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Turkey Threatens to Invade Iraq, Cut Off Oil Pipeline

By John Lee.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (pictured) has threatened to invade Iraq, and said he could cut off the oil export pipeline from Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, following the vote supporting independence in Iraqi Kurdistan.

“We have the tap,” he said. “It is done once, we close the tap.”

The pipeline typically carries between 500,000 and 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

In a strongly-worded speech, Erdoğan said that fighting the Iraqi Kurdish bid for independence was “a matter of survival“.

His Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, added that Ankara could take punitive measures involving borders and air space against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Shares in Genel Energy fell 7 percent in early trading on Tuesday, but had recovered by lunchtime; Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) was down 2 percent, while Norway’s DNO was 5 percent higher.

(Sources: The Independent, Alliance News, Reuters, Yahoo!)

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Genel Energy Appoints New Directors

By John Lee.

Genel Energy announces that Tim Bushell and Martin Gudgeon have been appointed as independent Non-Executive Directors of the Company with immediate effect.

Mr Bushell is a qualified geologist with over 35 years’ experience working in the oil and gas sector. He is currently on the Boards of Petro Matad, Rockhopper Exploration, and Point Resources. Previously, he spent a decade as CEO of Falkland Oil & Gas, was a co-founder of Core Energy, and was Managing Director of Paladin Resources Norway. Prior to Paladin, he worked at British Gas, Ultramar and Lasmo.

Mr Gudgeon has significant financial and corporate experience, and is a Partner at PJT Partners. Prior to joining PJT Partners, he worked at Blackstone for eight years, serving as a Senior Managing Director, and was the Chief Executive at Close Brothers Corporate Finance. Before that, Mr Gudgeon was at Hill Samuel, including two years on secondment to Macquarie Bank in Sydney, Australia.

The composition of Board committees remains under review.

Stephen Whyte, Chairman of Genel Energy, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Tim and Martin to Genel Energy. Both bring significant relevant experience to the Board, and I look forward to working with them as we continue to build on the momentum in the business and deliver on our strategic objectives.”

Genel instructed independent board search and advisory consultants Spencer Stuart in connection with the appointments.

(Source: Genel Energy)