SOMO Boss to be Replaced

By John Lee.

Iraq has replaced the head of its State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).

Falah al-Amri [Falah Jasim Alamri, Falah al-Amiri], who has been in the top job at SOMO since March 2006, is to become an advisor on marketing and strategy at the Oil Ministry.

He is to be replaced at SOMO by Alaa Khader Kadhim Yasiri.

(Sources: Ministry of Oil, SOMO)

Interview with Ali Fares: Overview of the Opportunities

Ahead of the international Basra Oil, Gas & Infrastructure 2017 Conference which CWC Group hosts annually with the Basra Governorate, the Basra Council and the Basra Oil Company, Nawar Abdulhadi, MENA Director for CWC Group interviewed Mr Ali Shadad Al Fares, Chairman of the Oil & Gas Committee at the Basra Council.

Mr Ali Fares highlights the importance of the Conference for the province this year as well as for the rest of Iraq as Basra moves towards expanding to accommodate the upcoming projects in the new era focusing on rebuilding Iraq.

Mr Al Fares touched upon the oil, gas, petrochemicals and power projects, the infrastructure and constructions projects as well as the transportation and logistics projects which will be addressed at the international conference in Beirut between the 30-31st of October.

Nawar Abdulhadi: What are the current opportunities for companies investing in oil and gas in Basra?

Mr Al Fares: There are many opportunities, which are the focus of the local government of Basra and the Federal Oil Ministry. I would like to highlight the following:

  1. Strategic Sea Water Project to supply the fields for water injection.
  2. Aqaba pipeline project, which extends from Rumaila field to Najaf Governorate.
  3. Investment project in the gas fields with a new economic model (Nahran Omar, national fields, the exploitation of gas flared in the fields of other remaining licensing rounds)
  4. Investment in non-invested oil fields that are managed through the small and medium national effort.
  5. The joint fields with the Iranian side and the Kuwaiti side.
  6. There are different projects within which the size of investment is very important as they must be within the contracts of the licensing rounds, such as digging new wells and the maintenance of the old and the infrastructure of the oil and gas sector.
  7. The Muftiyah tourist project in Basra, located on the Shatt al-Arab, using the private investment model .

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)

Sonangol to Transfer Iraqi Oil Fields?

By John Lee.

A recent report suggests that, in the uncertainty following the recent Angolan election, the Iraqi assets of the state-owned oil company Sonangol are in play.

Writing in Seeking Alpha, Jay Currie says the the Najmah and Qaiyarah [Qayara] oil fields may be transferred to Russian service company Eurasia Drilling, and questions the involvement of two Jordanian consultants and a Hong Kong-based company called United Energy Group.

The full article can be read here.

(Source: Seeking Alpha)

(Picture: Oil Minister Luaibi with Sonangol’s Edson Dos Santos, Baghdad, 30th August 2017)

DNO Joins ExxonMobil on Baeshiqa License

DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today announced an agreement with ExxonMobil to join the Baeshiqa [Bashiqa, Bashika] license in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

DNO will assume operatorship of the license with a 40 percent paying (32 percent net) interest, acquiring one-half of ExxonMobil’s position.

ExxonMobil retains a 40 percent paying (32 percent net) interest, the Turkish Energy Company (TEC) its 20 percent paying (16 percent net) interest and the Kurdistan Regional Government its 20 percent carried interest.

Pending Government approval, DNO will drill an exploration well in the first half of 2018 with a second exploration well to follow on a separate structure.

The 324 square kilometer license is situated 60 kilometers west of Erbil and 20 kilometers east of Mosul. ExxonMobil had previously conducted extensive geological and geophysical studies and constructed a drilling pad before work was interrupted due to security conditions in the region.

The Baeshiqa license contains two large, undrilled structures which are expected to have multiple independent stacked target reservoir systems, including in the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic.

DNO currently operates two other licenses in Kurdistan: one contains the Tawke and Peshkabir fields which together produce over 110,000 barrels of oil per day and the other the Benenan and Bastora heavy oil fields which are undergoing further appraisal and development. With three rigs currently deployed, the Company is the most active driller among the international operators in Kurdistan.

Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani (pictured), DNO’s Executive Chairman, said:

“We are pleased to partner with ExxonMobil, TEC and the Government on this exciting exploration opportunity.

“We bring to the project a 10-year record of successful and fast-track operations in Kurdistan, culminating in more than 200 million barrels produced to date.

“Following regularization of export payments and a landmark agreement with the Government to close out our historical receivables, our foot is back firmly on the accelerator.”

(Source: DNO)

Expert Blog: Debating SOMO Transformation

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

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

Debating SOMO Transformation

New important developments pertaining to or initiated by Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) surfaced during the last few months; they seemed to be integrated components of what was revealed as SOMO’s unstoppable transformation. They are:

  • Partnership with IOCs in activities outside Iraq;
  • Offering crude oil through regular spot/auction-trading;
  • Contemplating oil-hedging and Change of “marker crude” in the pricing formula for Asian market only.

These initiatives could have real, effective and far-reaching consequences in both directions — positive and negative. Thus, serious, evidence-based and professional debate is urgently needed to address all matters relating to SOMO and its unique status not only for the petroleum sector but also for the entire national economy; signs of discontent with SOMO began to show visibility and generate impacts.

In this brief contribution, our Monitoring, Analyzing and Reporting (MAR) (an ongoing activity covering Iraqi petroleum sector), analyses, first, these new four initiatives and highlights many key questions that have to be addressed and specifies critical issues that require further investigation.

That is followed by discussing transparency, as necessary condition for SOMO transformation, and the paper ends with concluding remarks and suggests the launching of SOMO Transformation Debate and convening a special workshop.

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.

AMAR to open Health Clinic in Mosul

By Robert Cole, AMAR Foundation.

We’re excited to announce that work is about to begin on a new AMAR International Charitable Foundation Public Health Care Centre (PHCC) on the outskirts of Mosul.

Thanks to a huge fundraising effort by our supporters, we have sufficient to rehabilitate, resource and re-open the badly damaged existing government clinic in the village of Bazwaya, just East of the city.

Thousands fled the area when Daesh invaded three years ago. Historically, Bazwaya was a multi-faith town, and united by their common need to return to normality and peace as quickly as possible, many families are going home to salvage what they can and begin again.

AMAR Teams have been working on the ground to identify areas where the AMAR Model of PHCC Services can best be deployed to serve the returnees. Whilst huge humanitarian efforts are underway throughout the region, many of the smaller and less known communities remain isolated and without critical facilities.

Our health teams believe the grim conditions mean there is a huge threat to the population from communicable diseases, illness and infection from injuries. The harsh winter is also on the horizon and will add additional strain to an already dire situation.

But at least for these communities Daesh are gone.

Once opened with AMARs local doctors and nurses the centre is expected to serve approximately 15,000 from within the immediate catchment area. More are expected to travel even further from rural areas to access urgently needed health care.

AMAR continues to seek funding and support to rehabilitate and open more centres throughout the region to offer primary health and psycho-social support for the victims of Daesh.

PLEASE CLICK HERE IF YOU CAN HELP – ANY AMOUNT LARGE OR SMALL.

(Source: AMAR Foundation)

Germany, UNDP agree $2.8m Funding for Reconciliation

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the German Embassy in Baghdad signed a cooperation agreement to support civic and community-based reconciliation across Iraq.

Under the leadership of the Implementation and Follow Up National Reconciliation Committee (IFNRC) of the Office of Iraq’s Prime Minister, UNDP has recently launched a major project to support local peace committees and help communities collect information on atrocities and violations committed against citizens during the conflict.

The Ambassador of Germany to Iraq, Dr. Cyrill Nunn, said:

“Reconciliation on a community level is key to a peaceful future of Iraq. As part of Germany’s commitment to the work of UNDP in Iraq, we are very pleased to support this project which will hopefully contribute to building trust between Iraqi citizens and to a more peaceful and resilient Iraq.”

UNDP Resident Representative for Iraq, Ms. Lise Grande, said:

“Reconciliation is the highest priority in the country. Nothing is more important now right after the liberation of Mosul than helping communities find ways to live together in peace after the terrible years of conflict. Germany’s generous contribution to reconciliation comes at just the right time.”

(Source: UN)

Investment in Healthcare is Urgently Required

Investment in healthcare is urgently required to save the lives of mothers and newborn babies in Iraq

Decades of conflict and under-investment have placed a huge strain on Iraq’s healthcare system, and pregnant women and their babies are paying for it with their lives.

Although progress has been made to lower maternal mortality rates, there has been slow headway in reducing the mortality rates for children under five. Newborn babies are particularly vulnerable because of poor birth practices, inadequate referral mechanisms and inefficient neonatal care, particularly in remote areas.

Breastfeeding, neonatal resuscitation, kangaroo mother care for preterm babies, and the prevention and treatment of infections will help prevent these infant deaths.

With the support of UNICEF, the Ministry of Health has launched the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP), which was developed jointly with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The ENAP is an evidence based strategy to invest in, and improve the quality of maternal and newborn care.

“Providing high quality care before and after birth not only saves lives, it is also an investment to ensure Iraqi children have the best start in life and meet their full potential,” said Peter Hawkins (pictured), UNICEF’s Representative in Iraq.

“WHO and other partners will work to support the Government of Iraq through the Ministry of Health to achieve equitable universal health coverage, including the provision of comprehensive services for every woman and newborn in Iraq in order to contribute to the substantial reduction of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity,” said Musani Altaf, WHO Representative in Iraq

“Neonatal mortality contributes significantly to child mortality in Iraq. UNFPA is proud to have played a part in the formulation of the Newborn Action Plan and commits to support the Ministry of Health in its implementation,” said Ramanathan Balakrishnan, UNFPA’s Representative in Iraq.

The Iraq ENAP has been developed in alignment with the Global Every Newborn Action Plan. It is expected to serve as a roadmap that redefines and focuses national and sub national strategies and activities to reduce deaths and disability, ensuring no newborn is left behind.

(Source: UN)

IOM Emergency Unit Assists IDPs from Tal Afar

This past week the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency, sent emergency teams from its Erbil, Iraq, mission to provide front-line non-food item (NFI) assistance to an informal settlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The settlers are principally nomadic herders fleeing ISIL’s last remaining major stronghold in Iraq: Tal Afar.

Following the fall of Mosul, 255 families – mostly shepherds with their livestock – fled from villages on the outskirts of Tal Afar to establish an informal camp in Badoush, about 40 kilometres from Tal Afar city, in Iraq’s Ninewa governorate.

They escaped about six weeks ago.

Iraqi forces are preparing to launch a military offensive on Tal Afar – a city originally of 200,000 people in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province, before ISIL took control of it in mid-2014. Although the militant group has lost nearly two-thirds of the territory it once controlled, it remains active in some of the country’s northern and western areas.

Tal Afar city, with the largest Turkmen population in the country (a mix of Sunni Turkmen and Shia Arabs), is located about 60 kilometres west of Mosul.

According to reports from Tal Afar, where an estimated 10,000 to 40,000 people remain in the city, ISIL is preventing people from escaping, as it did in West Mosul, by shooting at families attempting to flee.

Those managing to flee the city, mostly women, children and the elderly, must take a meandering route to avoid being spotted by ISIL, mostly arriving in the late hours of the night.