By John Lee. The Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) is reported to be exports 100 tankers of crude oil every day from the Hamrin oil fields in southern Kirkuk. The US has previously warned that IS is using oil as a major source of funds. An Iraqi army officer, who declined to be identified, told […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that a shipping insurer has warned that Iranian oil is being disguised as Iraqi, in an attempt to flout sanctions on Tehran. Insurer West of England said that Iranian crude labelled as Iraqi crude from Basra was being transferred ship-to-ship (STS) by smugglers at the Khor Fakkan port in the […]
By John Lee. A report by Chris Dalby of Oilprice.com finds that the 11 oil fields that IS controls in Iraq and Syria have made it a largely independent financial machine. Its fields in Iraq alone are thought to produce between 25,000 and 40,000 barrels of oil per day, earning it an estimated $1.2 million [1.4 […]
By Mushreq Abbas for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Khurshid, the khajakji (the local word for a smuggler), smiled when he spoke of the border. “It’s a fairy tale for domestic consumption only, not a reality, at least for us,” […]
A delegation of nine American specialists in the fields of federal law enforcement, justice, and cultural heritage protection visited Baghdad from December 17 to 20, 2012, to attend a conference on Countering Antiquities Trafficking. At the conference the delegation trained Iraqi Ministry of Interior police investigators representing 15 provinces on methods of identifying Iraqi cultural […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that top oil trader Vitol has apologised to the Iraqi government for buying Kurdish oil that was exported via Turkey without Baghdad's permission. Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] said on in Vienna: "In terms of Vitol, they have cancelled the Kurdish amount and they apologised officially ... As for […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi Oil Ministry has re-confirmed that Chevron is barred from contracts with the Federal Goverment in Baghdad, and says the company "should be ashamed of their action" in dealing with the Kurdistan Regional Government, which it accuses of smuggling. The Ministry issued the following statement on Wednesday: Chevron Oil Company announced […]
By Shalaw Mohammed. 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. Oil smuggling is virtually a tradition in the oil-producing areas of Iraq. And local authorities are trying to prevent it. But, as this tale of oil […]
According to a report from UPI, global security consultancy Stratfor says Iran is systematically stealing Iraq's oil, either by siphoning it off from pipelines to boost its own exports, or by extending its control over Iraq's southern oilfields in Shiite-controlled Basra province: "Iran's deep political, economic and militant links in Iraq -- particularly in the […]
The following video purports to show Iraqi oil smugglers digging up an underground pipeline, tapping into it, and then sucking up the overflowing oil. From the Musings on Iraq website: (Sources: Musings on Iraq, Youtube)
Bandits, border guards and big profits NIQASH’s correspondent follows the illegal nicotine trail, as he joins local smugglers taking cigarettes into Syria. Dodging border guards and bandits, he meets the locals risking their lives to deliver millions of profitable packs to smokers every day. Several days ago, two soldiers and a member of the public […]
A U.S. Army officer who approved supplies contracts in Iraq was sentenced Friday to 21 months in prison for lying about contents of a package he sent to the United States containing more than $100,000, according to a report from Associated Press. Maj. Charles E. Sublett pleaded guilty in July to sending almost $108,000 in […]
