Category: Iraq

Third-party data show more oil reserves in Kurdish north of Iraq than initially thought, British energy company says. Photo courtesy of Gulf Keystone Petroleum LONDON, Oct. 1 (UPI) — Gulf Keystone Petroleum said third-party estimates show recoverable oil reserves in the Kurdish north of Iraq are at least twice as much as initially expected. The company, which focuses predominately on acreage in the semiautonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, said third-party surveys were conducted in the Shaikan oil basin. "With cumulative production to date of over 15 million barrels, the company benefits from a vastly increased dataset and a far greater understanding of the reservoir," Chief Executive Officer Jon Ferrier said in a statement. Third-party assessments show proved reserves in the Shaikan reserve area at between 198 million to 306 million barrels, 55 percent more than originally estimated. Proved plus probable reserves increased by 114 percent to as much […]

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Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters watch for Islamic State (IS) group fighters after they captured several villages on the outskirts of the northern Iraqi oil capital of Kirkuk on Sept. 30, 2015, during an operation with support from international coalition aircrafts. (MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images) Peshmerga forces backed by coalition air strikes seized territory southwest of Kirkuk on Wednesday in an offensive designed, at least in part, to mitigate the Islamic State (IS) militant group’s ability to threaten key oil infrastructure."The main goal of this military operation is to push back the Daesh threat to oil and gas facilities to the southwest of Kirkuk," said one Peshmerga official involved in the offensive. "There was a direct threat by mortars and rocket attacks targeting the ar… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for […]

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ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Kurdish forces attacked Islamic State in northern Iraq on Wednesday in the latest of several offensives aimed at driving the militants away from the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. The assault began in the early morning to capture the al-Gurra heights to the west of Kirkuk in the direction of the Islamic State bastion of Hawijah, Kurdish military sources said. The Kurds took full control of Kirkuk last summer when Iraqi soldiers abandoned their bases in and around the city as Islamic State militants overran around a third of the country. The peshmerga have been widening a buffer around the city in a series of offensives, clearing more than 530 square kilometers over the past six months, according to the region’s security council. Apart from the gains around Kirkuk, the frontline between peshmerga and Islamic State has hardly moved for months. Islamic State has not been […]

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A Shiite militia that refuses even to identify its leader is emerging as one of the greatest threats to the Iraqi administration it’s meant to be backing. Kataib Hezbollah has thousands of fighters deployed against the jihadists of Islamic State. While the Iranian-backed group has played a key role in helping Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi stem the militants’ advance, it’s now joining forces with other Shiite militias to oppose the premier’s push to enact a measure that could limit its own power, and Tehran’s influence. At the heart of the dispute is the National Guard Law, legislation meant to bring all pro-government armed groups under a unified command. The measure is backed by the U.S. as the only way to halt the breakup of OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer. “We reject this law and we will chase anyone who votes for it in the Iraqi parliament,” Jaafar al-Husseini, a spokesman […]

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Iraq’s oil production is at risk for winter when “loading problems” have historically reduced output by 300,000 to 500,000 barrels of crude a day, Barclays Plc said. Loading facilities and the nation’s single-point mooring systems are “insufficient for the winter season,” Michael Cohen, a Barclays analyst in New York, said in a Sept. 25 report. It wasn’t clear from the report what causes the disruptions during winter. Shipments from Basra in the south are sometimes slowed by strong winds during the first part of the year. In April, a four-mile (6.4-kilometer) line of supertankers was waiting to load the nation’s crude. OPEC’s second-largest crude producer has increased output this year as supplies from the south expanded even as Islamic State fighters occupied parts of the north. Iraq needs to keep increasing production because lower oil prices have curbed government revenue. Crude output will increase by about 500,000 barrels a […]

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Kurdish government chronic sabotage against crude oil problems robbing it of revenue needed to fund security operations. Photo by Mohammed al Jumaily/UPI ERBIL, Iraq, Sept. 25 (UPI) — The Kurdish government in northern Iraq said the flow of crude oil to a Turkish sea port was halted because of theft at the start of a Muslim holy day. On Thursday, Muslims honored the holy day of Eid al-Adha . The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government said saboteurs targeted a crude oil pipeline running north to the Turkish sea port at Ceyhan. No repair crews were on duty because of the holy day. Crews are expected at the site Friday, though no estimate of a return to service is available, the government said. The Kurdish government credits crude oil exports through Turkey as a necessary economic lifeline. "Revenue from crude oil export through the pipeline to Ceyhan represents the Kurdistan Region’s […]

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Oil tanks at Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), where oil exports from the Iraqi central government and, separately, from the KRG, are sent. (UMIT BEKTAS/Reuters) A U.S. appellate court has effectively ended the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) efforts to bring its independent oil exports out of the shadows and into the mainstream marketplace by selling crude in the United States. With its path to the U.S. market blocked – and amidst enduring legal threats from Baghdad – the KRG’s growing exports remain reliant on arrangements with oil trading firms designed to disguise the identity of end-buyers and the financial terms of sale. Much of Kurdist… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

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Kurdistan reasserted its right to export oil independently to the United States and other countries on Tuesday despite a court ruling in favor of the Iraqi federal government, which has Continue Reading