The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) was delighted to host H.E. Dr Abdullah Luaibi the Iraqi Minister of Transport in London today. The Minister, accompanied by a delegation of officials, was on a 4 day official visit to the United Kingdom organised by the Department of International Trade. His visit included meetings with IBBC Members […]
By John Lee. A Canadian court has reportedly ordered the seizure of a cargo of crude oil from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The Iraqi Oil Ministry requested the seizure of the 721,915-barrel cargo on the "Neverland" oil tanker claiming that it has been unlawfully misappropriated by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The move […]
By John Lee. According to a report from Reuters, commodities giant Glencore will likely fall short of its target of raising $550 million to pre-finance the purchase of Kurdish oil. Industry sources told the news agency that investors are exercising caution despite the 12 percent bond yield, and that Glencore has received investor commitments for […]
By Padraig O'Hannelly. A team from the AMAR International Charitable Foundation has taken just 10 days to build a health clinic for Mosul IDPs at Zelikan camp. The new facility, which was funded by Vitol Foundation, was officially opened on Monday by AMAR Chairman, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne. You can contribute to AMAR Foundation here. (Source: […]
By John Lee. Shell and oil trading house Vitol are reported to be stepping up their operations in the port of Fujairah to store Iraqi crude. Shell, an equity partner in Iraq's Majnoon oilfield, leased five large crude storage tanks at Fujairah port last year. Vitol has also started to store crude from Iraqi Kurdistan in […]
By John Lee. Anglo–Swiss commodity trader Glencore has reportedly paid Iraqi Kurdistan $300 million as an advance for oil shipments. Anonymous sources told Reuters that the company made a prepayment in recent days, and will start receiving crude from mid-year. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Monday it had received $100 million in February […]
By John Lee. French oil company Total and Swiss oil-trading company Vitol have been fined for corruption by a French court in relation to Iraq’s oil-for-food program. According to Bloomberg, Total was guilty of corrupting foreign civil servants, and has been fined EUR 750,000, while Vitol has been fined EUR 300,000. Other corruption charges against Total […]
By John Lee. Vitol and Glencore have finalised term contracts to sell over 1.5 million tonnes of gasoil to Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO), reports Reuters. Vitol will supply four cargoes of 500 ppm sulphur gasoil, along with three cargoes from Glencore, through 2014 at a premium of $7.37 a barrel over Middle East quotes […]
By John Lee. A Paris court has cleared oil company Total, its chief executive Christophe de Margerie (pictured), and over a dozen other defendants of corruption charges related to the UN's oil-for-food programme in Iraq. The former interior minister Charles Pasqua, the Swiss oil trader Vitol, and a former French ambassador to the UN, were […]
By John Lee. Four industry sources have told Reuters that Swiss oil trader Trafigura is still indirectly supplying gasoline to Iraq through another firm, despite being banned from participating in tenders for 2013 after buying oil from Iraqi Kurdistan. Baghdad's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) finalised a deal in November to buy 1.56 million tonnes […]
By John Lee. The CEO of Total, Christophe de Margerie (pictured), is to appear in a Paris court on Monday to fight charges of wrongdoing relating to the United Nations oil-for-food relief program in Iraq. Total, Vitol and 18 individuals, including de Margerie (61), are listed as defendants in the trial over claims the program […]
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 […]
