Militants Attack Government Forces near Iraq's Baiji Refinery
Islamic State militants attacked government forces and their Shi'ite militia allies on Saturday, killing 11 near the city of Baiji as part of the battle for control of Iraq's biggest refinery, army and police sources said. Four suicide bombers in vehicles packed with explosives hit security forces and the local headquarters of the Shi'ite militias in the area of al-Hijjaj…
Iraqi Government Forces Close to Baiji Refinery
Iraqi government forces got within a kilometre (half a mile) of the country's biggest refinery on Friday, the closest they have come to breaking an Islamic State siege of the facility in months of fighting, two army officers and a witness said. Fighting raged in a village between the complex and the nearby town of Baiji, near a deserted area believed…
Iraqis Advance in Bid to Retake Refinery
Iraq's biggest refinery under siege since June; new push against Islamic State aims to cut supply lines. Offensive coincides with peshmerga deployment to Kobani. Iraqi security forces said they advanced to within 2 km (1.2 mile) of the city of Baiji on Wednesday in a new offensive to retake the country's biggest oil refinery that has been besieged since June by Islamic State militants.
OPEC Oil Output Hits Highest Since 2012
OPEC's oil supply jumped to its highest in almost two years in September, a Reuters survey found, due to further recovery in Libya and higher output from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf producers in the face of sub-$100 per barrel oil prices. The lack of any cutbacks underlines the relaxed view of OPEC's core Gulf members to oil's slide from $115 in June to $97 on Tuesday - a level they can tolerate…
Oil Output in Iraq's Kirkuk Slumps 90%
Oil output in Iraq's Kirkuk has slumped to 30,000 barrels a day since June, 90 percent down on earlier this year, and a federal pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan may be out of action for over a year due to sabotage, Kirkuk's governor said on Thursday. Islamic State (IS) fighters have seized swathes of territory in lightning offensives in the arid but oil-rich north of the country…
OPEC's August Output Up, Libya Recovery Holds
Supply rises by 90,000 bpd, led by Libya, Angola; output falls in Iraq; Gulf countries keep supply flat. OPEC output stays above 30 million bpd supply target. OPEC's oil production has risen in August from July, a Reuters survey found on Thursday, as a recovery in Libyan supply held up and Angola and Iran boosted supplies, outweighing a further decline in Iraq.
OPEC Output Up on Libyan Rebound
Supply rises by 140,000 bpd, led by Libya; output falls in Iraq, edges lower in Iran. OPEC output close to supply target of 30 million bpd. OPEC's oil production rose in July from June, a Reuters survey found on Wednesday, as a fragile recovery in Libyan supply outweighed fighting in Iraq and reduced output from Angola. Despite the increase, unrest in Africa and the Middle East is still weighing on supply.
OPEC Oil Output Slips in June on Iraq
OPEC's oil output has fallen in June from May's three-month high, a Reuters survey found on Monday, as fighting in Iraq closed its largest oil refinery and technical problems slowed its southern exports. The slight decline underlines how unrest and outages in the Middle East and Africa are taking their toll on OPEC supply, just as the International…
Med Crude-Urals Stronger in Surgut Baltic Tenders
Russian Urals prices strengthened following a tender by oil firm Surgut in the Baltic, underpinned by a tighter July loading programme, traders said. Surgut was believed to have sold two cargoes to Eni and Total for July 12-13 loading at around dated Brent minus $2.90 per barrel, more than 50 cents stronger than previous price estimates. In the Platts window…
Iraq Strife Offers Little Upside to Depressed Tanker Markets: Analyst
The situation in Iraq has taken center stage in the oil markets. Iraq is now in a state of sectarian civil war and the most likely situation is that the country will become mired in a protracted Syria-like conflict, with the population divided along ethno-sectarian lines. But this offers little upside for currently depressed tanker markets, considers PIRA Energy Group's Weekly Oil Market Recap.
Iraq Battles to Hold Biggest Refinery
Iraqi government forces battled Sunni militants for control of the country's biggest refinery on Thursday as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki waited for a U.S. response to an appeal for air strikes to beat back the threat to Baghdad. The sprawling Baiji refinery, 200 km (130 miles) north of the capital near Tikrit, was a battlefield as troops loyal…
Brent Oil Price Rises Towards $114
The price of Brent crude oil rose towards $114 a barrel on Wednesday as Sunni militants pushed forward in northern Iraq, striking the country's biggest refinery and stoking worries about oil exports as some firms pulled foreign oil workers out of the country. Further increasing tensions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country would not hesitate to defend Shi'ite holy sites in Iraq.
Oil Prices High amid Iraq Violence
Oil prices jumped to nine-month highs on Thursday, as concerns mounted that escalating violence in Iraq could disrupt oil supplies from the second-largest OPEC producer. Sunni Islamist militants, who took over Iraq's second-biggest city Mosul earlier this week, extended their advance south toward Baghdad and surrounded the country's largest refinery in the northern town of Baiji on Thursday.
Sunni Insurgents Close in on Iraq's Biggest Refinery
Sunni insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group extended their control from the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday to an area further south that includes Iraq's biggest oil refinery in a devastating show of strength against the Shi'ite-led government. Security sources said militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - Sunni…
