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Agility Center of Excellence Opens in Rumaila

Agility has opened a state-of the-art training facility, known as the Center of Excellence, at the Rumaila Energy Park in southern Iraq.

In partnership with Strategic Analytics Team (SAT), the Center of Excellence offers training courses for the local workforce in the oil and gas industry, led by internationally accredited trainers.

Training covers a wide variety of topics, including health and safety, lifting and hoisting, defensive driving and logistics solutions. With SAT’s expertise in the field of operational logistics, courses will meet international oil and gas industry standards and focus on developing accredited local content, while enhancing the capabilities of Iraq-based contractors.

The Rumaila Energy Park is a one million-square meter, fully serviced industrial park developed by Agility Real Estate to provide a one-stop-shop for companies operating in southern Iraq. The park includes warehouse facilities, workshops, lay-down yards and offices. It is strategically close to the region’s major oil and gas subcontractors.

The inauguration was attended by representatives from oil and gas companies and academic institutions, as well as Iraqi government officials.

Colin Hindley, CEO, Agility Iraq, said:

“The Center of Excellence is part of Agility’s ongoing commitment to building Iraq’s infrastructure and human capital. We are strongly committed to building local capacity in our areas of operations, and this new center is part of this strategy.”

Paul Jorgensen, Senior Partner, Strategic Analytics Team, said:

“Our partnership with Agility makes the Center of Excellence the first of its type in the Gulf region. At SAT, we take pride in our knowledge and skills in the logistics business, and we are in a unique position to impart the same to aspiring professionals seeking further development.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for both SAT and Agility. With a fully developed culture of learning in an open environment that enables access to the latest information and technological innovations, we want the Center of Excellence to become the go-to resource for both logistics companies and students.”

Agility Iraq has offices in Basra, Baghdad, and Erbil, serving international airports and the ports of Umm Qasr and Khor Al Zubair.

Agility’s operations include freight forwarding (air, ocean, road), cross-border trucking, customs clearance, project logistics, open yard/warehousing distribution, approved HSSE training and route surveys. All of Agility’s operations in Iraq are ISO 9001, ISO 14000, OHSAS 18001-certified.

(Source: Agility)

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Petronas may Exit Majnoon Oil Field

By John Lee.

Malaysia’s Petronas has reportedly decided to withdraw from its 30-percent participating interest in Iraq’s giant Majnoon oil field.

According to Bloomberg, the decision came as the company considers the returns to be too low. It is expected to hire advisers to help find an interested party to take up the holding.

Shell is also said to be trying to sell its 45-percent stake in the field, following a failure to reach agreement with Iraq’s Ministry of Oil. Both Chevron and Total have expressed interest in the project.

Petronas is currently involved in Iraq’s Badra, Garraf, Halfaya, and Majnoon.

(Source: Bloomberg)

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KRG Makes Payments for July Oil Exports

Genel Energy has announced that the Taq Taq field partners have received a gross payment of $10.39 million from the Kurdistan Regional Government for oil sales during July 2017.

Genel’s net share of the payment is $5.71 million.

Gross oil sales from the Taq Taq field in July 2017 averaged 14,873 bopd, including both exports and Bazian refinery deliveries.

DNO ASA, as operator of the Tawke field, has also announced that the Tawke field partners have received a payment of $39.50 million from the Kurdistan Regional Government as payment towards July 2017 crude oil deliveries to the export market from the Tawke licence. The funds will be shared pro-rata by DNO and Genel.

(Source: Genel Energy)

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IBBC Autumn Conference 2017: ‘Together We Build Iraq’

IBBC Autumn Conference 2017: ‘Together We Build Iraq’
12 November 2017, The Address Dubai Marina, Dubai

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) is pleased to invite you to the IBBC Autumn Conference at The Address Hotel Dubai Marina, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday 12 November 2017.

This years’ event follows IBBC’s successful inaugural conference of 2016 held in the UAE, a hub for global and regional companies that operate in the Middle East.

The theme of this year’s Autumn Conference is ‘Together We Build Iraq’ and will focus predominantly on the ongoing effects and needs of Iraq’s reconstruction and the opportunities of investment available to British and International companies during this process. There will also be panels discussing the Power and Oil & Gas sectors.

The five conference sessions will focus on:

  • Strengths and Weaknesses of the Economy in Iraq
  • Reconstruction and Infrastructure – The Built Environment
  • Enabling Reconstruction
  • Power
  • Oil & Gas

The IBBC Autumn Conference 2017 will be chaired by Vikas Handa, IBBC UAE Representative and will be led by the following confirmed speakers:

  • Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, The Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Iraq, Azerbaijan & Turkmenistan and President of IBBC
  • H.E. Mr Qasim Al-Fahdawi, Minister of Electricity
  • H.E. Mr Kadhim Finjan Al Hamimi, Minister of Transport
  • H.E. Mrs Ann Nafi Aussi Balbool, Minister of Construction, Housing and Public Municipalities
  • H.E. Dr Sami Al Araji, Chairman of the National Investment Commission
  • Marwa Alnasaa, Resident Representative for Iraq, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • Dr Jaafar Dhia Jaafar, CEO, URUK Engineering
  • Zaid Elyaseri, Iraq Country Manager, BP
  • Peter Mohring, Managing Director – Aviation & Defence, Serco
  • Zeeshan A. Sheikh, EMENA Infrastructure & Natural Resources, International Finance Corporation
  • Suha AlKifaee, Managing Director, IIB
  • Zaid Al-Ansari, Executive Country Manager-Iraq, GE
  • Tarek Hamade, Environment & Infrastructure lead for the Middle East, Amec Foster Wheeler
  • Tawfiq Tabbaa, Managing Partner – Iraq, Eversheds Sutherland
  • Salem Chalabi, Partner, Stephenson Harwood Middle East LLP
  • Nikolay Dimitrov, Business Development Manager (Middle East and Africa), KCA Deutag
  • Anne Kerr, Global Head – Urbanisation, Mott MacDonald
  • Iain Rawlinson, Group Commercial Director, Gulftainer
  • Phill Sherwood, Executive Director, AMAR International Charitable Foundation
  • Danielle Montgomery, Managing Director, Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, OPIC

A pre-conference reception and networking event will be held on Saturday 11 November at 18:00 at the Address Dubai Marina.

IBBC warmly thanks the International Islamic Bank, which has generously agreed to be the event’s Gold Sponsor, in addition to Silver sponsors Serco & Gulftainer. Completing the sponsorship line-up are Amec Foster Wheeler, which will serve as the Reception sponsor, and Coffee Break Sponsors KCA Deutag & Eversheds Sutherland.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Please email london@webuildiraq.org for details.

Registration is now open. The registration fee for non-members is £700. IBBC members and members of partner organisations are entitled to special discounted rates. To request the discount codes or if you need assistance, please email the team at london@webuildiraq.org or phone +44 (0) 20 7222 7100.

The IBBC team looks forward to seeing you in Dubai for the Autumn Conference.

Download the latest Agenda Here.

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The Geopolitics of Energy, and Impacts on Iraq’s Petroleum Sector

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

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

This is a summary of a PowerPoint presentation prepared for and to be delivered before the international “8th Turkey Energy Summit Congress”, held at Antalya, Turkey, 10-11 October 2017.

The presentation was formulated on two interrelated premises;

  1. Iraq is the only Arab country that is resource rich and “semi-landlocked”; has only narrow corridor to international waters with two close chokepoints: one at northern Arabian Gulf (with Kuwait and Iran) and the other is Strait of Hurmuz.
  2. Hence, geology, geography and oil-dependency make Iraq inevitably highly vulnerable to geopolitical risks; kleptocracy exacerbates such vulnerability.

It covers the following topics:

  1. Geology: resource richness and potential resource conflicts;
  2. Geography Governs: Semi Landlocked; Locational Rent (Economic & Political) & Expensive Strategy of Multiple Export Outlets;
  3. Oil Dependency, Vulnerability and Volatility;
  4. The Big-Push Strategy of a Game-Changer;
  5. Kleptocracy, Resource Curse & Major Policy Failures; and finally,
  6. Prospects: Iraq’ Geopolitical Vulnerability Continues.

Please click here to download the full report.

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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Petrofac in Kurdistan Deal with Gazprom Neft

Petrofac has secured a three-year master services agreement (MSA) to support Gazprom Neft Middle East B.V. with the provision of engineering services on a call-off basis for the Garmian field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The MSA was secured following a competitive tendering process and augments Petrofac’s extensive footprint in Iraq, where it has been providing engineering, operations, maintenance and training services since 2010.

Gazprom Neft has been Operator of the Garmian field since early 2016. Through the provision of engineering services Petrofac aims to support the planned brownfield works to debottleneck and expand the Central Processing Facility (CPF).

Steve Webber, Senior Vice President, Petrofac Engineering & Production Services, East said:

“We are delighted Gazprom Neft has selected Petrofac as one of its key suppliers in support of the Garmian field CPF upgrade project.

“We have been working with this key client in Iraq for more than three years and hope to take this opportunity to build on our relationship through the demonstration of Petrofac’s fit-for-purpose and value-driven engineering solutions in the Kurdistan region.”

(Source: Petrofac)

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Chevron, Total interested in Majnoon oilfield

By John Lee.

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] (pictured) has reportedly said that Chevron and Total have expressed interest in developing the Majnoon oilfield.

Oil giant Shell is trying to sell its stake in the field following a failure to reach agreement with Iraq’s Ministry of Oil.

Reuters quotes the Minister as saying that negotiations are continuing with Shell, that he hopes to reach a satisfactory deal for both parties, and that he has not started negotiations with other companies to take over Shell’s stake.

(Source: Reuters)

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Stabilization in Mosul: 300 Projects Underway

Stabilization in Mosul: 300 projects underway and 10,000 people put to work

Three years of ISIL occupation and fierce fighting to retake the Mosul caused widespread destruction.

In 10 months, nearly one million Iraqis fled the city. 700,000 are still displaced. Mosul is one of the largest stabilization challenges the people of Iraq and the UN have ever faced. US$700 million is needed for West Mosul alone.

At the request of the Prime Minister of Iraq, UNDP established the Funding Facility for Stabilization (FFS) in June 2015 to help rapidly stabilize newly retaken areas.

Iraq and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are changing the way stabilization is done. Iraqi officials assess what needs to be done. They ask UNDP, and UNDP responds.

More than 1,100 projects are underway in 23 cities, restoring water and electricity, repairing schools, hospitals, and transport networks, and putting tens of thousands of people back to work. 95% of all stabilization work is contracted through the local private sector.

Local companies are rebuilding their own cities employing local labour. Stabilization is about speed and functionality.

The top priority now is Mosul. 300 projects are already underway, many started even as the fighting was continuing. 10,000 people of Mosul are working on stabilization, so that residents can return home safely, with dignity, and build back their cities.

Increased stability in Iraq can lay the foundations for longer term reconciliation and generate much-needed hope for the millions of Iraqis affected by this conflict.

(Source: UNDP in Iraq)

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Iraq to send Gas to Kuwait for Gulf War Compensation

By John Lee.

Kuwait’s Oil Minister, Essam Al-Marzouq, has said his government has agreed to receive natural gas from Iraq in part payment of it Gulf War reparations.

According to a report from BasNews, Iraq will initially send 50 million cubic meters of natural gas (per day?), later increasing to 200 million cubic meters; KUNA puts the figures at 50 million cubic feet (per day?), later increasing to 200 million cubic feet.

The Minister said the two sides are currently discussing the price details.

In November 2015, Kuwait postponed the final instalment of reparations — worth $4.6 billion — until 2017, following a requested by Iraq, to help alleviate the cash crisis in Baghdad caused by lower oil prices and war with the Islamic State group (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh).

(Sources: BasNews, KUNA)

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Taq Taq September Production Below Average

By John Lee.

Genel Energy has announced that production at its Taq Taq field in Iraqi Kurdistan, in which it has a 44 percent working interest, averaged 13,475 barrels per day in September.

This is considerably below the 2017 year-to-date average of 19,398 barrels per day.

(Source: Genel Energy)