By John Lee. Preliminary principles agreements have been signed covering the transfer and development of several oil fields in southern and central Iraq. The first agreement was signed between Basra Oil Company (BOC) and US oil major Chevron for the transfer of management of the West Qurna 2 field. A second agreement was signed between […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi Cabinet has approved an exception for US-based HKN Energy, allowing it to bypass the standard qualification criteria and receive a direct invitation to develop the Hamrin oil field in northern Iraq. Last week, the Ministry of Oil signed an agreement in principle with HKN to develop the field, aiming to […]
By John Lee. The Ministry of Oil has signed an agreement in principle with HKN Energy to develop the Hamrin field in northern Iraq. The agreement, signed on Tuesday between North Oil Company (NOC) and the US-based company aims to increase the field's output to 60,000 barrels per day, up from the current 20,000-25,000 bpd, […]
By Simon Kent. An official with the Iraqi North Oil Company has been shot dead in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, Reuters reports. The murder of Hassan Salim is the third assassination of an oil official from the NOC in just four months, in an area which has been disputed by Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen since the fall of the […]
By John Lee. A source at Iraq’s North Oil Company has said that technical problems have stopped the export of Kirkuk crude oil to Turkey via the Kurdistan pipeline. He told BasNews that the problem happened in Turkey, not in the Kurdistan Region. It remains unclear when the problem will be resolved. (Source: BasNews)
KRG statement on recent events at oil facilities and infrastructure in Makhmour district This morning, members of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kirkuk Oil Protection Forces moved to secure the oil fields of Bai Hassan and the Makhmour area, after learning of orders by officials in the federal Ministry of Oil in Baghdad to […]
By John Lee. The KRG's Minister for Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured), has told Reuters that the Kurds have plans to increase their oil exports eight-fold by the end of 2015. He said Kurdish oil exports could double "within a month or so" to around 250,000 bpd and hit 400,000 bpd by the end of […]
By John Lee. The Gharraf [Garraf] oil field in Thi Qar [Dhi Qar] province, 85km north of the City of Nasiriyah, produced its first commercial output of oil on 31st August. Iraq's Ministry of Oil said the flow rate was 35,000 barrels a day, and peak production of 230,000 bpd was expected in 2017. Japan […]
Iraq’s oil exports to Turkey were halted again on Wednesday, this time by bomb attacks targeting the oil pipeline north of Baghdad. Reuters' sources say one attack took place at around 0100 local time near Hadhar in Nineveh Province, 80 km south of Mosul, with another section of the line also attacked near Fatha, between […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Ministry of Oil has announced that the long-awaited start of production at the Gharraf [Garraf] oilfield is now scheduled for the end of August. Initial output is expected to be 35,000 barrels per day (bpd). The company previously had a plan to start operations by September of last year, and were […]
The North Oil Company has announced the resumption of oil flow in the pipeline from the Kirkuk oilfields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan after being shut off for three days because of repairs to a damaged line. A source from the company was quoted by the National Iraqi News Agency, saying that the maintenance […]
By John Lee. Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) and its partners have delayed the start of production in the Gharraf [Garraf] oil field by six months, according to Bloomberg. Production was scheduled for the end of 2012, but will now be postponed until the end of June; a company official blamed the delay on problems with […]
