The latest news from Kurdistan – security updates, reconstruction and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.
By Patrick M Schmidt. While Kurdish security forces battle Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters on the ground, the Turkish Air Force has begun gathering intelligence on the militants’ movement from the air. Following a meeting between Turkish leadership, as many as eight jets were scrambled from Diyarbakir airbase. The Turkish leadership […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. An offensive launched by Kurdish security forces over the weekend has continued into the middle of the week. Their forces have mainly focused on the city of Mosul that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had previously declared as the capitol of their “caliphate.” Kurdish forces have suffered […]
From CNN. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. After defeating the Kurdish Peshmerga, ISIS' advance across Iraq is on a dangerous threshold. Nic Robertson reports:
By Patrick M Schmidt. The Russian state-owned oil company, Gazprom, is expected to launch exploration operations in Halabja province before the end of the year. The province is located in the region of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and lays close to the Iran-Iraq border. If they find enough oil reserves, the company will begin […]
By John Lee. Shares in Genel Energy, the London-listed exploration and production company and largest independent oil producer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, were down more than 2 percent on Tuesday after the company announced its unaudited half year results to 30 June 2014. Results summary Highlights Genel's operations in the Kurdistan Region […]
By John Lee. Axeon Specialty Products said on Friday that it received a cargo of crude oil from of Kurdistan's Shaikan oilfield in June, despite the Iraqi government's attempts to block independent exports of crude by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The oil was delivered to the company's refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey (pictured). A […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. Information leaked from an American official suggests that American air support may have been offered to Kurdish forces. Specialized training and armaments from America for Kurdish security forces would accompany air support. European nations have also stepped forward with other offers of military aid. An offer has also been made to […]
By John Lee. After renewed consultation with the relevant national security authorities, the Lufthansa Group has decided to resume flights to Erbil in northern Iraq from Monday. Erbil lies well outside the direct crisis zone in Iraq, and flights to and from the city will be routed to avoid overflying the zone. Lufthansa flies twice-weekly […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. While the tanker the United Kalavryta remains outside of American territorial waters by Texas, another tanker carrying “illegal” oil from the Kurdistan region has left for New Jersey. The tanker, Minerva Joy (pictured), left the port of Dortyol in Turkey on Thursday. It has been determined that LydondellBasell purchased two tankers […]
By Patrick M Schmidt. For over a week, the oil pipeline from Kurdistan to Turkish port facilities has been shut off. Government officials have stated that all the available storage tanks are full of Kurdish oil and remain in holding for when shipment continues. "The flow has stopped. It's been around a week. The tanks […]
After months of remaining out of public knowledge, the buyer of Kurdish oil in America has been revealed. The chemical firm LyondellBasell purchased two tankers worth of Kurdish oil in May. The shipments totaled nearly 533,000 barrels of oil and at the time did not result in any legal action. Data retrieved from the U.S. […]
The KRG Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured), commented today (Wednesday) on the Iraqi federal government’s petition to a US court to seize crude oil produced in the Kurdistan Region. “The KRG’s lawyers sent a letter to a court in Texas to explain the misrepresentations of the Iraqi federal government. The Iraqi federal government […]
