Category: Iraq

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes initial steps in resolving simmering Iraqi oil row. UPI/Ismael Mohamad ERBIL, Iraq, Nov. 14 (UPI) — An interim agreement to settle internal oil issues in Iraq was met with widespread praise, though the Kurdish government said it wasn’t ceding control. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki -moon congratulated the Iraqi central and semiautonomous Kurdish governments for finding an interim solution to oil budget and export stalemates brewing for roughly a decade. Federal and regional authorities are called on "to build on this important first step and to solve all remaining outstanding issues within the framework of the constitution," he said in a Thursday statement. A constitution implemented in 2006 says the federal State Oil Marketing Organization has exclusive control over petroleum exports, with the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government taking 17 percent of all oil revenues. There are disagreements, however, over what level of control KRG […]

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Iraqi Oil Minister Adil Abdulmahdi (left), KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani (center), and KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani (right), in Erbil on Nov. 13, reach a deal on restarting revenue sharing payments and exports. (Source: Kurdistan Regional Government) of Iraq Oil Report Recommend 1,039 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. Leaders from Baghdad and Erbil announced an agreement Thursday that could lead to negotiations over intractable disputes concerning oil, money, and territory. Iraq’s central government will send $500 million to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and the Kurdish side will transfer 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil to the central government. "We feel this is the first step toward a lasting agreement. Want to start simply," said Qubad Talabani, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you […]

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A rig at the Miran field site. (Source: Genel Energy) The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has reached a landmark gas development deal with its largest independent oil operator, Anglo-Turkish Genel Energy, which should allow the region to meet its massive commitments to feed Turkey’s growing energy demand.The deal doesn’t set a price for natural gas, which other companies were eager to see. Instead, the KRG and Genel negotiated a new contract, governing both the Miran and Bina Bawi fields, which ties the company’s commercial interests to the… 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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The governments of Iraq and its semiautonomous region of Kurdistan reached an interim accord to ease long-standing tensions over Kurdish oil exports, both sides said on Thursday.  The deal marks Continue Reading

Iraq ’s Kurds announced a partial agreement on oil exports with the country’s federal government, in which the semi-autonomous region’s oil will be exchanged for revenues from the administration in Baghdad. The Kurdistan Regional Government placed 150,000 barrels a day of crude at the disposal of the central government, according to a statement on the KRG’s website today. In return, the Federal government will transfer $500 million to the KRG. Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani will lead a delegation to Baghdad in the coming days for further talks, it said. “We hope that the next meeting will bring positive results to both sides,” Safeen Dizayee, a Kurdistan government spokesman, said by phone. The oil “will be made available to Baghdad and as far as sale, marketing and how the funds will be handled will be Baghdad’s responsibility.” The Kurds’ efforts to sell crude separately from the central government have […]

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Iraqi Kurdistan is gaining financial independence from Baghdad as it exports enough oil to pay its own way. The Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, is shipping directly to Turkey in defiance of the central government, which started withholding its share of state revenue in January in retaliation. Despite that, growing export earnings mean the Kurds last week promised regular payments to producers including Genel Energy Plc (GENL) and Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (GKP) , providing a boost to the local oil industry. “We now have demonstrable evidence that exports from the KRG through Ceyhan is creating a sales channel, which is robust and working well for all parties,” Genel’s Chief Financial Officer Julian Metherell said over the phone today, referring to the Turkish port where Kurdish oil is loaded onto tankers. “We’ve now had almost 30 cargoes sold and that money is being repatriated to the KRG and is […]

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Iraq ’s semi-autonomous Kurdish government approved plans to create an oil exploration and production company separate from the central government and a sovereign wealth fund to take in all energy revenue. A bill to create the company for oil exploration and production, with shares to be sold to the public, was approved by the cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvian Barzani said in a statement yesterday. A separate initiative approved by the cabinet would create a Kurdish fund for oil and gas revenue. Both draft laws need to be approved by the KRG’s parliament. The KRG, which started crude oil exports by pipeline through Turkey this year, wants to control sales of oil pumped from fields in the Kurdish region in the north of Iraq to boost its financial independence from the central government in Baghdad . The Kurdish region holds 45 billion barrels of […]

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A worker walks on an oil pipeline at the Khurmala Dome formation of the Kirkuk oil field on Dec. 13, 2013. (STRINGER/Reuters) Recommend 1,591 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is now exporting oil from fields it recently seized from federal authorities – a step that takes Kurdistan much closer to economic independence and farther away from political reconciliation with Baghdad.The KRG is pumping about 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) from two areas formerly controlled by the federal Oil Ministry’s North Oil Company (NOC) – the Avana Dome, which is one of the formations of the Kirkuk oil field, and the Bai Hassan … 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 (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed eight people including six soldiers on Tuesday in the northern Iraqi city of Baiji where government forces are trying to reassert control to break an Islamic State siege of the country’s largest refinery nearby. The bomber targeted a crowd gathering around soldiers who had retaken parts of the city center, Baiji Mayor Mohammed Mahmoud told Reuters. Security officials said two civilians and six soldiers were killed. Islamic State insurgents seized much of northern Iraq five months ago in an offensive in which they took Baiji and surrounded the oil refinery, halting production and besieging a detachment of government troops there. U.S. air strikes have slowed down the radical Sunni Muslim insurgents and enabled Iraqi security forces to make some gains. Iraqi security forces have used helicopters to attack Islamic State fighters ringing the refinery. Months of operations have failed to rescue comrades […]

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