ambassador Molenaar highlighted the importance of the new Dutch Embassy Liaison Office in Erbil, which is planned to officially open in November. Prime Minister Barzani congratulated Ambassador Molenaar on […]
By John Lee. According to a statement on Wednesday from the office of Deputy Prime Minister for Energy, Hussain al-Shahristani, Shell has denied starting talks on possible energy deals with Iraqi Kurdistan. "We don't have any discussions with the Kurdish regional government about working in the region," Shell's vice-president Hans Nijkamp is reported to have […]
On September 25, the U.S. Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Kurdish Regional Government's (KRG) of Iraq Ministries of Health and Planning supporting the KRG's efforts to improve primary health care, as called for under the U.S. - Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement. The […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) expects an initial payment of 1 trillion dinars ($858 million) from Baghdad to clear next week after the two sides settled their dispute over payments to oil producers. "By 2015, we are looking at 1 million barrels per day. We're on track, regardless of […]
By John Lee. A delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) took part in the 22nd Economic Forum held in Poland earlier this month. The delegation included the KRG Minister of Planning, Dr Ali Sindi, the Chairman of the Kurdistan Board of Investment, Minister Herish Muharam, and the KRG representative to Poland, Mr Ziyad Raoof. […]
