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Refinery Targeted in Rocket Attack

By John Lee.

A rocket attack that targeted an oil refinery in the Khabat area of Erbil on Sunday has been widely condemned.

Six rockets were fired at the Kawergosk refinery, which is owned by KAR Group, reportedly damaging a storage tank.

The Iraqi Security Media Cell said it located a launch base near the Al-Fadhiliah area of Bashiqa district, in the Nineveh Plain, where a further four missiles were rendered rendered harmless.

Shafaq quotes a source as saying that one person sustained minor injuries in the attack.

In March, the home of the CEO of KAR Group, Baz Karim Barzanji, was badly damaged in a rocket attack attributed to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

(Sources: Iraqi Security Media Cell, Shafaq, Asharq al Awsat, NRT)

The post Refinery Targeted in Rocket Attack first appeared on Iraq Business News.

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Baghdad “bans” Kar Group from Kirkuk Oilfields

By John Lee.

The Iraqi parliament has reportedly banned Erbil-based Kar Group from operating oil fields in Kirkuk.

According to Rudaw, it assigned the state-owned North Oil Company (NOC) to take over oil production in the province and export it through Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO).

Reuters reports that Kar Group had been operating some of the Kirkuk oilfields since Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of the city in 2014, following the retreat of the Iraqi army in the face of so-called Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh).

It is said to have failed to reach agreement with Baghdad after Iraqi forces re-took the area.

The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) claims that the Khurmala field, part of the Kirkuk oilfields, is located inside its boundaries.

(Sources: Rudaw, Reuters)

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Rosneft to Build New Kurdistan Oil Pipeline

Russia’s Rosneft and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have announced the start of joint implementation of an infrastructure project for the operation of the oil pipeline in the Kurdish Autonomous Region.

According to a statement from Rosneft, its share in the project “may amount to 60%“.

“The other project participant with 40% share will be KAR Group, who is the current pipeline operator,” it added.

Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin (pictured) said:

“The entry into the infrastructure project will contribute to achievement of Rosneft’s strategic objectives and will enable Rosneft to enhance the efficiency of oil transportation to the end customers including supplies to the Company’s refineries in Germany”.

(Source: Rosneft)