Iraq-Jordan Pipeline Decision Delayed Again

By John Lee.

Iraq’s oil ministry has said that future of the long-delayed oil export pipeline from Iraq to the Jordanian port of Aqaba will be decided by the next government.

The country has still not formed a new government following parliamentary elections in October.

At a press conference at the weekend, the Ministry of Oil clarified that the project, which it says will not exceed $8.5 billion, is still “under technical study“, and has not yet been put out to contract.

It also revealed that the Council of Ministers agreed to change the contract basis from BOOT (build-own-operate-transfer) to EPCF (engineering, procurement, construction and financing), which is sometimes referred to as “turnkey“, for the entire project; it had previously been split between the two methodologies.

The total capacity of the pipeline from Basra to Haditha is planned to be 2 million barrels per day (bpd), with one million bpd planned for the section from Haditha and Aqaba.

The American company Honeywell UOP was recently approved to develop Haditha refinery.

See also.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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DNO releases latest Production Data

By John Lee.

DNO has issued an update on production and sales volumes for the quarter as well as other key financial information.

Volumes (boepd):

Gross operated production Q1 2022 Q4 2021 Q1 2021
  Kurdistan 106,465 107,472 111,985
  North Sea
Net entitlement production Q1 2022 Q4 2021 Q1 2021
  Kurdistan 26,670 29,367 28,593
  North Sea 12,700 13,571 15,173
Sales Q1 2022 Q4 2021 Q1 2021
  Kurdistan 26,670 29,367 28,593
  North Sea 10,689 23,289 10,953

Selected cash flow items

During the quarter, DNO received USD 206.6 million net from the Kurdistan Regional Government, of which USD 160.7 million represents the entitlement share of October, November and December 2021 Tawke license crude oil deliveries.

Of the balance, USD 13.8 million represents override payments equivalent to three percent of gross October and November 2021 Tawke license revenues and USD 32.1 million represents payments towards arrears built up from non-payment of certain invoices in 2019 and 2020.

DNO paid one tax installment of USD 12.6 million in Norway as tax losses for 2021 ended lower than estimated tax losses that were the basis for tax refunds received during H2 2021.

The Company paid a dividend of NOK 0.20 per share, totaling USD 22.2 million.

(Source: DNO)

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KRG to continue Oil Negotiations with Baghdad

By John Lee.

The KRG’s Council of Ministers held its weekly meeting on Wednesday, led by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

Referring to the recent round of discussions to resolve the dispute over oil sales between Erbil and Baghdad, the Council stressed the importance of continuing to defend the Kurdistan Region’s constitutional rights within Iraq.

It added that negotiations with Baghdad will continue until a mutually acceptable agreement is reached concerning the Region’s oil and gas industry.

With no final agreement having yet been reached, the Council added that, while they regard the situation as a violation of the Iraqi oil and gas law, contractual obligations to oil companies currently engaged in the Region will be fulfilled regardless.

(Source: KRG)

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Nazli Williams steps down as Director of Genel Energy

By John Lee.

Genel Energy has announced that Nazli K. Williams has tendered her resignation as a Non-Executive Director of the company with effect from 13 April 2022.

David McManus, Chairman of Genel, said:

Nazli has been a Director of Genel since the merger with Vallares in 2011. She has provided both valuable contributions and important continuity to Board considerations during her time on the Board.

“I thank her for her commitment to the company over the last decade and wish her the very best for her future endeavours.

(Source: Genel Energy)

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Baghdad, Erbil conclude First Round of Talks on Oil

By John Lee.

The Iraqi federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have concluded a first round of talks to discuss the management of the Kurdistan region’s oil and gas resources.

The meeting follows the ruling by a federal court in February that exports of oil and gas from the Kurdistan region were unconstitutional.

After the meeting, Baghdad’s Ministry of Oil has said that it has proposed that existing oil contracts in the region be transferred to a new company, to be set up in Erbil but owned by the federal authority. 

Revenues from sales would be lodged to an escrow account at an international bank, owned by the Ministry of Finance.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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What does Russia’s War in Ukraine mean for Iraq?

By Samuel Ramani, for The Middle East Institute. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

What does Russia’s war in Ukraine mean for Iraq?

Although Iraq has avoided taking sides in Russia’s war with Ukraine, the conflict could exacerbate factional divisions and profoundly impact the Iraqi economy’s near-term trajectory.

While the strides made in Russia-Iraq cooperation over the past decade are unlikely to be destroyed by the war, Baghdad is likely to limit its cooperation with Moscow to essential spheres and overcome the impact of sanctions by embracing a genuinely multipolar foreign policy.

Click here to read the full article.

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IBBC Iraq Conference, London, Tuesday 24th May 

The IBBC Iraq conference at the Mansion House – meeting at a most important time for Iraq – Tuesday 24 May 

After a two-year absence, IBBC is back at the Mansion House hosting its Iraq conference on Tuesday May 24th focusing on finance, energy and sustaining economic growth in Iraq.

The country stands at another pivotal moment with a new government still in formation, record high oil and gas prices and a world supply crisis, in recovery mode after the pandemic and a strong desire to diversify the economy, grow the private sector and improve employment prospects, particularly for the young, a possible Iranian / US nuclear settlement, issues over water supply and food production, diversifying into renewable energy  and still much work to be done on repairing and renewing infrastructure, but progress being made on improving governance and hugely enhanced government revenue to provide business opportunities across all the sectors.

International interest in investing in Iraq remains strong with the Chinese (Rumaila) and French (Total) Governments being particularly aggressive and most recently a wish expressed by the Saudi Government to join them.

In each sector we are hosting influential Iraqi ministerial attendees including the Minister of Oil H.E. Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismaael and Mr Kareem Hatta Deputy Oil Minister for Upstream Affairs, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, H.E Mr. Mustafa Ghalib Mukheef, the Minister of Youth and Sport H.E. Adnan Darjal Motar Al-Rubaye, as well as Ms Taif Al-Shakarchi, Deputy Minister of Finance , Dr Salem Chalabi, President & Chairman of the Trade Bank of Iraq, a delegation of Iraqi Private banks.

From the UK side Louis Taylor, Chief Executive of UKEF, UK Ambassador Mark Bryson- Richardson, BP President Iraq Zaid Elyaseri, and Richard Wilkins from JP Morgan will address the audience with latest developments and opportunities and Professor Frank Gunter will present his latest views on the political economy.

Principal panel subjects include developing the banking sector, project finance, energy transition and how to boost short term production, education and skills, insurance, in addition to an online Tech panel addressing the benefits of crypto currency.

For companies interested in Iraq, this is a prime opportunity to hear what some of the most important players, both government and private sector are saying and thinking, and an excellent place for networking with potential partners and customers from both national and international organisations.

For further information and to register – please follow the link below:

IBBC Spring Conference at the Mansion House, London – IBBC (iraqbritainbusiness.org)

A reminder to overseas attendees, to arrange for visas to UK within the next few days as is relevant for your country.

(Source: Iraq Britain Business Council)

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Iraq Oil Revenues hit 50-Year High

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced preliminary oil exports for February of 100,563,999 barrels, giving an average for the month of 3.244 million barrels per day (bpd), down slightly from the 3.314 million bpd exported in February.

The exports from the oilfields in central and southern Iraq amounted to approximately 99,115,064 barrels, while exports from the Kirkuk fields through the port of Ceyhan amounted to 1,488,935 barrels.

Revenues for the month were $11.07 billion, at an average price of $110.090 per barrel. This is the highest monthly oil revenue in Iraq since 1972.

February’s export figures can be found here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Deloitte report on Oil and Gas in Iraqi Kurdistan

As part of the KRG’s drive to promote transparency, Deloitte have been commissioned to produce an audited report detailing oil and gas exports, production costs, and revenues for the second half of 2021.

The report, which analyzes the oil and gas industry on a quarterly basis, is now available as a PDF in English, Kurdish and Arabic on the KRG website.

Click here to download the reports.

(Source: KRG)

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