Category: Iraq

Iraqi soldiers man a checkpoint in Basra, in December 2007. (ATEF HASSAN/Reuters) Published Thursday, October 9th, 2014 Recommend 951 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. Four people were kidnapped Wednesday in Basra, including an Iraqi oil worker – the latest in a series of violent incidents that have prompted provincial leaders to revise security plans.Iraq’s oil capital is far south of the territory controlled by militants of the so-called Islamic State (IS), whose war against the Iraqi state has effectively shut down the country’s northern oil sector. To counter that threat, many Basra security force regulars have been called up north, leaving something… 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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Head of Russian oil company Lukoil announces plans to visit Iraq. (Courtesy of ORBIMAGE/UPI) MOSCOW, Oct. 8 (UPI) — The head of Russian oil company Lukoil announced plans Wednesday to visit Iraq to discuss expanding operations in the country. "I will be in Baghdad on Oct. 13 to meet the oil minister," Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov said. "I hope, we will continue our talks on the expansion of our operations in Iraq." First oil was produced from West Qurna-2, 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. The company said West Qurna is producing more than 280,000 barrels of oil per day. In August, the company shipped its first batch of one million barrels from the field from the southern Iraqi port city of Basra. The shipment came as Iraq struggles […]

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U.S. targeting oil installations and command structures of the Islamic State. UPI/Carlos M. Vazquez II/U.S. Navy WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) — U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State targets in parts of northeastern Syria include strategic control structures and oil refineries, the State Department said. Militants with the group calling itself the Islamic State may be on the verge of claiming control over the strategic Turkish-Syrian border town of Kobani. U.S. airstrikes have targeted Islamic State militants in the region, though U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the "primary objective" was to prevent the group from gaining a safe haven in the area . "Our focus strategically is on command and control structures, oil refineries, and that’s where we’re taking our military action," she said during her regular press briefing Tuesday. The Sunni-led terrorist group is said to be generating about $2 million per day on pilfered oil. Iraqi leaders […]

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Shia militiamen brandish their weapons in the town of Tuz Khurmatu on Aug. 31, 2014. (STRINGER/Reuters) By Published Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 Recommend 5 people recommend this. Sign Up to see what your friends recommend. Ethnic and sectarian tensions are approaching a breaking point in the volatile northern city of Tuz Khurmatu, following an Oct. 3 gun battle between Shia militia and Kurdish fighters.The shootout, which injured at least four people, highlighted not only a rivalry between Kurds and Shia, but also the widespread mistrust and mistreatment of Sunnis. It was another worrying sign that violence and sectarianism will continue to plague Iraq even after the extremist militants of the so-called Islam… 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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Tankers loading on Iraq’s southern export terminals in the Basra Gulf, the country’s only export route. (ALI ABU IRAQ/Iraq Oil Report) Iraq’s oil exports edged upward in September, to 2.542 million barrels per day (bpd), as infrastructure bottlenecks eased slightly and production in Iraq’s southern fields continued to increase.Rising production and exports in Basra have partially compensated for major losses in the north. Since March, Iraq’s export pipeline to Turkey has been offline due to constant sabotage and violence; and since June, militants led by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group have conquered territory throug… 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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Most of the oil companies working regionally are back in full swing, Kurdish government says. UPI/Mohammed al Jumaily ERBIL, Iraq, Oct. 2 (UPI) — Most of the international oil companies working in the Kurdish north of Iraq are back to normal operations, the semiautonomous Kurdish government said. The influx of militants with the group calling itself the Islamic State prompted some oil and natural gas companies working in northern Iraq to pull staff from the region as a security precaution. The Peshmerga, a Kurdish military force, has been able to keep the northern region relatively secured and some companies have returned to service . "Kurdistan’s oil and gas infrastructure remains unaffected by the operations against terrorists," the Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources said in a Wednesday statement. "All security forces are aware of oil and gas assets and are committed to continuing to protect them." British energy company Gulf […]

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Turkey must stop Islamic State’s onslaught of Kobani, a Kurdish stronghold across its border in Syria, to prevent the peace process with its Kurdish population from collapsing, imprisoned Kurdish leader said. Islamic State tanks backed by mortars captured the final village on the outskirts of Kobani, Ibrahim Ayhan, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party, said yesterday. As Turkey’s government sought parliamentary approval to join the fight, Kurdish forces stopped the militants from entering the city in fiercest clashes so far, pro-Kurdish Firat news agency reported today. “I am calling on those in Turkey who don’t want to see the process collapse to shoulder responsibility,” Ocalan said in a statement delivered by Kurdish lawmakers in Turkey. “The reality of Kobani and the peace process are not separable.” The militants have besieged Kobani for more than two weeks, forcing tens of thousands of Kurds to flee to Syria’s northern […]

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Iraq ’s Kurds are boosting crude output threefold by the end of next year and plan soon to resume talks with the new central government, signaling that a battlefield partnership against insurgents is helping mend ties. The Kurds will increase production to 1 million barrels a day by the end of 2015 from a current level of 320,000, said Sherko Jawdat, head of the natural resources committee in the Kurdish region’s parliament. Output will rise to 500,000 barrels a day by year-end, he said in an interview in Erbil, the seat of the Kurdistan Regional Government. Exports are currently 200,000 barrels a day, Jawdat said, without providing a forecast. Putting aside their differences, Kurdish forces have fought alongside the Iraqi army to repel the advance of Islamic State, the militant group that has seized swathes of OPEC’s second-biggest producer since June. The Kurds’ efforts to export their own crude […]

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All staff back at work in northern Kurdish region of Iraq, Gulf Keystone Petroleum declared. UPI/Mohammed al Jumaily LONDON, Oct. 1 (UPI) — Staffing levels in the northern Kurdish region of war-torn Iraq are back at normal levels, Gulf Keystone Petroleum announced Wednesday. Militants with the group calling itself the Islamic State have taken over parts of northwestern Iraq and northeastern Syria. The rise of the group earlier this year prompted oil companies operating in the region to pull non-essential staff from Iraq as a security precaution . Gulf Keystone, which has headquarters in London, said staffing levels in the Kurdish north of Iraq have been at normal levels since the beginning of September. "With all personnel now back in country, we are making good progress and look forward to reaching our target of 40,000 gross barrels of oil per day," John Gerstenlauer, Gulf Keystone’s chief executive officer said. […]

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