Category: Oil News

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Iraq seeks bids for Iraq-Jordan Oil Pipeline

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has invited bids fto build the Iraq-Jordan oil pipeline.

The first phase will be built on the Iraqi side, stretching 700 km from Rumaila to Haditha. This will have a capacity of 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd). This will be built on an engineering, procurement, construction and financing (EPCF) contract model.

The second phase, on the Jordanian side, will run 900 km from Haditha to the port of Aqaba. This section will be built on a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) model.

Bids will be accepted from qualified companies up to the end of May, with a decision to be made by the end of 2020.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Oil Exports Slightly Down in December

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced preliminary oil exports for November of 106,265,307 barrels, giving an average for the month of 3.428 million barrels per day (bpd), down from the 3.500 million bpd exported in November.

These exports from the oilfields in central and southern Iraq amounted to 103,090,550 barrels, while exports from Kirkuk amounted to 2,827,050 barrels. Exports to Jordan were 347,707 barrels.

Revenues for the month were $6.700 billion at an average price of $63.051 per barrel.

November export figures can be found here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Production Resumes at Nassiriyah Oil Field

By John Lee.

Iraq has resumed production at the Nassiriyah oil field on Monday, a day after protesters forced it to halt operations.

Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said that the roads had previously become impassable for workers to get to the field, but employees returned to work after authorities cleared away protesters.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Iraq EITI issues latest Annual Report

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Issues its latest Annual Report

Iraq Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (IEITI) issued a few days ago its latest annual report, it is about 2017 and it is the ninth since formation of IEITI. Ernst & Young (EY) was contracted to prepare the report; EY prepared IEITI annual reports for 2011, 2012 and 2016.

The report was issued as per the deadline set by EITI, and was issued a few months after EITI reinstates Iraq status as a compliant country; the suspension took effect in October 2017. Hence and as expected, the report was aimed at addressing issues that led to the suspension and also testifies the concerted efforts by Iraqi authorities, particularly IEITI to attaining that objective.

The annual report was released, for the first time, rather simultaneously in Arabic and English; both texts were posted on IEITI website. The report is long (154 pages) comprises seven section, executive summary, introduction by IEITI’ CEO and four annexes.

In preparing this review I used the English version with crosschecking the Arabic when necessary.

As I did in my reviews of all previous reports, I went thoroughly through the report and made many remarks on its methodology, findings, data, narratives as well as substantive and format maters.

To begin with, most narratives of the current report is repetition, mostly copy & paste, of 2016 report and its “Annex” that was released early 2018 except, of course, the data relating to 2017. The remarks on the current report are detailed and many; they are thematically grouped in the following categories:*

  • One: Weak quality control of data and information;
  • Two: Confused and inconsistent methodology;
  • Three: Data reconciliation;
  • Four: Data discrepancies;
  • Five: Annual comparison;
  • Six: Information and data that need re-checking and correction;
  • Seven: KRG data and information;
  • Eight: The mining sector.

Considering the finding of the review, it becomes necessary to address these findings, check the accuracy and relevance of data and information, revise the entire report and produce a new version.

* Summary of the review was written in Arabic and was circulated within my network of contacts.

Mr Jiyad is an independent development consultant, scholar and Associate with the former Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES), London. He was formerly a senior economist with the Iraq National Oil Company and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, Chief Expert for the Council of Ministers, Director at the Ministry of Trade, and International Specialist with UN organizations in Uganda, Sudan and Jordan. He is now based in Norway (Email: mou-jiya(at)online.no, Skype ID: Ahmed Mousa Jiyad). Read more of Mr Jiyad’s biography here.

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Oil Ministry Finalises Export Figures for November

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced final oil exports for November of 105,014,747 barrels, giving an average for the month of 3.500 million barrels per day (bpd), up from the 3.447 million bpd exported in October.

These exports from the oilfields in central and southern Iraq amounted to 102,005,095 barrels, while exports from Kirkuk amounted to 2,381,065 barrels, and from Qayara 293,969 barrels. Exports to Jordan were 334,618 barrels.

Revenues for the month were $6.305 billion at an average price of $60.039 per barrel.

October export figures can be found here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Cabinet to Support Projects in Health, Oil sectors

The Iraqi Cabinet held its regular weekly meeting in Baghdad on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi.

The Prime Minister told the Cabinet that the current government will continue to discharge its  duties until the formation of the next Iraqi government.

The Prime Minister then outlined some of the key achievements of this government which will be detailed in a comprehensive report to be published soon.

The Cabinet discussed several policies and approved administrative measures to support projects in the health sector, including building general hospitals in Iraqi provinces with a capacity of 400 beds each.

The Cabinet approved recommendations submitted by the Ministerial Council for Energy to allow Dhi Qar Oil Company (DQOC) to borrow 265,000,000 US dollars from the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) for the purpose of implementing a project to expand the production at Al-Nasiriyah oil field by an additional 100,000 barrels per day.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

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What is the fate of Baghdad-Erbil’s Oil-for-Budget Agreement?

By Dana Taib Menmy for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

What is the fate of Baghdad-Erbil’s oil-for-budget agreement amid ongoing protests?

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has vast proven oil and gas resources; however, mismanagement, corruption and ruling parties’ monopoly on power have brought the region to the brink of financial collapse amid longstanding controversies with the Iraqi government over the region’s share of federal budget.

Following extensive negotiations, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced Nov. 27 that a final oil-for-budget deal with the Iraqi federal government had been reached in which the KRG agreed to submit 250,000 barrels per day of crude oil to Iraqi State Oil Marketing Company in return for receiving a fair share of the country’s budget for 2020.

The KRG currently produces 500,000 barrels per day, and has been exporting most of its oil independently through Turkey since 2013.

Click here to read the full story.

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What is the fate of Baghdad-Erbil’s Oil-for-Budget Agreement?

By Dana Taib Menmy for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

What is the fate of Baghdad-Erbil’s oil-for-budget agreement amid ongoing protests?

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq has vast proven oil and gas resources; however, mismanagement, corruption and ruling parties’ monopoly on power have brought the region to the brink of financial collapse amid longstanding controversies with the Iraqi government over the region’s share of federal budget.

Following extensive negotiations, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced Nov. 27 that a final oil-for-budget deal with the Iraqi federal government had been reached in which the KRG agreed to submit 250,000 barrels per day of crude oil to Iraqi State Oil Marketing Company in return for receiving a fair share of the country’s budget for 2020.

The KRG currently produces 500,000 barrels per day, and has been exporting most of its oil independently through Turkey since 2013.

Click here to read the full story.

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Atrush Field performing “Exceptionally Well”

By John Lee.

ShaMaran Petroleum has reported that the Atrush Field continues to perform “exceptionally well“.

Average production for the month of November was 43,360 bopd. The CK-15 well is now online and wells currently are undergoing normal-course maintenance.

The Company reiterates its Atrush 2019 average daily production guidance of between 30,000 and 35,000 bopd and a target 2019 exit rate between 45,000 bopd and 50,000 bopd. The Company shares in this production, pursuant to a production sharing contract, with a working interest of 27.6%.

Since the beginning of the year, production has increased 56% and the Company has invested significantly in infrastructure to facilitate continued production growth.

The Atrush field is located 85 km northwest of Erbil and is one of the largest new oil developments in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The field was first discovered in 2011 and oil production started in July 2017. In its over two years of production the Atrush field has sold all its production to the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq at international market prices.

(Source: ShaMaran Petroleum)

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Atrush Field performing “Exceptionally Well”

By John Lee.

ShaMaran Petroleum has reported that the Atrush Field continues to perform “exceptionally well“.

Average production for the month of November was 43,360 bopd. The CK-15 well is now online and wells currently are undergoing normal-course maintenance.

The Company reiterates its Atrush 2019 average daily production guidance of between 30,000 and 35,000 bopd and a target 2019 exit rate between 45,000 bopd and 50,000 bopd. The Company shares in this production, pursuant to a production sharing contract, with a working interest of 27.6%.

Since the beginning of the year, production has increased 56% and the Company has invested significantly in infrastructure to facilitate continued production growth.

The Atrush field is located 85 km northwest of Erbil and is one of the largest new oil developments in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The field was first discovered in 2011 and oil production started in July 2017. In its over two years of production the Atrush field has sold all its production to the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq at international market prices.

(Source: ShaMaran Petroleum)