KRG Judicial Council disputes Supreme Court ruling over Oil

By John Lee.

The Judicial Council of Kurdistan Region of Iraq has issued a statement saying that the provisions of its oil law (Law No. 22, 2007) do not violate the Iraqi Constitution and therefore should be recognized as “standing laws“.

The statement follows months of dispute between Baghdad and Erbil regarding control of the energy resources in Iraqi Kurdistan, with Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruling in February that sales of oil and gas by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), independently of the central government in Baghdad, were unconstitutional.

Full statement from KRG:

“The Kurdistan Regional Government’s tenure on the issue of oil and gas exploration on its territory is in accordance with the 2005 Iraqi Constitution. The provisions of Law No. 22, 2007, issued by the Kurdistan Regional Parliament, do not violate the Iraqi Constitution and therefore should be recognized as standing laws.

“The oil and gas sector do not fall under the exclusive purview of the Federal Government of Iraq as stated in Article 110 of the Iraqi Constitution, underpinned by Article 112 of the Iraqi Constitution which states the Federal Government is to manage oil and gas exploration of discovered fields, in conjunction with regional governments and oil-producing provinces. Of that, revenues are supposed to be distributed equally among the population of Iraq.

“Article 112 refers to existing oil wells and fields prior to the ratification of the Constitution in 2005. As such, oil fields discovered in the Kurdistan Region since 2005 fall under the jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Region and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Accordingly, the texts of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Oil and Gas Law No. 22, 2007, remain in line with the provisions of the Iraqi Constitution.

“Article 92(2) of the Constitution of Iraq requires that the Iraqi Council of Representatives pass a law to establish an Iraqi Federal Supreme Court. No such law has to date been enacted. Iraq, therefore, does not have a constitutionally established Federal Supreme Court. As such, the court that issued the 15 February 2022 opinion purporting to invalidate the Oil and Gas Law (No.22 of 2007) lacks the constitutional authority to do so and, consequentially, the Oil and Gas Law remains in full force as per the Iraqi Constitution.”

Click here to view document from Judicial Council.

(Source: KRG)

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IOCs in Iraq need Oil Wealth to Trickle Down

From Amwaj Media. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Why foreign oil companies in Iraq need oil wealth to trickle down

Iraq’s oil wealth is among the greatest on the planet.

Total proven crude reserves are estimated at 150 billion barrels, and daily output is over 4.6 million barrels-making it the fifth-largest producer in the world.

But much of this wealth does not trickle down, and that is perhaps paradoxically particularly the case in the oil-rich south.

The full report can be viewed here (registration required).

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Iran Reduces Gas Supply to Iraq, as Iraq Misses Payment

By John Lee.

Iran has reduced its gas supply to Iraq by 5 million cubic meters per day, causing a reduction in electricity production, according to a statement on Wednesday from Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity.

The Iranian government had demanded payment of debts relating to gas supply, which AFP says totals $1.6 billion and dates from 2020, by the end of May. 

The Ministry blames the non-payment on the delay in approving the general budget, and “the search for an alternative solution to the Food Security Law.

Iraq exported a record $11.436-billion worth of oil in May.

(Sources: Ministry of Electricity, AFP)

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Dispute over Iraqi Kurdistan’s Energy Resources ramps up

By Haider Ibrahim for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Dispute over Iraqi Kurdistan’s energy resources ramps up

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil has announced plans to establish a new oil company for the Kurdistan Region.

Click here to read the full article.

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KRG Minister of Natural Resources Resigns

From Rudaw. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

KRG Minister of Natural Resources resigns

The office of the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister announced on Thursday that Minister of Natural Resources, Kamal Atroshi (pictured), has resigned from his post over health issues, at a time of high tension between Erbil and Baghdad over the semi-autonomous Region’s oil and gas laws.

Click here to read the full article.

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IBBC hosts largest ever Spring Conference

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) hosted the largest attendance for their Spring conference at the Mansion house on 24th May, with just under 300 attendees, half of whom came from Iraq.

Widely considered a success, the overall theme was ‘sustaining economic growth in Iraq’, There were multiple panels and roundtable sessions; including four panels focused on Finance and Energy, and additional themes of Education and Skills, Future Tech, Privatisation and a Kurdish ministerial roundtable with full attendance at all.

The conference was opened by Baroness Nicholson, president of IBBC.

Notable speakers included the Governor of the central bank H.E Mr. Mustafa Ghalib Mukheef, the Governor of Kirkuk, H.E. Mr Rakan Aljoubouri, the Chairman of the Trade Bank of Iraq, Dr Salem Chalabi and H.E. Dr Dara Rasheed, Minister of Planning, Kurdish Regional Government, and Mr Louis Taylor, CEO of UKEF, while Lord Howell gave an insightful and powerful speech on energy provision and the continuing importance of oil and gas distribution and production, especially in the light of Russian aggression. Professor Frank Gunter offered his paper for privatisation to a packed room. Dr Luay Al Khateeb, Distinguished Fellow Columbia University, chaired the Energy Transition session alongside with panellist from BP, Shell, GE and Oilserv.

The Rasmi AL Jabri award to the most outstanding, well run, professional Iraqi company engaged with the UK and international business from Iraq, was awarded to The Sardar Group and accepted by Mr Sardar Al Bebany from Rasmi’s son and Baroness Nicholson.

Delegates came from all regions of Iraq, including KRI, Basra and Baghdad, with chambers of commerce, leading Iraqi businesses, and private investors and business- people engaged and supplying IBBC corporate members.

Principal sponsors included the Iraq private banking league, who brought 20 banking members, gold sponsors – The Sardar Group and Hydro C and Bronze sponsors – GE.

The Conference was also made available online and a recording of the Tech forum is available here.

(Source: IBBC)

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Meet Top Iraqi Officials at IBBC Conference

Hear Iraq’s principal ministers and financiers share their vision and policies for Energy, Finance and Educational sectors at IBBC’s Mansion House conference on 24th May.

Iraq is on the cusp of forming a new Government and is benefitting from high oil revenues and stability. The IBBC Spring conference is ideally timed for a potential new Government announcement with key players in both oil and finance speaking and sharing their vision of what policies and the future landscape lies in store for Iraq and the private sector.

Iraq is clearly open for business, and we can expect to hear strong indicators of where the economy and investment will be directed and how banks and government expect to achieve this.

Addressing the new government agenda of reforms, we have a panel dedicated to the Iraqi Government White paper, led by Dr Alaa, the executive director or the Prime Minister’s reform unit.

It is also expected that the Minister of Oil will announce several investment opportunities that will be discussed in a separate session after the energy panel during the afternoon

This is your opportunity to meet these confirmed speakers: the Minister of Oil H.E. Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismaael, the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, H.E Mr. Mustafa Ghalib Mukheef, Ms Taif Sami, Deputy Minister of finance, the Minister of youth and sport H.E. Adnan Darjal Motar Al-Rubaye, and higher education, as well as a Dr Salem Chalabi, President & Chairman of the Trade Bank of Iraq and a delegation of Iraqi private banks. In addition, key IBBC members including BP country director Zaid Elysari, Shell, Total, GE, Siemens, KBR, SKA, Serco, Petronor and Petrofac, PWC, EY, Standard Chartered Bank, JP Morgan, TBI, SAP, Barclays, City and Guilds among many, and from the UK Government Mr Louis Taylor, director of UKEF are attending.

The overall theme will examine how Iraq can sustain economic growth going forward, through the significant speaker energy, finance and Insurance panels who will discuss this at length.

New topics include privatisation of state-owned enterprises at a round table discussion led by Prof. Frank Gunter with the participation of the Prime Minister’s Office, additionally, a special paper on the subject written by members of the IBBC Advisory Council will be launched on the day and form the backdrop of the discussion.

Panels on project finance and energy transition are included during the day.

Beyond these topics many companies will find ample opportunity to meet the key speakers, as well as network with large businesses in Iraq and UK during the conference and in separate sessions. IBBC constantly advocates for the opportunity of private business to change economies and this conference confirms the benefits business brings to Iraq.

Economic sustainability is not just confined to energy and finance sectors as the knock-on effect of an expanding economy is creating big demand for skilled employees across all sectors, an issue that will be addressed by the educational panel including MSelect, who’s Iraq employment report has shed great light on the unprecedented nature of skills and sectoral requirements and how they might be addressed.

IBBC are very proud to be holding, possibly our best conference and we hope those companies’ operating in Iraq and considering joining our council, will attend at this time of opportunity and evolution for Iraq’s economy to meet the people who are shaping its future.

Click here to register.

(Source: IBBC)

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Iraq debates New Oil Pipeline to Jordan

From Amwaj Media. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

PM Kadhimi under fire as Iraq debates new oil pipeline to Jordan

Since taking office in May 2020, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has placed the activation of an oil pipeline to Jordan at the top of his agenda.

The idea is to transfer crude from the southern city of Basra to the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, reaching international markets via the Suez Canal.

However, plans for the pipeline have drawn heavy criticism from Iraqi political factions close to Tehran-despite the new opportunities it would create for Iran.

The full report can be viewed here (registration required).

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KRG Denies seizing control of Oil Fields

By John Lee.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has denied seizing the Bai Hassan and Dawd Gurg oil fields in Kirkuk from the Iraqi federal government’s Ministry of Oil.

On Saturday, the North Oil Company (NOC), which is owned by the Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC), claimed that the KRG took over the fields in what it said was a contravention of Iraqi law.

The KRG has issued a statement saying the claims are, “completely untrue and are aimed at sowing discord.

Bai Hassan was originally controlled by the Ministry of Oil (Baghdad), but seized by KRG forces in July 2014. It was subsequently returned to Baghdad (NOC) control in 2017.

(Sources: NOC, KRG)

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Russian: ‘No objections’ to Kurdistan exporting Gas to Europe

By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Russian ambassador to Iraq: ‘No objections’ to Kurdistan Region exporting gas to Europe

Elbrus Kutrashev (pictured) spoke to the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw about plans to export natural gas from the autonomous part of northern Iraq to Europe in response to the war in Ukraine.

Click here to read the full article.

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