By John Lee. Turkish officials close to their country's energy policy have announced that a total of 8 million barrels of oil have been exported via the Turkish port of Ceyhan. According to officials, while some buyers have been deterred by legal threats from Baghdad, the number of buyers is in fact increasing. The Kurds […]
By John Lee. As Kurdish Peshmerga forces have continued their advance, capturing Batana mountain near Zumar, along with recent gains in Makhmur, they have announced ISIL is following a "scorched earth" policy. An official from Iraq's North Oil Company recently confirmed that after ISIL retreated from the Ain Zalah oil field, they set fire to […]
By John Lee. Gulf Keystone (pictured: CEO John Gerstenlauer) an independent oil and gas exploration, development and production company with operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq ("Kurdistan Region"), today announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2014. Operational highlights · Gulf Keystone's operations in the Kurdistan Region remain secure and production […]
By John Lee. The Pentagon--home to the US Department of Defence--has announced that there are now a total of 7 countries arming Kurdish forces in Iraq. A spokesman said those nations were Britain, Canada, Albania, Croatia, Denmark, Italy and France. Germany may soon follow. In a sign of the sudden onset of the crisis, a […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani has announced coming reforms for the Kurdish security forces, most famous for the Peshmerga. The reforms would bring all units under a single unified command. In the past, the Minister of the Peshmerga did not have control over all troops, and the force was in some cases […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The British government announced Sunday the dispatch of an official special military envoy to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). General Sir Simon Mayall will assume the title of “Government Security Envoy.” “He will travel to Iraq next week to meet with political leaders in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil […]
By John Lee. The BBC's Jim Muir has reported from the front lines at Bakarta in the Kurdish region of Iraq, where Kurdish Peshmerga troops have retaken villages lost to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Interestingly, Muir reports from a hill on the front lines that the Kurds seized from ISIL, […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The Kurdish Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured) announced that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has sold 7 million barrels of oil on the international market. He remains confident that the KRG will win the ability to sell oil in the US markets. Currently, the KRG produces 300,000 barrels of oil per […]
By John Lee. Iraqi counter-terrorism experts have announced that the recent increase in US air strikes in the Mosul dam area (north of Mosul) have caused two waves of ISIL retreats. Following the beheading of American journalist James Foley, the Islamic State issued a warning to the US that further strikes would see the execution […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has recently given an interview with Rudaw English discussing his hopes for a new Iraqi government that can improve the relations between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government. Despite a joint Kurdish--Iraq security operation to re-take Mosul dam with US air cover (initially reported as being solely Kurdish) […]
By John Lee. The Italian government has joined Germany and France in saying they are preparing to send arms and other assistance to both Kurdish aligned forces and the federal government of Iraq in Baghdad. The move follows a visit to Iraq by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who announced on his return that Italy […]
By Patrick Schmidt. A Kurdish oil tanker has arrived at the Croatian port of Omisalj and is preparing to begin offloading its cargo in the coming days. This delivery represents a success for the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in finding a buyer for their crude following legal threats from Baghdad. These threats have previously deterred […]
