Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani yesterday said he expected Iraq to become the world’s top oil producer in six to seven years, and that OPEC should take into account Iraq’s need to rebuild its economy. Emerging from the shadow of war and keen to generate petrodollars to rebuild, Baghdad looks set to lift capacity to […]
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The latest oil and gas news from Iraq – refineries, production and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
Iraq Output Boom 'could See Oil Fall to $50
The revival in Iraq's oil production could keep oil prices low for several years: that is the message from a Royal Bank of Scotland note on the global oil market. As the last of Iraq's oil contracts have been awarded, RBS predicts that Brent crude could fall back from its current level around $73 to […]
'Iraq OPEC Quota Not Needed for Few Years'
It will be four to five years before there is a need to recommand Iraqi oil output within OPEC's oil production policy, OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said today. "When they reach the point that they have to be accommodated, maybe it will not be for four to five years from now," Reuters quoted Badri as […]
Iraq Exports Take a Dip
Iraq's oil exports slipped slightly last month to 1.926 million barrels per day from 1.977 million bpd the month before, an official at the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) said today. Exports up to 30 January had averaged 1.98 million bpd. The SOMO official, who asked not to be identified, did not give a reason […]
Tags: Basra News, Oil & Gas
Iraq: Total and Partners PetroChina and Petronas to Develop the Halfaya Oil Field
Total announces that, within the framework of Iraq’s second petroleum bidding round organized by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil on December 12th, 2009, the consortium led by PetroChina Company Ltd signed on January 27, 2010 a 20-year Development and Production Service Contract with Missan Oil Company for the development of the Halfaya oil field. Total […]
Exxon Mobil, Shell Take a Calculated Risk
A consortium led by Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell on 25 January signed a contract with the Iraqi government to redevelop and expand the West Qurna field – one of Iraq’s biggest oil fields. The Exxon team said it would boost production at the field to 2.325 million barrels a day, up from just […]
Iraqi Oil: Why Are the Majors Willing to Take the Plunge?
If the invasion of Iraq was all about exploiting the country's oil, you'd never know it from the structure of the contracts being signed by the likes of ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Total (NYSE: TOT), and BP (NYSE: BP). In an analysis of the West Qurna 1 license awarded to ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: […]
Potential Risks to Iraqi Production Capacity
The decision by Iraq , to allow international companies to support the development of productive oil fields, is the most important economic decision taken by the government since 2003. The importance of this step is in increasing the production capacity from 2.5 million bpd currently, to 11 million by the year 2017, an increase of […]
Shell Demands Oil Ministry to Sign Gas Contracts
British–Dutch firm, Shell, demanded the Iraqi Oil Ministry to sign the gas investment final contract. “The Ministry delays signing the contract,” Malik Nouri, Shell’s representative in Basra, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Tuesday. He said that the contract is extremely important to Iraq, because it brings big amounts of funding to the country.
Gulfsands Gets Approval to Develop Syrian Oil Field
Oil and gas explorer Gulfsands Petroleum Plc (GPX.L) said it received government approval to develop the Yousefieh oil field in Syria. The company, which has operations in Syria, Iraq and the United States, said it got a production license of 25 years for the Yousefieh oil field in Block 26 North East Syria, with the […]
Angola's Sonangol Finalizes Oilfield Deals
Iraq signed final contracts with Angolan state oil company Sonangol on Tuesday to develop the Qayara and Najmah oilfields. Qayara has reserves of some 800 million barrels and Najmah 900 million. Both are in the violent Nineveh province in Iraq's north, where Sunni Islamist insurgents like al Qaeda remain active almost seven years after the […]
Meeting in Basra on Development of al-Qarna Oilfield
Basra Governor, Shaltagh Aboud al-Mayah, held talks on Monday with Russia’s giant oil company Lukoil and its Norwegian ally Statoil on facilitating their work in the development of al-Qarna oilfield. “Talks were also centered on the need to use Iraqi workers in Basra, and especially in al-Qarna region,” al-Mayah told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The […]