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SOMO Restarts Export of Kirkuk Oil via Turkey

By John Lee.

Baghdad has reached an agreement with Kurdish authorities to resume exports from the Kirkuk oilfields, via the Turkish port of Ceyhan (pictured).

In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Oil said between 50,000 and 100,000 barrels per day would be exported through the pipeline on behalf of the Baghdad-controlled State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).

S&P Global Platts says SOMO has not exported any crude oil from Ceyhan since June 2017.

(Sources: Ministry of Oil, S&P Global Platts)

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Baghdad keen to Restart Oil Exports through Turkey

By John Lee.

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] is to visit Turkey this week to discuss expanding cooperation in the oil and energy sector.

Among the topics for discussion will be the possible restarting of oil exports via the Turkish port of Ceyhan (pictured), and the export the Iraqi oil “by SOMO company exclusively”.

He will also invite Turkish companies to participate in investment projects in the oil sector.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Int’l Companies Invited to Invest in New Pipeline

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has invited local and international companies to participate in the execution of the oil export pipeline extension, which extends from the Kirkuk oilfield to the Iraqi-Turkish border, and will run side-by-side with the old strategic pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan (pictured).

Mr. Assim Jihad, the spokesman of the Ministry of Oil, said that the pipeline will run for over 350 kilometers, and will be 48 inches in diameter.

It will be able to transport 1 million barrels per day (bpd) and will be built on a BOOT basis investment method, which includes the construction, property, operation and property transfer.

The government and the ministry does not bare or pay any money or spending over the project at the current time, but after the operation.

The project includes also the construction of a gas pipeline, pumps and reservoirs, in addition to the other completed accessories and services. The contract also commits the winner consortium companies to share with the local companies with 25% or more of the project proportion within the consortium.

Mr. Jihad said also that the oil projects company have determined the 24th of January 2018 as the last date for the companies to present their participation letter.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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New Pipeline to Export Kirkuk Oil via Ceyhan

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has announced that it will build a new pipeline from Baiji to Fishkabur, enabling Kirkuk oil to be exported again from Turkey’s Ceyhan port (pictured).

Kirkuk’s oil was previously being exported via the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) pipeline to Ceyhan, but this has been on hold since Baghdad took control of the area.

Plans to rehabilitate Baghdad’s existing oil pipeline to Turkey, which was badly damaged by militants in 2014, have been scrapped.

(Sourced: Ministry of Oil, Rudaw)

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Baghdad “Looks to Take Control of KRG Oil”

By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

The Iraqi State Organization for Marketing Oil (SOMO) announced Nov. 2 that it is arranging with Turkey to allow SOMO to sell Iraqi crude from the disputed territories through the pipeline from Kirkuk to the Ceyhan Turkish port.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) used to export about 500,000 barrels per day independently through Ceyhan before the Baghdad operation to retake the disputed areas in mid-October.

It was not long after the Iraqi army took over the oil fields in Kirkuk in a military operation to “impose security,” as described by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, that the federal government resumed oil pumping operations.

The operations started about a week after the clashes between governmental forces and Kurdish peshmerga forces. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Oil rushed to increase oil production, and on Oct. 23, the ministry requested the help of the British petroleum company BP in increasing production in Kirkuk oil fields to more than 700,000 barrels per day. The ministry also announced the formation of a ministerial committee to advance the oil industry in the province of Kirkuk.

Kirkuk has more than 35 billion barrels in oil reserves and a production capacity ranging from 750,000 to 1 million barrels per day. The federal government seems determined to control the oil sources, especially in Kirkuk and the disputed areas. In light of this, on Oct. 19, the Iraqi minister of oil warned all countries and international petroleum companies against signing contracts with any Iraqi party without first consulting the federal government.