Shaping Iraq’s Role in the Global Energy Scene

There can be no doubting Iraq’s oil credentials. It is Opec’s number two oil producer, second only to Saudi Arabia, and holds the world’s fifth-largest proved oil reserves. Production is on the rise, having nearly doubled over the past decade, averaging around 4.5 million barrels per day in 2018.

Almost 90 per cent of the country’s output comes from giant oilfields in the southern part of the country. The remainder is largely pumped from oilfields in the northeast, in the semiautonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), which is under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

This is good news for a country that is heavily dependent on revenues from its oil exports, which, according to the IMF, accounted for almost 90 per cent of total government revenues in 2017. The rise in oil prices, despite recent wobbles in the face of US-China trade tensions, has certainly been a boost to the country’s coffers and provides further impetus for investment in development and infrastructure.

This upwards trajectory is likely to continue as the country seeks to fill the supply gap left by new US sanctions on Iran. Iraq is keen to lift production capacity to 5 million bpd this year, and to 8.5 million bpd in the coming years as it upgrades its infrastructure. The southern oilfields are key to this growth, expected to pump some 6.5 million bpd in the coming years, with the country keen to partner with international oil companies (IOCs) to secure the necessary investment to unlock its vast resource potential.

Iraq’s growing importance as a key player on the world’s energy stage will be discussed at the upcoming CWC two-day event, Iraq Petroleum, which will be held in London on June 27-28 in collaboration with the new Federal Government of Iraq. For the first time, the event is being co-located with the one-day Kirkuk & Mosul Mega-Projects event on June 29, where delegates will be first to hear government plans and investment opportunities to develop the giant oilfields in the newly liberated oil-rich areas of Kirkuk and Mosul.

The three-day event brings together key figures shaping the future of this strategically important country. The Iraqi ministerial delegation will be led by H.E. Thamir Gadbhan, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy & Minister of Oil along with the heads of the Basra Oil Company and North Oil Company, while the international oil industry is well represented, with confirmed speakers including Michael Townshend, Regional President of BP Middle East, Jeffrey T. Levy, President of Chevron Chevron Europe, Eurasia and Middle East E&P, Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum, and Gati Saadi Al-Jebouri, Managing Director of LUKOIL Mid-East Limited.

It’s not just oil that’s creating new investment opportunities for international partners. Oslo-based energy consultancy Rystad Energy forecasts that in terms of resoruces sanctioned for development, gas will overtake oil projects in 2019, with new projects, mainly in the Kurdistan Region, set to triple the country’s gas output from just over 1 billion cubic feet per day in 2017 to 3 billion cf/d in 2022, enabling it to meet growing domestic demand for gas and possibly even launch the country as a gas exporter for the first time. Again, it’s a topic that will be widely covered at CWC’s Iraq Petroleum event, including presentations from Dr Jaafar Oklany, commercial director of Basra Gas Company and Ali H. Khudhier Al-Saady, former director general of South Gas Company, Basra.

For anyone with an interest in Iraq’s future, and indeed the stability of the world energy mix, this is one event not to be missed.

For further information, visit https://www.cwciraqpetroleum.com/

For full programme, download the brochure

(Source: CWC)

Deloitte Report on Kurdistan Oil and Gas (Q4 2018)

Today, the KRG’s Regional Council for Oil and Gas Affairs has published new verified data on the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports, consumption and revenues, covering the period from 1 October 2018 to 31 December 2018, after a review of the sector by the international “Big 4” audit and consulting firm, Deloitte.

The Regional Council for Oil and Gas Affairs acknowledges the positive feedback received from stakeholders, including the international community, and reiterates its commitment to the people of Kurdistan that the two international audit firms, Deloitte and Ernst & Young, will continue to independently review the oil and gas sector, inclusive of all the streams.

Deloitte’s report for the fourth quarter of 2018 is accessible through this link (PDF), in Kurdish, Arabic and English.

Frequently asked questions handbook (PDF) in Kurdish, Arabic and English to help readers better understand different sections of the report.

(Source: KRG)

Doubts over US Waiver for Iraq to buy Iranian Power

By John Lee.

Contrary to recent reports that the US had granted a waiver to Iraq to allow it to continue buying power from Iran, a State Department spokeswoman reportedly said on Wednesday that this was not the case.

Reuters quotes Morgan Ortagus as telling reporters that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has not made a decision on this issue.

(Source: Reuters)

Iraq gets Reprieve to continue Buying Iranian Gas

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

US grants Iraq reprieve to continue buying Iranian gas

The United States has decided to grant Iraq a third 90-day sanctions waiver so it can continue to purchase gas from its sole provider, Iran, giving Baghdad some much-needed breathing room.

On May 22 in Baghdad, Joey Hood, US chargé d’affaires in Iraq, stressed to reporters that the waivers will not continue indefinitely, so the United States is working with Iraq to reduce its dependence on Iran.

Click here to read the full story.

Iraq “to Stand by Iran in Sanctions Era”

Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad al-Hakim said his country would stand by the Iranian nation and government in the era of US sanctions against Tehran.

Iraq stands with Iran and is willing to act as an intermediary between its neighbor and the United States, Hakim said on Saturday speaking in a press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baghdad.

He added that Baghdad does not believe an “economic blockade” by the US could be fruitful, according to Reuters.

Zarif, for his part, condemned the US sanctions and said Tehran would strongly defend itself against any military or economic aggression and called on Europe to do more to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

In May 2018, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Ever since, the EU has failed to make good on its promise to save the nuclear deal and facilitate Iran’s economic trade with the international community.

The Iranian minister also said that the Islamic Republic wanted to build balanced relations with its Persian Gulf Arab neighbors and that it had proposed signing a non-aggression pact with them.

(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)

Oil Ministry Finalises Export Figures for April

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced final oil exports for April of 103,988,607 barrels, giving an average for the month of 3.466 million barrels per day (bpd), up from the 3.377 million bpd exported in March.

These exports from the oilfields in central and southern Iraq amounted to 100,635,009 barrels, while exports from Kirkuk amounted to 2,570,000 barrels, and from Qayara 783,598 barrels.

Revenues for the month were $7.021 billion at an average price of $67.514 per barrel.

March export figures can be found here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

US “Grants Iraq Waiver to Buy Iranian Energy”

Washington has exempted Baghdad from some of its unilateral sanctions against Tehran, allowing Iraq to continue importing energy from Iran, according to the US envoy to Baghdad.

Baghdad can now buy energy from Iran, US charge d’affaires Joey Hood told reporters on Wednesday, Iran’s Press TV reported.

The waiver will allow Iraq to continue buying gas and electricity from Iran.

The administration of US President Donald Trump said in March it was extending a 90-day waiver for the second time to let Iraq continue energy imports from Iran.

The US envoy did not explain whether he was referring to the same waiver Washington gave Baghdad in March or he was declaring the issuance of new exemptions.

Gas imports from Iran generate as much as 45 percent of Iraq’s 14,000 megawatts of electricity consumed daily. Iran transmits another 1,000 megawatts directly, making itself an indispensable energy source for its Arab neighbor.

Iraq and Iran share a 1,400-kilometer-long border. For their run-of-the-mill maintenance, Iraqis depend on Iranian companies for many things from food to machinery, electricity, natural gas, fruits and vegetables.

(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)

Has Russia begun to Play a Role in Iraq?

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

Has Russia begun to play a role in Iraq?

Member of the Iraqi parliament’s Security and Defense Committee Hakim al-Zamili announced May 9 that negotiations were underway to buy an S-400 air missile system from Moscow.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said during his meeting April 26 with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi that “the number of Russian companies in Iraq is on the rise.”

Ihsan al-Shammari, head of the Iraqi Centre for Political Thought, concurred. He told Al-Monitor that “Russia is working to compete with multinational companies in central and southern Iraq, particularly in the field of energy.

Click here to read the full story.