Category: Iraq

OPEC crude output declined this month as Iraqi production slipped from a record in June. Output by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decreased 362,000 barrels to 32.107 million a day this month, according to a Bloomberg survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. Last month’s total was revised 335,000 barrels higher, to 32.469 million a day, because of changes to the Saudi, Kuwaiti, Angolan and Nigerian estimates. Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, relapsed into a bear market this week on speculation that the global supply glut will grow. OPEC agreed on June 5 to retain its collective output target of 30 million barrels a day, a level that it’s exceeded for 14 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Prices are going to remain under pressure because output is near record levels in several OPEC countries,” John Kilduff, a partner at Again […]

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Protestors blame government corruption for the powercuts Hundreds of Iraqi protesters have taken to the streets of Baghdad to protest against power shortages as the country experiences a heatwave. They blamed government corruption for a lack of investment in infrastructure. On Thursday, the government declared a four-day public holiday after temperatures broke 50C (122F), with appeals for people to save power. Blackouts are common during the summer as Iraq’s electricity grid struggles to deal with the extreme temperatures. Analysts say that the country’s grid was severely damaged by US bombing during the 2003 invasion. The infrastructure has also been repeatedly targeted by insurgents. In some areas of the country it is common to have only a few hours of electricity each day. The government has admitted that at peak times during the summer it will only be able to provide half the country’s required power. On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime […]

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Norwegian energy company DNO says it’s still working as normal in northern Iraq despite the bombing of a pipeline running north to a Turkish port. File Photo by UPI/Mohammed al Jumaily OSLO, Norway, July 30 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company DNO International said Thursday its oil operations in the north of Iraq were isolated from violence raging across the border in Turkey. The company said operations at its Tawke oil field in the Kurdish north of Iraq "continued uninterrupted during this week’s shut down of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey, given the flexibility to redirect volumes from exports to local sales." Ankara confirmed Wednesday that a section of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline, running from northern Iraq to Turkish ports, was bombed in southern Sirnak province. The pipeline has a maximum capacity of around 400,000 barrels of oil per day and the bombing comes one day after an attack on […]

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Then-NOC Director General Sameer al-Taie (background) joins then-Oil Minister Abdel Karim Luaibi (second from right) and Kirkuk province Gov. Najmaldin Karim (right) in welcoming BP CEO Bob Dudley (left) before a meeting on Nov. 6, 2013. (MARWAN IBRAHIM/AFP/Getty Images) Sameer al-Taie, the director general of the North Oil Company (NOC), has been removed from his position.Oil Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi issued the decision on July 27, which was relayed in a ministerial order from Hassib Mohammed Hadi al-Sadr, the director general of the Oil Ministry’s Administrative Department. Iraq Oil Report reviewed a copy of the order and confirmed its authenticity with two senior NOC officials."The following has been decided," the order said. "First: end the appoint… 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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Photographer: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images Iraqi’s oil exports from the south climbed to a record this month at the same time the self-ruled Kurds in the north are shipping crude independently, adding to a global supply glut as producers vie for market share. Southern oil exports, representing the central government’s shipments, rose to 3.064 million barrels a day in July and will remain at about the same level for the rest of the month, Thaer Yassin, spokesman of the state-owned South Oil Co., said by phone on Monday. Exports were 3.020 million barrels a day in June, he said. “We are increasing exports every month,” Yassin said. “The figure is a record.” Iraq, the second-largest OPEC member, is boosting shipments as a worldwide glut driven by a U.S. shale boom prompts producers to pursue strategies to defend market share. Brent crude has fallen about 50 percent from last […]

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Workers unload a box of Iraqi dinars from a truck at Sather Air Base in Baghdad on Aug. 28, 2007. (MASTER SGT. PAUL D. BISHOP/United States Marine Corps) Iraq’s federal government is transferring the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) a budget payment of 166.8 billion Iraqi dinars ($139 million*) for the month of June – the lowest monthly allocation so far this year.The reduced payment comes in response to the KRG’s decision to start withholding the vast majority of northern oil exports from federal authorities and increase its independent sales.Ahmed Abdulrahman, the spokesperson of the KRG Finance Ministry, said the money has been al… 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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BAGHDAD—Iraqi government forces recaptured Anbar University from Islamic State militant group Sunday after hours of fierce clashes, provincial officials said, as part of its push to reclaim territory across the embattled province. The university, located 3 miles south of Anbar’s provincial capital, the militant-held city of Ramadi, was under the full control of government forces, which had entered the complex early Sunday amid intense combat with the militant group. Athal al-Fahdawi, a provincial councilman, said a number of buildings in and around the university complex have been badly damaged or destroyed, but that the militants retreated. Another Anbar councilman, Faleh al-Issawi, told The Associated Press that about two dozen Islamic State fighters were killed in the clashes. He declined to provide more details. The Iraqi military launched a large-scale operation this month to retake Anbar province, in which most of the biggest cities are held by the Islamic State […]

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A worker walks at the Nahr Bin Umar field, north of Basra, southeast of Baghdad, November 16, 2014. Iraq’s southern oil exports have risen above 3.0 million barrels per day (bpd) so far in July, according to loading data and an industry source, setting shipments from OPEC’s second-largest producer on course for a monthly record. The Iraqi boost is an indication of continued high output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is focusing on keeping market share rather than curbing supply to support prices. <OPEC/O> Exports from Iraq’s southern terminals averaged 3.06 million bpd in the first 23 days of this month, up from a record 3.02 million bpd in all of June. Shipments jumped in June after Iraq’s decision to split the crude stream into two grades, Basra Heavy and Basra Light, to resolve quality issues. This has allowed some companies working at Iraqi oilfields […]

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