The latest news from Kurdistan – security updates, reconstruction and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.
Outgoing Consul General Joo Joong-Chul met on Monday with the Head of the KRG's Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, as he prepares to depart for his next assignment at the Republic of Korea’s embassy in Baghdad. Minister Mustafa thanked Mr Joong-Chul for his nation’s continued support and for his personal contribution during his […]
By John Lee. The Chief Executive of Italian oil and gas group Eni says the company does not plan to compromise its business in Iraq by making energy deals with Kurdistan. Paolo Scaroni (pictured) said that one of the conditions for developing the Zubair field was that there could be no deals with local governments […]
By John Lee. Kurdistan's Minister for Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured), has hit back at reports that the US has warned oil companies not to sign any oil deals with Kurdistan without Baghdad's approval or Baghdad may take legal action against them. According to AKnews, Hawrami described the media reports quoting Nuland as "baseless ….These […]
By John Lee. Genel Energy has increased its commitment to oil exploration in Iraqi Kurdistan with the announcement that it has agreed to acquire an additional 26 per cent interest in the Miran exploration block from Heritage Oil. The announcement comes just a day after the Kurdistan Regional Government's Oil and Gas Council approved the […]
By John Lee. At the US State Department's Daily Press Briefing on Monday, Spokesperson Victoria Nuland was asked to clarify the US Government's official position on oil contracts in Iraqi Kurdistan. "Our position on this has not changed", she said. "We’ve spoken about it many times here. We speak about it in Iraq. With regard […]
By John Lee. Shares in ShaMaran Petroleum were down 13% on Monday following the announcement that the company has sold its entire 20% undivided participating interest in the Taza PSC (held by the fully-owned subsidiary ShaMaran Petroleum B.V.) to a subsidiary of Total S.A. for the cash sum of US$ 48 million plus a reimbursement […]
By Zanko Ahmad. This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Two families in Iraqi Kurdistan seem to reserve all the top political jobs for relatives. Recently the ‘crown princes’ both got new, high level jobs. The […]
By John Lee. The Chinese Ambassador to Iraq, Mr Ni Jian, met with Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani yesterday to explore ways of strengthening ties with the Kurdistan Region. Ambassador Jian presented his credentials to the Iraqi President last year November, and this is his first visit to Kurdistan. In his meeting with Prime Minister Barzani, […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr Ali Saeed, last week met with British ministers and universities to deepen and expand cooperation in the higher education and scientific research sectors. Minister Saeed led a delegation from the Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers and Ministry of Higher Education, […]
By John Lee. Iraqi authorities have warned France's Total that it must freeze its energy deal with Iraqi Kurdistan or sell its stake in the Halfaya oilfield, reports Reuters. Faisal Abdullah, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani, said: "Iraq has officially asked Total to freeze or cancel its contract with the […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Trade and Industry has said that import and export trade licences are to be written in both Kurdish and Arabic from now on. Aziz Ibrahim, Director General at the Ministry said: "The region's Ministry of Trade and Industry decided to implement the instruction of Iraq's Ministry of […]
By John Lee. Crescent Petroleum and its partner and affiliate Dana Gas PJSC, have, in their capacity as joint operator of the Kor Mor field, announced that total production in their major gas operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has grown steadily to reach 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with total investment […]
