Cursor International executes projects and collaboration activities across several industries.
By John Lee.
Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has reportedly notified clients that it plans to launch a third crude oil export grade in January.
Sources told Reuters that the ‘Basra Medium’ grade will be created by splitting the existing Basra Light production into two grades.
Click here to read the full article.
(Source: Reuters)
The post Iraq “to launch new Basra Medium Crude” first appeared on Iraq Business News.
Genel Energy has issued the following trading and operations update in respect of the third quarter and first nine months of 2020.
Bill Higgs (pictured), Chief Executive of Genel, said:
“Genel continues to demonstrate its resilience and ability to be move quickly to navigate changing external conditions. Production has remained robust, increasing quarter on quarter, and first oil at Sarta is also now imminent. Once production from these initial wells has stabilised we expect it to increase our production by over 10%, with potentially far more to come as we appraise what could be the largest field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“Following the successful completion of our recent refinancing, we have the liquidity to fund the rapid development of Sarta in the case of appraisal success in 2021. Genel’s financial strength and disciplined capital allocation means it is well placed to pursue opportunities for value accretive growth and provide returns to shareholders.“
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
REFINANCING AND FINANCIAL STRATEGY
OPERATING PERFORMANCE
| (bopd) | Gross production
Q3 2020 |
Net production
Q3 2020 |
| Tawke | 56,880 | 14,220 |
| Peshkabir | 56,860 | 14,210 |
| Taq Taq | 8,580 | 3,780 |
| Total | 122,320 | 32,210 |
PRODUCTION ASSETS
PRE-PRODUCTION ASSETS
ESG
OUTLOOK
(Source: Genel Energy)
The post Genel Energy issues Trading and Ops Update first appeared on Iraq Business News.
The Prime Minister of Iraq, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, and Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail, received a delegation from LUKOIL on Monday, headed by its President Vagit Alekperov (pictured).
The meeting was also attended by the Russian Ambassador Maxim Maximov.
The parties discussed the progress of the West Qurna-2 project and Eridu field (Block-10), as well as prospects for cooperation in other areas in Iraq.
Prime Minister praised LUKOIL’s operations in the Republic and spoke in favor of expanding cooperation and coordination between LUKOIL and the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
(Source: Lukoil)
The post Lukoil and Iraqi PM discuss Cooperation first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By John Lee.
Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced initial oil exports for September of 89,153,899 barrels, giving an average for the month of 2.876 million barrels per day (bpd), up from the 2.613 million bpd exported in September.
These exports from the oilfields in central and southern Iraq amounted to approximately 86,000,000 barrels, while exports from Kirkuk amounted to 2,867,637 barrels. Exports to Jordan were 263,058 barrels.
Revenues for the month were $3.431 billion at an average price of $38.48 per barrel.
September‘s export figures can be found here.
(Source: Ministry of Oil)
The post Iraq Increases Oil Exports in Oct first appeared on Iraq Business News.
DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today reported boosting Kurdistan output to 113,700 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in the third quarter, reversing declines triggered by oil market convulsions in the wake of Covid-19.
Production from the DNO-operated Tawke and Peshkabir fields was up 12 percent from the prior quarter following a campaign of quick turnaround, low cost well interventions and the startup of the Kurdistan region of Iraq’s first enhanced oil recovery project.
Both fields have outperformed expectations and DNO projects replacement of a significant share of its reserves produced this year in Kurdistan, even as the Company scaled back drilling of new wells to meet a one-third budget reduction in response to lower oil prices and a four-month payment hiatus in Kurdistan.
The Peshkabir-to-Tawke gas capture and reinjection project, in operation since mid-year, is continuing to cut gas flaring and greenhouse emissions by half at Peshkabir to 7 kilograms CO2 equivalent for each barrel of oil equivalent produced, while unlocking additional oil at Tawke. To date, two billion cubic feet of otherwise flared gas have been reinjected with positive reservoir response, adding up to 5,000 bopd.
“Starting in June, our Kurdistan teams took up the challenge of doing more with less, launching creative solutions they called Operation Throttle-Up and Operation Afterburner, which delivered the stellar operational results we report today,” said Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, DNO’s Executive Chairman. “Once again, at DNO the oil we produce is conventional; how we do it is not.”
Across the portfolio, third quarter 2020 Company Working Interest (CWI) production increased nine percent from the second quarter to 97,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), of which Kurdistan contributed 80,200 bopd and the North Sea 17,700 boepd.
DNO expects to exit the year with Kurdistan and North Sea production at third quarter levels.
Revenues more than doubled to USD 163 million in the third quarter on the back of improved oil prices and higher cargo liftings of previously produced oil in the North Sea. EBITDA climbed to USD 76 million in the third quarter up from USD 13 million in the previous quarter on higher revenues.
However, North Sea non-cash impairments of USD 202 million pre-tax (USD 118 million post-tax) related principally to the South East Tor and Iris/Hades assets led to an operating loss of USD 208 million.
In July 2020, the Company completed the drilling of Zartik-1, the third exploration well on the Baeshiqa license on a separate structure around 15 kilometers southeast of the Baeshiqa-2 discovery well. Testing of the Zartik-1 Upper Jurassic reservoirs continued through the third quarter. Evaluation of the results of the previously reported discoveries in the Baeshiqa-2 well is ongoing to determine commerciality.
Temporary Norwegian petroleum tax incentives are driving investment plans, with the Company maturing development options for the Brasse field (2021 PDO) and evaluating the Iris/Hades, Fogelberg and Trym South discoveries (2022 PDOs). Appraisal of the Bergknapp discovery (DNO 30 percent), among Norway’s largest discoveries this year, is scheduled for 2021.
Two exploration wells are scheduled in the fourth quarter with Polmak already drilling in the Barents Sea (DNO 20 percent) and Røver Nord to spud shortly in the Northern North Sea (DNO 20 percent). These wells will be followed by an active exploration program in 2021 including wildcat wells at Gomez in the Southern North Sea (DNO 85 percent) and Edinburgh cross-border (UK-Norway) in the North Sea (DNO 45 percent).
Following the latest UK licensing round, DNO was awarded four licenses (two operated) all with previous discoveries.
(Source: DNO)
The post DNO boosts Kurdistan Oil Output in Q3 first appeared on Iraq Business News.
Conference highlights importance of achieving SDGs to recover from COVID-19 pandemic
The challenges and opportunities of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the context of COVID-19 was the focus of a two-day conference organized by the Ministry of Planning in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq.
Held on the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the SDGs, the conference provided an opportunity for dialogue among development partners from ministries, civil society organizations, universities, the private sector, and youth groups to work together, exchange ideas, and identify opportunities for Iraq to progress on the ambitious SDG agenda.
Globally, COVID-19 has caused a crisis with far reaching impact on economic and human development. Iraq Is not an exception, and the country has been impacted by the ‘dual crisis’ of COVID-19 and the decline in oil prices.
These shocks are more likely to have a more severe effect on marginalized groups, including women, the elderly, people with disabilities, minorities, displaced people, and people living in informal settlements. This makes it imperative to remember what the 2030 Agenda called for, to leave no one behind.
With only ten years remaining to achieve the ambitious agenda, the SDGs are more important today than ever before as they aim to transform systems that undermine well-being and perpetuate vulnerabilities.
Resident Representative of UNDP Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad, said:
“The past few months have given us an opportunity, in partnership with the esteemed Ministry of Planning and our partners in other sectors, to rethink what a ‘new normal’ would look like post the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We should collectively work hard to support the achievement of the SDGs in Iraq and prevent any regression in the development gains that have been achieved over the past years.”
(Source: UN)
The post Achieving SDGs to Recover from COVID in Iraq first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.
Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Recent Data Draws Bleak Prospect for Iraq Next Year
The Iraqi economy has been in a bad shape and, in the short term, it is going to get worse; nothing new about this and there is almost a consensus about it despite differences in the cited material’ verifiable evidence, manifestations and root-causes for such a degenerating situation.
A “multi-whammy” combination, or association, of effective impacting factors and circumstances played their part in what the country has been and is facing. These include political instability and divisions; fragile security conditions; vulnerability of high-dependency economic structure; bad and inefficient management and decision making; kleptocracy governance coupled with hyper corruption, particularly the formalized and institutionalized; and impacting external intrusion, among others.
Data and information on these factors and circumstances are massive, and hardly any day passes without adding new items to the long list of cases and examples reported by the media, formal entities, experts and legal authorities; the apparent outcome of all that is a severely deteriorated economy of Iraq.
Data I compiled from a recent IMF report regarding main macroeconomic indicators are presented in the table, which you can view in this pdf. The table provides the progression of 26 macroeconomic indicators over the last two decades using three different sets of data: the first is the average, of a long and rather up-normal period 2000-2016; the second, annual data for each of the last three years 2017:2019, and the third are projections for 2020 and 2021.
The focus in this brief contribution is on the prospects for the economy in this and next year, in comparison with the last three years.
Click here to download the full report in pdf format.
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.
The post Recent Data Draws Bleak Prospect for Iraq Next Year first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By Padraig O’Hannelly.
A major petroleum conference has heard expert advice on the steps Iraq should take to increase its prosperity and wellbeing.
Addressing delegates at CWC/GFEn‘s Iraq Petroleum conference, held online this week for the first time, Anne-Laure Kiechel, Founding Partner at Global Sovereign Advisory, stressed the importance of fighting illegality in Iraq. She added that the counry needs a well-functioning sovereign wealth fund to preserve the counry’s assets for the benefit of future generations.
Dr Carole Nakhle, Chief Executive Officer at Crystol Energy, emphasised the need to break the link between the economic reforms agenda and oil prices.
Meanwhile, Salem Chalabi, the newly-appointed Chairman and President of the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI), focussed on the requirement to make long-lasting changes and regulatory reforms (and in particular, reform of the levels of salaries and pensions) before declaring that Iraq is open for business.
The post Three Experts offer advice to Iraq first appeared on Iraq Business News.
From the Iraq Energy Institute (IEI). Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
For Q3 2020, our first non-oil economy part examines Iraq’s current challenges and economic potential at the macro and micro level. With the oil economy review, there two reports provide a detailed overview of developments in oil and gas, agriculture, industry, electricity and health, looking at Iraq’s key vulnerabilities amid the COVID-19 crisis and where Iraq has received substantial international assistance.
Here we examine Iraq’s current policy options, however limited, and prospects for stabilisation, in light of the new white paper on economic reform presented by the Iraqi cabinet on 13 October.
Additionally, we look at Iraq’s continuing policy of trying to balance regional relations during a time of renewed proxy conflict, the regionally shared challenge of collapsed oil prices and the global pandemic.
Iraq’s policy of regional outreach is finally starting to show positive results but remains vulnerable to the rapidly shifting geopolitics of the region. Arising from Baghdad’s regional posture, we examine some of the most interesting developments, particularly in the energy sector.
Click here to read the full story.
The post Iraq Insider: Q3 2020 Non-Oil Economy Review first appeared on Iraq Business News.
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Pollution in southern Iraq is being blamed for killing thousands of fish.
Locals say the government has allowed sewage to poison the livelihoods of fishermen.
Al Jazeera’s Simona Foltyn reports from Karbala province:
The post Video: Pollution blamed for Killing Fish in Iraq first appeared on Iraq Business News.