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Iraq’s Fifth Licensing Round

By Alessandro Bacci.

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

The Ministry of Oil has repeatedly said that it would like to renegotiate the terms of its service contracts with the international oil companies (IOCs) to link the fees the companies receive for developing the fields to the oil prices and to have them share the burden when oil prices decrease.

However, discussions between the federal government and the IOCs have been going on for the past two years with no tangible results until now. Companies affirm that they have submitted some recommendations, but then the process has not moved on.

At this point, it seems that to have a successful fifth licensing round, the federal government must produce in the coming months a new model contract (or at least an amended version of the present technical service contracts) capable of satisfying according to different price levels both the government and the IOCs.

Otherwise, it’s difficult for Iraq to reach the production target of 6 million bpd of crude oil by 2020, especially if other neighboring countries might soon offer better contractual terms.

Please click here to download the full report.

Alessandro Bacci is an independent energy consultant in relation to business strategy and corporate diplomacy (policy, government, and public affairs). Much of his activity is linked to the MENA region, an area where he lived for four years. Alessandro is now based in London, United Kingdom (www.alessandrobacci.com). A multilingual professional, Alessandro holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Florence (Italy), a Master in Public Affairs from Sciences Po (France), and a Master in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore).    

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Genel Shares Rise on Debt Reduction Plan

By John Lee.

Shares in Genel Energy closed the day up 5.9 percent on Wednesday, after the company’s bondholders approved its proposal to reduce the outstanding bond debt from $421.8 million to $300 million.

It will also extend maturity through amending and restating terms to a new 5 year tenor.

DNB Markets and Pareto Securities acted as managers for the refinancing.

(Source: Genel Energy)

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Genel Shares Rise on Debt Reduction Plan

By John Lee.

Shares in Genel Energy closed the day up 5.9 percent on Wednesday, after the company’s bondholders approved its proposal to reduce the outstanding bond debt from $421.8 million to $300 million.

It will also extend maturity through amending and restating terms to a new 5 year tenor.

DNB Markets and Pareto Securities acted as managers for the refinancing.

(Source: Genel Energy)

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IBN Welcomes New Expert Blogger

By Padraig O’Hannelly.

This week at Iraq Business News, we are delighted to welcome a new Expert Blogger to our ranks:

Alessandro Bacci (pictured) is an independent energy consultant in relation to business strategy and corporate diplomacy (policy, government, and public affairs).

Much of his activity is linked to the MENA region, an area where he lived for four years. A multilingual professional, Alessandro holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws from the University of Florence (Italy), a Master in Public Affairs from Sciences Po (France), and a Master in Public Policy from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (Singapore).

You can read his first blog here, and we look forward to reading more of his perspectives on the energy sector in Iraq.

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Genel Energy confirms Payments for KRI Oil Exports

Genel Energy has announced the receipt of payments from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for oil sales during September 2017 from the Tawke and Taq Taq PSCs.

DNO ASA, as operator of the Tawke PSC, has announced the receipt of $54.32 million from the KRG as payment towards September 2017 crude oil deliveries to the export market from the Tawke licence. Genel’s net share of the payment is $13.58 million.

The Taq Taq field partners have received a gross payment of $9.70 million from the KRG for oil sales during September 2017. Genel’s net share of the payment is $5.33 million.

Genel has also received an override payment of $6.55 million from the KRG, representing 4.5% of Tawke gross field revenues for the month of October 2017, as per the terms of the Receivable Settlement Agreement.

Combined, Genel’s December 2017 net receipts total $25.46 million.

(Source: Genel Energy)

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Lukoil signs Contract for Exploration at Block 10

Russia’s Lukoil has signed contracts with the state-owned Iraqi Oil Exploration Company to carry out seismic surveys at the Eridu field in Block 10, and also at Block 10’s southern and central parts, previously not part of the survey.

The scope of appraisal works at Eridu field includes a 3D seismic survey of 983 square kilometers to update the extension of the field and its geological structure.

At Block 10, 2D seismic acquisition of the southern and central parts is planned to be accomplished over an area of 3,500 linear kilometers to ensure the mapping of targets for prospect drilling.

The approved geological exploration plan for Eridu field envisages the drilling of additional appraisal wells on a mid-term horizon.​

Block 10, covering 5,600 square kilometers, is located in the governorates of Dhi Qar and Muthanna, 120 kilometers west of Basra. The interests in the project are: Lukoil – 60% (operator), Inpex Corporation (Japan) – 40%.

The Iraqi party to the agreement is represented by the state-owned South Oil Company (SOC).

The drilling of the first exploration well, Eridu-1, in February of 2017 led to the discovery of a major oilfield. Preliminary data indicate it is the most significant discovery in Iraq for the past 20 years.

The drilling of the second and third wells confirmed the field’s earlier assumed geological model.Block 10, covering 5,600 square kilometers, is located in the governorates of Dhi Qar and Muthanna, 120 kilometers west of Basra.

(Source: Lukoil)

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Petrel Resources Shares Slump following Iraq Settlement

By John Lee.

Shares in Irish-based Petrel Resources were trading 20 percent down on Friday after the company said it had reached a settlement in respect of the disposal of 2.2 million Petrel shares by Amira Petroleum‘s advisers notwithstanding a lock-in agreement entered into on 19 August 2013.

According to the company:

 On 14 August 2013, the Company announced that it had agreed to acquire from Amira Petroleum N.V. (“Amira Petroleum”) a 20 per cent shareholding in Amira Hydrocarbons Wasit B.V. (“Amira”), the holder of a 25 per cent carried interest in certain oil and gas exploration and production licences in the Wasit Province of Iraq.

The consideration for the acquisition included the issue of 18,947,368 shares in Petrel (representing 19.82 per cent of the enlarged issued share capital of Petrel (“the Initial Consideration Shares”). The Initial Consideration Shares were agreed to be locked-in until the date of spudding the first conventional oil well in respect of Amira’s interest in the Wasit province (the “Spudding Date”) but that, if the Spudding Date had not occurred by 19 August 2018, Petrel could, amongst other things, elect to re-acquire the Initial Consideration Shares for a nominal amount.

As part of the agreement with Amira Petroleum, 2.8 million of the Initial Consideration Shares were, at the direction of Amira Petroleum, issued to its advisers in satisfaction of fees payable by Amira Petroleum (“the Adviser Shares”) and were subject to a lock in agreement as detailed above.

As of the date of this announcement, the Spudding Date has not occurred.

During December 2017, Petrel learnt that 2.2 million of the Adviser Shares had been sold between March and July 2017, notwithstanding the lock-in agreement.

The parties have reached a settlement and agreed that the vendors of the 2.2 million Adviser Shares shall make a payment of £100,000 to the Company (representing approximately 4.5p per Adviser Share sold).  The remaining Adviser Shares shall remain subject to the lock-in agreed in 2013.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014.

(Sources: Petrel Resources, Google Finance)

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Petrofac wins $160m Iraq Contract

Petrofac’s Engineering & Production Services (EPS) division has secured an award worth US$160 million from Basra Oil Company (BOC), previously known as South Oil Company (SOC), for its Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project (ICOEEP).

The new two-year extension reflects Petrofac’s continued delivery focus and five-year track record as the incumbent operations and maintenance service provider.

The facility, which is responsible for a significant proportion of Iraq’s oil export, is located 60 kilometres (km) offshore the Al Fao Peninsula in Southern Iraq. It comprises a central metering and manifold platform and four Single Point Moorings (SPMs) which facilitate oil export onto awaiting crude carrier tankers.

In addition, Petrofac is responsible for almost 300 km of subsea pipelines,1800 metres of subsea hose infrastructure and a marine spread comprising 14 vessels.

Mani Rajapathy, Managing Director, Engineering & Production Services East, said:

“We are delighted to continue with our role in support of this key crude export facility. Since the start of our involvement in 2012, we have exported more than 2.2 billion barrels of oil while retaining an impeccable safety record. We have also remained focused on adding value for our client through the deployment of innovative and differentiated solutions.”

Ihsan Ismaael, Director General, Basra Oil Company, said:

“Petrofac is a key partner for BOC. The team has supported us over the last five years to significantly increase export from the ICOEEP facility and we look forward to continuing our relationship into 2019.”

(Source: Petrofac)

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Opportunity to Supply Salahuddin Refineries

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced that it will start rehabilitation of the Salahuddin refineries 1 and 2 in Baiji district.

Through its North Refineries Company (NOC), it has called on local and international companies to supply the equipment outlined below:

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Reforming and Transforming SOMO

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

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

Reforming and Transforming SOMO

This analysis was presented via Skype Conference to the management and staff of Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) on 12th December 2017:

Please click here to download the presentation.

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.