BP PLC is still providing technical assistance to Iraq’s state-owned North Oil Company on the giant Kirkuk oil field, despite moves by the Kurdistan Regional Government to exert more control Continue Reading
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi soldiers battling the Islamic State group recaptured the heart of the town of Beiji, home to the country’s largest oil refinery, state television and a military official said Tuesday. Retaking Beiji, 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, could allow Iraqi forces a base to attack neighboring Tikrit, taken by the extremists after their lightning advance this summer. It also represents a morale boost for Iraq’s beleaguered security forces, which saw many of its troops flee the militant offensive. State television quoted the top army commander in Beiji, Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, as saying troops recaptured the city’s local government and police headquarters at the center of the town. It aired what appeared to be archival footage of the town showing Iraqi army troops firing their weapons from behind sand barriers. Al-Saadi later spoke to state television by telephone but the line appeared to be cut […]
By Sarah Kent LONDON–Oil producers operating in Iraqi Kurdistan are to receive an initial payment of $75 million this month for export sales this year, the region’s Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement Friday. The news strongly boosted the shares of Kurdish-focused exploration and production companies such as Genel PLC (GENL.LN)and Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. (GKP.LN), which have come under pressure this year as a result of the Islamic insurgency buffeting Iraq’s North and an ongoing dispute over oil sales with Baghdad. The political tensions between Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government has left the KRG struggling to meet its payment obligations to companies operating there after Baghdad cut off its budget payments at the start of the year. However with the start of oil exports in January, the region is taking steps to move towards greater financial autonomy. According to the MNR, Iraqi Kurdistan […]
Improved security in Kurdish north of Iraq means oil operations are advancing, Oryx Petroleum said. UPI File/Mohammed al-Jumaily Security improvements in the Kurdish north of Iraq mean oil operations are making significant new progress, Oryx Petroleum said Friday. Oryx, which has headquarters in Canada, said it was moving forward with development plans for its Demir Dagh prospect in the Kurdish territories of northern Iraq. Located in the Hawler license area, the company said a single well at the Demir Dagh site should produce more than 5,000 barrels of oil per day. More testing and surveys of the region area are planned for early 2015. "Overall, we are very pleased that improvements in the security environment have enabled us to resume activities in a large portion of the Hawler license area," Chief Operating Officer Henry Legarre said in a statement. The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government this week deployed its Peshmerga […]
KIRKUK, Iraq — Roughly two dozen huge oil tankers are idly turning figure eights around the Mediterranean or on the high seas, loaded with oil pumped from wells in Iraqi Kurdistan but with nowhere to legally offload it. The oil fleet is a costly gamble, to the tune of millions in fees each month, by Kurdish officials who are desperately trying to sell the oil abroad, even as the Iraqi government and the United States are blocking their attempts. To Iraqi officials, the tankers are carrying contraband — oil that by law should be marketed only by the Iraqi Oil Ministry, with the profits split: 83 percent for the Baghdad government, 17 percent for the Kurdish autonomous government in the north. Fearing that Iraqi Kurdistan will use oil profits to fuel a bid for independence, the Iraqi government has threatened to sue any country or company that buys Kurdish […]
JURF AL-SAKHAR Iraq (Reuters) – After helping government forces break Islamic State’s grip over a strategic town just south of Baghdad on Saturday, Shi’ite militias decided it was time for payback. A Reuters witness saw the fighters in green camouflage uniforms scream and swear at members of the Islamist group as they kicked and struck them with rifle butts in Jurf al-Sakhar. As the angry crowd of militiamen around the unarmed militants swelled, shots rang out. The three men lay soaked in blood in the dirt with gunshot wounds to the head. "Those dogs are Chechens. They don’t deserve to stay alive. We took confessions from them and we don’t need them anymore," said one of the Shi’ite militiamen. The victory could allow Iraqi forces to prevent the Sunni insurgents from edging closer to the capital, sever connections to their strongholds in western Anbar province and stop them infiltrating […]
A U.S. soldier stands guard at the Baiji refinery in August 2010. (AYMAN OGHANNA/Iraq Oil Report) The U.S. military is significantly expanding its area of operations in Iraq, providing air support, intelligence, and on-the-ground assistance to Iraqi security forces trying to reassert control over Baiji and Anbar – two areas where they have recently suffered major setbacks.In Baiji, insurgents led by the so-called Islamic State (IS) organization have used anti-aircraft weapons to shoot down at least two Iraqi helicopters in recent weeks. Pro-government forces guarding the country’s lar… 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 .
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – In recent weeks, the world has watched the battle to save Syria’s border town of Kobani from Islamic State. But the radical jihadists have for longer been engulfing another strategically more vital target – Iraq’s western Anbar province and its road to Baghdad. The vast desert region – where Sunni tribes rose up in 2006 and 2007 to drive out al-Qaeda with the Americans – has throughout 2014 been parcelled up, city by military camp, before the Iraqi government and U.S. forces could act. Now Anbar’s largest airbase Ain al-Asad, the Haditha Dam – a critical piece of infrastructure – and surrounding towns are encircled by Islamic State to the west from the Syrian border and to the east from militant-controlled sections of Ramadi. IS has grown so strong over the last year that "they are like an octopus stuck to your face," said a Baghdad-based […]
The Bazian refinery, 20 kilometers outside Sulaimaniya, seen from on top of the LPG storage domes, June 19, 2014. (PATRICK OSGOOD/IRAQ OIL REPORT) Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is racing to expand the capacity of its oil refineries – a critical step toward addressing weaknesses in the KRG’s oil sector and economy.Kurdistan’s two major refineries, near Erbil and Sulaimaniya, process just over 15.3 million liters – 96,000 barrels – of oil a day, according to figures for January released by the region’s Ministry of Natural Resources. This is not sufficient to meet local needs for gasoline and diesel.D… 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 .
A new oil discovery in northern Iraq moves the region closer to a 1 million barrel per day production goal, a Kurdish government official said Friday. British energy company Gas Continue Reading
