By John Lee. Iraq's Trade Minister, Khayrulla Hassan [Khayri-allah Babakir, Dr Khairallah Hassan Babiker] (pictured) has said that 100,000 tons more of wheat will be produced in Iraq than in 2011. According to the report from AKnews, 1.75 million tons of wheat were produced last year, and this is expected to rise to 1.85 million […]
By John Lee. Eurasia Drilling (LSE: EDCL) has announced that it has acquired two onshore drilling rigs in Iraq, with a commitment to purchase a third. All three rigs are currently under contract or being tendered to international customers. To ensure uninterrupted operations, EDC intends to retain the existing management and operational staff and support […]
By John Lee. Iraq signed the gas exploration contract with Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. (PPL) on Sunday for gas Block 8, which lies in the Diyala and Wassit provinces in the East of the country. Meanwhile on Monday, a consortium led by Kuwait Energy signed the contract for oil Block 9, having bid fee of $6.24 […]
By John Lee. "Is Iraq a failing state, or has it already failed", asks Peter Lavelle on Russia Today's Crosstalk programme. Discussing the question are Robert Maginnis, Douglas Ollivant and John Glaser.
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Roz Nouri Shawees [Rowsch N Shaways] (pictured), has praised relations between Iraq and Russia in all fields, but particularly in the oil and gas sectors. In an interview with Russia Today TV, he said that "Iraqi doors are open to all Russian companies". He pointed out that Iraqi oil bids are transparent, and […]
LUKoil has reportedly offered Rosneft its African and Iraqi projects in a swap for Arctic shelf cooperation. LUKoil CEO, Vagit Alekperov, said on Thursday: “We have offered them our geological prospecting assets abroad. So far, talks are underway. We have offered them a whole package. If they are interested, we’ll offer them West Africa and […]
KRG President Masoud Barzani met with the Special Representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov (pictured) in Salahaddin this week to discuss strengthening ties between Russia and the Kurdistan Region. Deputy Foreign Minister Bogdanov said his government is keen to build on the historic ties and friendship […]
Iraq’s government signed deals for only three of the 12 oil and gas exploration blocks offered in its fourth energy auction, which ended on Thursday, reflecting reluctance of foreign bidders to risk money in unexplored areas. Russia's LUKoil, along with partner Inpex Corp of Japan, won the deal for the 5,500-square-kilometer Block 10 in Muthanna […]
Russia’s Lukoil is seeking partnerships with Asian oil firms to develop the West Qurna-2 project. The company's Vice-President, Leonid Fedun (pictured), told investors at a company presentation in Hong Kong: “We are holding talks with several potential bidders, including Asian firms. I believe we may get positive news by the end of this year.” Lukoil […]
Lukoil, Russia's second-largest crude oil producer, has confirmed that it will be able to develop Iraq's West Qurna-2 oilfield without partners. "Today we are able to implement this project by ourselves," president Vagit Alekperov told reporters in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Friday. Reuters reports that production from the field will reach 150,000 barrels […]
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Tuesday that both Libya and Iraq continue to show interest in buying Russian-made weaponry despite regime changes in these countries. According to RIA, the minister, who oversees the Russian defense industry, told reporters in Moscow: “The Libyan military leadership and the Iraqi government have shown serious interest […]
Bloomberg reports that Lukoil, Russia’s biggest non- state oil producer, will sign an agreement with Samsung this week for the development of the West Qurna-2 oilfield. Samsung will install “a crude-gathering facility and a central processing plant for West Qurna-2,” the Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Tuesday. The deal is expected to be signed on 22nd […]
