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Iraq “has No Ties to Oil Tanker Seized by Iran”

Iraq’s oil ministry said on Sunday it has no connection with an oil tanker seized by Iran’s IRGC in the Persian Gulf for smuggling fuel, a report said.

“The ministry does not export diesel to the international market,” the Arab country’s oil ministry said in a statement, Iraqi News Agency reported.

Iraq’s relevant authorities are working to gather information about the seized vessel, it added.

Two Iraqi port officials said initial information obtained show that the seized ship is owned by a private shipping company which is owned by an Iraqi private trader.

In a statement on Sunday, the IRGC Navy’s Public Relations Department said that the foreign ship had been captured by the military vessels patrolling the second naval zone in the Persian Gulf as part of the operations to detect and fight against organized smuggling.

The IRGC Navy’s patrol vessels confiscated the foreign tanker that was carrying 700,000 liters of smuggled fuel in a surprise operation after coordination with judicial authorities, it added.

According to the statement, the foreign ship was seized near Farsi Island, a tiny, barren island in the Persian Gulf.

(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)

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Video: New Iraqi Oil Pipeline via Jordan

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

Iraq is planning to build a new oil pipeline to Jordan which it is banking on to revive revenue sources, after years of war and instability.

In addition to expanding refineries and oil fields, Iraq is also planning to rehabilitate a pipeline via Turkey.

But it is not the first time Iraqis have heard plans like these and many say they will believe it when they see some change in their lives.

Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid visited Basra refinery in the third part of his series on Iraq’s energy sector:

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Video: Iraq tries to Attract Foreign O&G Investments

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

Iraq’s government wants to see a big increase in oil production.

Oil and natural gas make up 90 percent of the country’s revenue.

But years of war and new environmental challenges are making it difficult to attract vital international investment.

Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid reports from the Majnoon oil field near the Iranian border:

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Oil Exports Slightly up in July

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced preliminary oil exports for July of 110,548,738 barrels, giving an average for the month of 3.556 million barrels per day (bpd), up from the 3.520 million bpd exported in June.

These exports from the oilfields in central and southern Iraq amounted to 106,500,015 barrels, while exports from Kirkuk amounted to 3,119,578 barrels, and from Qayara 929,145 barrels.

Revenues for the month were $6.761 billion at an average price of $61.156per barrel.

June export figures can be found here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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UK Firm to study Iraq/Kuwait Shared Oilfields

By John Lee.

Iraq and Kuwait have selected British energy advisory firm ERC Equipoise (ERCE) to prepare a study on the development of shared border oilfields.

Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said a contract would be concluded in the coming days with the company, which was chosen from a list of four candidates.

ERCE is a specialist in oil and gas reservoir evaluation.

The study will include the reservoirs of Ratqa/Rumaila and Safwan-Abdali.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Dana Gas Kurdistan Revenues up 74%

Dana Gas has announced that its share of Pearl Petroleum’s collections from the sale of condensate, LPG and gas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) rose 74 percent in the first half of 2019.

The company, which owns a 35 percent stake in Pearl Petroleum, saw its share of the collections increase to $80.0 million (AED 293 mm) in the first half compared to $46 million (AED 169 mm) the first half of 2018.

Dr Patrick Allman-Ward (pictured), CEO of Dana Gas, said:

“We are thankful for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s prompt payment of receivables.

“Our flourishing partnership will bring about tangible benefits for the region, including the creation of more jobs and greater confidence in its hydrocarbon sector, which will ensure a flow of revenue into much-needed infrastructure.

“We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with the Kurdistan Regional Government in the years to come.” 

(Source: Dana Gas)

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Production at Tawke and Peshkabir up 20%

By John Lee.

DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today announced what it described as solid first half 2019 financial and operating results as the company continued to deliver the largest drilling program in its 48-year history:

“H1 2019 revenue totalled USD 470 million, up 62 percent from the same period last year, while net profit doubled to USD 119 million.

“DNO’s Company Working Interest (CWI) production averaged 107,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in H1 2019, up 39 percent from H1 2018, reflecting strong contributions from its fields in the Kurdistan region of Iraq (89,300 barrels of oil per day or bopd) as well as from its recently acquired North Sea assets (17,800 boepd).

“In Kurdistan, H1 2019 gross production at the Tawke license containing the DNO-operated Tawke and Peshkabir fields (shared 75-25 with Genel Energy plc) averaged 126,700 bopd, up 20 percent from H1 2018. In H1 2019, Tawke contributed 71,700 bopd and Peshkabir 55,000 bopd.

“Some 36 wells are planned in 2019 of which 23 are development/infill wells and 13 exploration/appraisal wells. DNO projects full-year operational spend of USD 680 million, split evenly between its core areas in Kurdistan and the North Sea.

“In addition to 15 wells spud in the first half of the year across the portfolio, plans for the second half include 12 wells at Tawke and three at Peshkabir, now the second largest operated field by an international oil company in Kurdistan after Tawke. Also in Kurdistan, two wells have been drilled and completed in the DNO-operated Baeshiqa license with the deeper well to be tested beginning in August.

“Elsewhere, the Company continues to pursue an active North Sea strategy with plans to drill six more wells in the second half of the year in addition to the nine spud in the first half. Also, DNO was recently awarded as operator two new exploration licences in the United Kingdom.

“DNO exited the second quarter with a cash balance of USD 574 million in addition to USD 94 million in treasury shares and marketable securities.“

(Source: DNO)

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Video: Iraq Oil Industry aims to be Energy Independent

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

Years of war and instability have damaged Iraq’s gas and oil infrastructure, leaving it dependent on energy imports, despite having huge reserves.

Now it wants to turn that around, with help from overseas investment.

Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid reports from Zubayr:

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Dana Gas announces Increased Reserves in Iraq

Dana Gas has announced that its share of the proved plus probable (2P) hydrocarbon reserves at Pearl Petroleum Company‘s Khor Mor (pictured) and Chemchemal fields in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) have increased by 10 percent following the recent certification of reserves by Gaffney Cline Associates (‘GCA’).

2P Reserves Upgrade

The independently audited report, prepared by Gaffney Cline on behalf of Pearl Petroleum, showed that the total share for Dana Gas (35% shareholder in Pearl Petroleum), is equivalent to 1,087 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe), up from 990 MMboe when GCA first certified the fields in April 2016.

This confirms that the fields located in the KRI could be the biggest gas fields in the whole of Iraq. The reserves were boosted in part by the booking of oil reserves in the Khor Mor Field for the first time.

GCA’s most recent report confirmed that Dana Gas’s share of the Khor Mor and Chemchemal 2P reserves was 4.4 trillion cubic feet gas (2016: 5.3 Tcf), 136 million barrels of condensate (2016: 109 MMbbls), 13.3 million metric tonnes LPG and 18 MMbls of oil, the equivalent of 1,087 MMboe, as compared to 990 MMboe in April 2016.

Dr Patrick Allman-Ward, CEO of Dana Gas, said:

“The Gaffney Cline report has independently confirmed Dana Gas’ 2P reserves in our KRI assets at over 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent and our belief that the Khor Mor and Chemchemal Fields will most likely be the biggest gas fields, not just in the Kurdistan Region Iraq, but the whole of Iraq, making them world-class assets. 

“It is also satisfying to see that our auditors have formally booked oil reserves for the first time in Khor Mor. We believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg confirming our estimate of oil resource potential of over 7 billion barrels.

“These additional resource declarations will underpin our future development plans which will provide a reliable source of energy to meet the needs of electricity generation as well as industrial development in the region.”

Future Development

Earlier in the year, Pearl Petroleum signed a 20-year gas sale agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (‘KRG’) that will facilitate the production and sale of an additional 250 MMscf/d of gas.

Pearl Petroleum’s expansion plan will see output increase to 650 MMscf/day in 2022, and then to 900 MMscf/day by 2023 from the current 400 MMscf/day.

With the price of oil ranging between $60 to $70 per barrel, each of these two new gas production trains will generate between $175 to $200 million to the Company’s share of revenue and project’s cash flows per annum.

(Source: Dana Gas)

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Oil Ministry Finalises Export Figures for June

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced finalised oil exports for June of 105,603,325 barrels, giving an average for the month of 3.520 million barrels per day (bpd), down from the 3.572 million bpd exported in May.

These exports from the oilfields in central and southern Iraq amounted to 101,705,000 barrels, while exports from Kirkuk amounted to 3,162,559 barrels, and from Qayara 735,766 barrels.

Revenues for the month were $6.373 billion at an average price of $60.347 per barrel.

May export figures can be found here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)