Category: Iraq

A view of the Kalak refinery, outside of Erbil, as it undergoes an expansion on July 14, 2014. (SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images) of Iraq Oil Report Recommend 3 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has started lifting large volumes of crude from a Kirkuk oil field, a bold step likely to exacerbate their dispute with the Kirkuk provincial administration and the government in Baghdad about who rightfully controls Iraq’s oil exports.Production stations at the Avana dome, one of three comprising the massive Kirkuk field, are “producing oil which is pumped to southern Bai Hassan station and then to Sarlo station for treatment. … Then it is pump… 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 .

Click here to view full article at www.iraqoilreport.com

Iraqi oil minister greets Kurdish leader in Baghdad office to discuss oil sector legislation. (UPI/Shutterstock/ekina) Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi hosted Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Rowsch Nuri Shaways in his Baghdad offices to discuss bilateral ties and laws relating to the oil and natural gas sector. Shaways is a member of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party. The oil minister’s office said both sides agreed on solving any issues related to oil sales according to the terms of the Iraqi constitution. The minister said he would increase efforts to find "positive" and "sober plans" to overcome obstacles in the national oil sector, his office said Thursday. 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 has over […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

Baghdad plays host to head of Russian oil company Lukoil. UPI/Maryam Rahmanian BAGHDAD, Oct. 15 (UPI) — Conditions are right to move ahead with further development of the West Qurna oil field in Iraq, the director of Russia’s Lukoil said Wednesday from Baghdad. Iraqi Oil Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi hosted Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov at his Baghdad office to discuss commitments to raise output from the West Qurna field . First oil was produced from West Qurna, located in southern Iraq, in March. Lukoil, Russia’s largest private oil company, signed a contract revision in June to build two 75-mile pipelines and associated infrastructure. Lukoil said West Qurna is producing more than 280,000 barrels of oil per day. The Oil Ministry said production could hit the 400,000 bpd mark by the beginning of next year. Alekperov said that, so far, his company has invested $6 billion dollars on operations in […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

Swedish energy company DNO says it plans to export more oil to Turkey from Kurdish north of Iraq. (File/UPI/Maryam Rahmanian) OSLO, Norway, Oct. 15 (UPI) — A new 24-inch oil pipeline from the Kurdish north of Iraq will facilitate exports through Turkey by the end of the year, DNO International said Wednesday. Swedish energy company DNO, one of the premier operators in the Kurdish north of Iraq, said it was exporting an average 90,000 barrels of oil per day from its Tawke field in the region to Turkey. Installation of a new 24-inch pipeline from the Tawke field is slated for completion by the end of the year. "The new pipeline will increase export capacity and provide transportation system redundancy," the company said. "Other upgrades to infrastructure and facilities to increase production and processing capacity at the Tawke field are progressing as planned." Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish government […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

BAGHDAD — As his country’s security forces struggle to push back the jihadist insurgents of the Islamic State, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq , only a month in office, has been battling foes even closer to home: critics within his own party and the Shiite bloc it leads. Among those nettling Mr. Abadi, several politicians said, is his predecessor, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki , who reluctantly agreed to cede the top post under pressure from the United States, Iran and the top Shiite clerics. The political feuding threatens to undermine the Iraqi government at the moment it is trying to marshal resistance against the Islamic State, not to mention deal with a long list of other domestic crises, including a moribund economy, rampant government corruption and threats of Kurdish secession, Iraqi and international officials said. “Abadi may very well be the last leader for Iraq capable of reuniting the […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

BAGHDAD (AP) — Amnesty International says Iraq’s Shiite militias have abducted and killed "scores" of Sunni civilians in retaliation for the onslaught of the Sunni militant Islamic State group. The rights watchdog says these attacks are supported by Iraq’s government, and that the Shiites are not prosecuted for their crimes. Amnesty’s senior adviser Donatella Rovera is accusing the Shiite-led government in Baghdad of "sanctioning war crimes and fueling a dangerous cycle of sectarian violence that is tearing the country apart." Amnesty says the fate of many of the Sunni abductees remains unknown and that some captives have been killed even after their families paid ransoms of $80,000 and more. The accusations, based on interviews with families and survivors, came in a new Amnesty report released Tuesday, entitled "Absolute Impunity: Militia Rule in Iraq."

Click here to view full article at hosted.ap.org

Iraq calls on U.S. companies to stay invested in nation’s oil sector. (Michael Kleinfeld/UPI) Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi met U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones in Baghdad to discuss progress in the Iraqi oil sector . The oil minister’s office said Sunday he stressed that U.S. energy companies need to stay invested in Iraq, especially in the oil sector. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said member state Iraq produced 3.16 million barrels of oil per day in September, up 4.4 percent from the previous month. Much of Iraq’s oil sector has been spared from violence from the insurgency waged by the Sunni-led group calling itself the Islamic State. Most of the export terminals in Iraq are in the south of the country, far away from the territory controlled by the terrorist group. U.S. officials, meanwhile, have stayed in Baghdad’s corner in a spat with the semiautonomous […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com

Former Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari is slated to head Iraq’s Finance Ministry. (THAIER AL-SUDANI/Reuters) Kurdish political leaders agreed Monday to participate in Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s government, abandoning their determination to extract key policy demands before taking up posts in the federal Cabinet.Hoshyar Zebari, formerly Iraq’s Foreign Minister, will head the Ministry of Finance; Rowsch Shaways will continue to serve as one of three deputy prime ministers; and Fryad Rawanduzi will lead the Ministry of Culture. Three other ministries have been earmarked for other Kurdish p… 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 .

Click here to view full article at www.iraqoilreport.com

WASHINGTON — Fighters for the Islamic State were managing to blend in with disenfranchised Sunni populations in some Iraqi towns and villages near the capital, raising the chances of militant attacks against targets in Baghdad, President Obama’s top military adviser said on Sunday. “I have no doubt there will be days when they use indirect fire into Baghdad,” the adviser, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey , said in an interview with “This Week” on ABC. Indirect fire refers to the use of mortar, rockets or artillery. General Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said American military officers still think that an outright assault on Baghdad remains unlikely, but that strikes from a distance by militants infiltrating areas near the capital could greatly heighten the sense of insecurity in Iraq’s most important city. Iraqi and American officials believe the Islamic State has already carried out some car-bomb and […]

Click here to view full article at www.nytimes.com

U.S. views IS oil installations as part of key strategic objective. UPI/Russ Scalf/USAF WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) — Disrupting the ability of the group calling itself the Islamic State to raise funds through oil revenue is a key U.S. military objective, an official said. U.S. Central Command said this week a series of airstrikes were carried out against the group variably known as the Islamic State of Iraqi and the Levant. Strikes inside Iraq and Syria were carried out with the support of Middle East and European allies. Jen Psaki , a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, said there are targets outside the strategic border town of Kobani that require military attention. "The transfer of oil or the ability of ISIL to gain funding and increased strength from oil revenues is of great concern," she said during a Wednesday press briefing. "That’s one of the reasons why we’ve […]

Click here to view full article at www.upi.com