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Japanese Firm Buys Shell’s Stake in West Qurna 1

By John Lee.

Japan’s Itochu has reportedly bought Shell‘s 20 percent stake in the West Qurna 1 oilfield.

Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, the head of state-run Basra Oil Company (BOC), told Reuters that the oil ministry discussed the required financial investments and operations at the field with Itochu, and approved the deal.

West Qurna 1, operated by ExxonMobil, currently produces around 405,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The deal comes as Shell is also preparing to exit the Majnoon oilfield, handing it over to the BOC by the end of June 2018.

(Source: Reuters)

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KBR to help Develop Majnoon Oilfield

By John Lee.

Iraq has reportedly reached an agreement with US engineering firm KBR to help manage projects to develop production capacity at the Majnoon oilfield.

Shell is preparing to exit the Majnoon oilfield by the end of June 2018, handing it over to the state-run Basra Oil Company (BOC).

Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, the head of the BOC, told Reuters that he is targeting to cut the cost of the projects’ development by 30 percent this year, adding that the development cost for Majnoon set by Shell in 2017 was $1 billion.

He also said that Iraq was still in talks with another foreign engineering firm to operate the energy facilities at the field, with a deal expected before June.

Shell is now advising the Majnoon management on the tendering process, and on maintaining normal operations at the field, said Abdul Jabbar.

(Source: Reuters)

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Petronas confirms Exit from Majnoon Oilfield

By John Lee.

Malaysia’s Petronas has reportedly confirmed that it will exit from Iraq’s Majnoon oil field along with joint stakeholder Shell.

A spokeswoman for Petronas told The National:

“Petronas confirms its exit from the Majnoon oilfield, Iraq, together with Shell. We will be working with Shell on the handover of the field to the Basra Oil Company [BOC].

“An announcement will be made once details of the handover is finalised.“

Petronas holds a 30-percent stake in the field, with Shell having 45 percent.

On 21st December, Iraq’s Ministry of Oil approved a set of measures relating to the development of the super giant field once Shell relingushes it back to Iraq; IBN Expert Blogger Ahmed Mousa Jiyad described the decision as “an important move in the right direction“.

Petronas retains interests in the Badra, Garraf, Halfaya oilfields.

(Source: The National)

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Majnoon Development Plan — Important Move in the Right Direction

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

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

Developing Majnoon Oilfield by National Effort — Important Move in the Right Direction

On 21st December, the Ministry of Oil (MoO) approved a set of measures relating to the development of the super giant Majnoon oilfield after Shell relingushed it back to Iraq

In addition to my emphatic strong and absolute support for the Ministry of Oil on this action regarding Majnoon oilfield, I find it timely to highlight some related basic issues that MoO and other authorities, especially the Council of Ministers and the Parliament, should pay attention to and take the necessary action on them.

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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Japanese Company considers Gas Pipeline and Petchem Plant

By John Lee.

Iraq has reportedly contracted Japan’s Toyo Engineering to help build a gas pipeline to Kuwait and a petrochemical plant as Baghdad.

According to a report from Reuters, the move will help Iraq to reduce flaring and finish paying the reparations owed to Kuwait for the invasion in 1990.

The project would allow Kuwait to reduce its dependency on Qatar as a supplier of gas; deliveries could begin as early as 2019.

It would also deal a blow to Shell, which aimed to be the dominant gas player in Iraq before relations with Baghdad soured following it’s planned exit from the Majnoon oil project.

Toyo told Reuters that talks are ongoing and a final decision has not yet been made.

(Source: Reuters)

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BP, Eni “interested in Majnoon Oilfield”

By John Lee.

Reuters has reported that both BP and Eni have expressed an interest in developing the giant Majnoon oilfield, which Shell plans to exit next year.

Iraqi oil officials told the news agency that Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has not yet started negotiations with either company.

BP is currently developing the Rumaila field, while Eni operates Zubair.

Shell is expected to hand over Majnoon operations to the state-owned Basra Oil Company by the end of June 2018.

Both Chevron and Total have been previously reported as being interested in taking over the field.

(Source: Reuters)

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Opportunity for UAE Business: Key Iraqi Ministers come to Conference

Rebuilding Iraq is central to the agenda of the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) autumn conference at The Address, Dubai Marina on 12th November.

The opportunity for businesses in the region to engage in Iraq is reflected by the attendance of a number of high profile Iraqi Ministers: from Electricity, Transport, Oil, Construction and Housing, to the Governor of Basrah and International financiers, including the IMF and World Bank.

Vikas Handa, the IBBC UAE representative agrees:

“Iraq is the second largest oil producer in OPEC and has one of the biggest programmes for new power generation projects in the region; Iraq presents massive opportunities for housing, Infrastructure and FMCG businesses. The event is designed to discover the opportunities and projects live and intended in Iraq, for business people to meet the decision makers, to obtain insights and to network”.

UAE is increasingly seen as the regional hub for corporate operations in Iraq and the place where business decisions are determined.

We can confirm this as a range of leading international companies are attending, including GE, Siemens, BP, Wood, Serco, Shell, Petronas, Gulftainer, Zain, KCA Deutag, the International Islamic Bank and more. There will also be plenty of networking and engagement on the sidelines beyond the main stage.

The IBBC Dubai conference is also the location for the Governor of Basrah to outline his vision for the future, and it is expected ministers will outline the latest thinking on the evolving situation in Iraq and the opportunities this brings.

To register, please follow the link: http://www.webuildiraq.org/ibbc-conference/autumn-conference/

(Source: IBBC)

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Opportunity for UAE Business: Key Iraqi Ministers come to Conference

Rebuilding Iraq is central to the agenda of the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) autumn conference at The Address, Dubai Marina on 12th November.

The opportunity for businesses in the region to engage in Iraq is reflected by the attendance of a number of high profile Iraqi Ministers: from Electricity, Transport, Oil, Construction and Housing, to the Governor of Basrah and International financiers, including the IMF and World Bank.

Vikas Handa, the IBBC UAE representative agrees:

“Iraq is the second largest oil producer in OPEC and has one of the biggest programmes for new power generation projects in the region; Iraq presents massive opportunities for housing, Infrastructure and FMCG businesses. The event is designed to discover the opportunities and projects live and intended in Iraq, for business people to meet the decision makers, to obtain insights and to network”.

UAE is increasingly seen as the regional hub for corporate operations in Iraq and the place where business decisions are determined.

We can confirm this as a range of leading international companies are attending, including GE, Siemens, BP, Wood, Serco, Shell, Petronas, Gulftainer, Zain, KCA Deutag, the International Islamic Bank and more. There will also be plenty of networking and engagement on the sidelines beyond the main stage.

The IBBC Dubai conference is also the location for the Governor of Basrah to outline his vision for the future, and it is expected ministers will outline the latest thinking on the evolving situation in Iraq and the opportunities this brings.

To register, please follow the link: http://www.webuildiraq.org/ibbc-conference/autumn-conference/

(Source: IBBC)

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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)