Category: Iraq

Russian energy company Lukoil said it was including pipeline construction in the terms of its contract for the West Qurna-2 oil field in Iraq. Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov met in Baghdad with Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi to sign contract revisions. The addendum for the so-called Tuba-Fao pipeline system calls for the construction of two 75-mile long pipelines and associated infrastructure. The system will link the oil field to an export terminal in Basra, situated along the coast of the Persian Gulf. "The construction of the Tuba-Fao Pipeline will provide for a direct connection between the West Qurna-2 field and the country’s largest export terminal, creating opportunities for further production growth from the field," Alekperov said in a statement Thursday. First oil was produced from West Qurna-2 in March. It has since reached a daily production reach of 120,000 barrels and has an estimated 34 billion barrels worth […]

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Iraqi helicopters bombed the city of Samarra after insurgents overran parts of it early on Thursday, bringing them within striking distance of a Shi’ite shrine the destruction of which in a 2006 attack unleashed a bitter sectarian war. The offensive is part of an escalating conflict between Iraq’s Shi’ite Muslim-led government and Sunni Islamist militants who have been regaining momentum in the past year, particularly in the west of the country bordering Syria. The Iraqi army and SWAT forces had regained control in Samarra, killing dozens of insurgents and forcing the rest to retreat from the city after they moved in overnight, the Samarra Operations Command said. Militants advanced on Samarra in pick-up trucks, raiding checkpoints along the way and blowing up a police station in an attack that killed several policemen, security sources said. After entering the city from the east and west, they […]

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Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani denied that Kurdish oil exports were a prelude to seeking independence from Iraq, saying Erbil only wanted to ensure it receives the revenues promised to it under the constitution. In a speech to the Kurdistan parliament on Wednesday, Barzani blamed Baghdad for a current row over independent oil exports by Erbil, saying that many problems could have been avoided if the central government had reached an agreement on sharing the revenues from oil sales. “We don’t see this (oil exports) as a way for the independence of Kurdistan. Indeed it is not so!” declared Barzani, who is officially prime minister of a caretaker government until a new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is announced. “We want to implement our constitutional rights within Iraq,” he said, answering questions from […]

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Incumbent prime minister claims to have secured a majority to form government Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki casting his vote at a polling station in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone on April 30, 2014. (AFP Photo/Ali Al-Saadi) Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat —Rival Shi’ite political blocs have reiterated their strong opposition to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s bid for a third term in office, amid claims by each side that they secured the majority required to form a government. The National Alliance—comprised of the leading Shi’ite forces, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), the Sadrist Movement, the National Congress and the Reform Trend—has urged the State of Law coalition to withdraw the nomination of its leader, Nuri Al-Maliki, to head the new government, according to a statement read out by the coalition’s spokesman, Ibrahim Bahr Al-Ulloum, following a meeting by coalition leaders in Baghdad two days ago. Maliki’s coalition came first […]

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Iraqi helicopters bombed the city of Samarra after insurgents overran parts of it early on Thursday, bringing them within striking distance of a Shi’ite shrine the destruction of which in a 2006 attack unleashed a bitter sectarian war. The offensive is part of an escalating conflict between Iraq’s Shi’ite Muslim-led government and Sunni Islamist militants who have been regaining momentum in the past year, particularly in the west of the country bordering Syria. The Iraqi army and SWAT forces had regained control in Samarra, killing dozens of insurgents and forcing the rest to retreat from the city after they moved in overnight, the Samarra Operations Command said. Militants advanced on Samarra in pick-up trucks, raiding checkpoints along the way and blowing up a police station in an attack that killed several policemen, security sources said. After entering the city from the east and west, they […]

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The Iraqi central government in Baghdad aims to control the issue of oil "completely," the prime minister of the semiautonomous Kurdish government said. The United Leadership , a crude oil tanker, is parked off the coast of Morocco with more than 1 million barrels of Kurdish oil taken last month from a Turkish sea port. The Kurdish and central governments are at odds over who controls what in terms of oil. Baghdad said the export is a violation of the national constitution, though the Kurdistan Regional Government contests the allegation. KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told Kurdish lawmakers who controls Iraq’s oil is the "big question" in the country. "[Our] counterparts in Baghdad did not identify ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ KRG actions," he said in remarks published Thursday. "They just wanted to control the issue completely." The central government in Baghdad filed a case at an international […]

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A wave of attacks across Iraq, including a twin car bombing in the country’s north, killed at least 20 people, officials said.  Wednesday’s violence, which struck in and around Baghdad, as well as in Salaheddin and Kirkuk provinces also wounded at least 50 people. No group immediately claimed responsibilty for the attacks, but Sunni fighters have frequently detonated bombs in the disputed northern territory.  Two people were killed when a suicide bomber set off a truck bomb in Suleiman Bek, while a corpse booby-trapped with explosives killed a policeman in nearby Tuz Khurmatu. Both towns, like Kirkuk, lie in the disputed territory, which stretches from Iraq’s border with Iran to its frontier with Syria. In the adjoining province of Salaheddin, two separate bombings left a policeman and a soldier dead. And in Baghdad, a car bomb killed four people in a shopping area of the Sunni-majority northern neighbourhood of Saba […]

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Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ’s call on May 28 for holding a conference to resolve the Anbar crisis did not come as a surprise. However, the residents of Anbar felt that this call came late. In his weekly speech , Maliki called on “Anbar tribes and all those who confronted al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) militants to attend an expanded conference that achieves national unity far from disputes.” “I call on all people and tribes, who find enough will, awareness and ability in their hearts to support those who carried arms, issued fatwas to fight al-Qaeda, and joined the army and police, to hold an expanded conference as soon as possible. The conference will aim at declaring national unity in Anbar, to get rid of al-Qaeda. I hope that we will not bring up the disputes, although we respect them and we will work […]

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A tug boat maneuvers near an oil tanker at the Al-Basra Oil Terminal. (BEN LANDO/Iraq Oil Report/Metrography) Oil exports increased by an average of 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May over April, with a third single point mooring (SPM) buoy put into action and a new platform metering crude in the Basra Gulf. The average 2.58 million bpd of exports was a massive jump from the previous month, which itself was revised upward after the final data were calculated. It is an important milestone in a country that is solely dependent on oil revenue, especially as the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) remained ou… 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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A street in the al-Jdeida ("New Baghdad") area of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital Source: All images by Dylan Roberts A young boy cooks the head and limbs of a sheep with a blowtorch. Many children in this area sell bits of sheep in the market Young boys in al-Jdeida wake up find rain has flooded their football pitch. The area’s drainage system is poor Large piles of rubbish are a common sight in al-Jdeida An Iraqi man shops in the market A man who lost his limbs begs in the middle of the street as cars pass by A football pitch now occupies the area where a statue of Saddam Hussein once stood. This is one of few grassy areas where children can play Smoke rises after a car bomb. Such attacks often happen during rush hours in the mornings and late afternoons A woman with health problems sits […]

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