BP and Iraq agree on technical terms for redeveloping Kirkuk oilfields
The British oil giant BP announced on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with the Iraqi Government on the technical conditions for redeveloping the Kirkuk Oil and Gas Fields. In August, the company signed an agreement to explore and develop the Kirkuk oilfield located in the north of Iraq. This will include the construction of solar power plants and other energy infrastructure. Sources have said that unlike historic contracts, which offer foreign companies razor thin margins, new agreements will include a generous profit sharing model.
Iraq Oil Exports From Southern Ports Average in April
Iraq's crude oil exports from its southern ports averaged 3.340 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, lower than in March, because of maintenance at loading terminals early in the month, the Oil Ministry said on Tuesday.The March average was 3.45 million bpd.Exports from the south are managed by the central government in Baghdad.
Shell to Hand Over Iraq's Majnoon Oilfield
Oil major Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to exit the Majnoon oilfield and hand over its operation to the state-run Basra Oil Co. by the end of June 2018, two oil officials close to the deal said on Wednesday. A letter signed by Iraqi oil minister Jabar Luaibi, dated Aug. 23 and seen by Reuters, gave approval for the Anglo-Dutch company to quit Majnoon, a major oilfield near Basra which started production in 2014. Two Iraqi oil officials said the deal was reached during a meeting between Shell and officials from state-run Basra Oil on Monday at the Majnoon oilfield.
Oil Slips on Higher U.S. Crude Inventories, Production
U.S. crude inventories show surprise build - EIA. Oil steadied on Thursday, pressured by an unexpected increase in U.S. crude inventories, high U.S. production and exports, but was supported near multi-month highs by tighter crude markets. Brent crude was unchanged at $58.44 a barrel by 1010 GMT. The global benchmark is not far below its 26-month high of $59.49 hit in late September. U.S. light crude was 10 cents higher at $52.28. Markets have been supported by comments from Saudi Arabia's energy minister earlier this week reiterating the kingdom's determination to end a global supply glut that has weighed on prices for more than three years.
Iraq's Luaibi to Reopen Pipeline to Turkey
Iraq plans to reopen a crude oil pipeline from the Kirkuk oilfields to Ceyhan in Turkey, the oil ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, a route partly still in use by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraq largely stopped sending oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in 2014 after the region was overrun by Islamic State militants. Recaptured by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces over the past two years, there have been some intermittent flows. Oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi has asked state-owned North Oil Co., the State Company for Oil Projects and the state pipeline company to quickly begin work to restore full operation of the pipeline…
Oil Climbs on Iraqi Kurdistan Tensions
Turkey says will deal only with Iraq on crude exports as oil flows from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey despite threats. Oil prices rose on Thursday, spurred by rising tension around northern Iraq following the Kurdistan region's vote in favour of independence in a referendum. Brent crude was up 40 cents at $58.30 a barrel by 1200 GMT. It hit a more than two-year high of $59.49 on Tuesday after Monday's referendum vote prompted Turkey to threaten to close the region's oil pipeline. U.S. light crude was 40 cents higher at $52.54 after reaching a five-month intra-day high of $52.86.
Oil Near 26-month High on Turkey-Kurdistan Tensions
Brent hits highest since July 2015; oil market rebalancing continues, inventories falling. Brent oil prices hovered near 26-month highs on Tuesday, supported by Turkey's threat to cut crude exports from Iraq's Kurdistan region and signs of quicker market rebalancing. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan repeated a threat to cut off the pipeline that carries 500,000-600,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, intensifying pressure on the Kurdish autonomous region over its independence referendum.
Shell to Shed Iraqi Oil Assets
Royal Dutch Shell is set to end a century of oil production in Iraq by withdrawing from two of the Arab state's flagship fields to focus on more profitable gas development. Shell's retreat highlights the challenges foreign operators face with low-margin oil contracts in Iraq, an OPEC member that sits on some of the world's biggest oil reserves and wants to boost production after years of conflict hindered development. The Anglo-Dutch firm said on Wednesday it had agreed with Iraq's oil ministry to relinquish operations at Majnoon field to the government after unfavourable changes to fiscal terms.
Egypt Nearing Deal with Iraq in Search for Crude Oil Imports
Egypt is nearing a deal to import crude oil from Iraq and is looking to other countries to help secure supply, Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation's chief Tarek al-Hadidi said. Cairo's search for additional crude comes after Saudi Arabia's state oil firm Saudi Aramco halted shipments of oil products to Egypt last year. The $23 billion Saudi aid deal had included 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products per month for five years. Aramco has never provided a reason for why the deal was halted. Egypt has turned to the spot market in recent months to make up for the missing products.
OPEC Secretary General meets Iraqi Oil Minister, Officials
OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, and a delegation from the OPEC Secretariat, yesterday met with HE Jabbar Ali Hussein Al-Luiebi, Iraq’s Minister of Oil, and other senior officials in Baghdad. HE Al-Luiebi welcomed HE Mohammad Barkindo, and on behalf of the Iraqi Government and its people, he thanked him for visiting the country and the Oil Ministry. HE Al-Luiebi also reiterated Iraq’s support to OPEC in the current oil market environment. He pledged that Iraq would continue to back the OPEC Secretariat and work together with Member Countries…
Turkey’s Role for the Tanker Market
Even though the coup attempt in Turkey failed and the transportation situation normalized quickly thereafter, Poten & Partners take a look at the importance of Turkey to the tanker market. Turkey is not a large oil or gas producer; according to JODI its crude oil production amounts to about 48 thousand barrels per day (Kb/d) of crude oil and almost 400 million m3 of natural gas in 2015. The country’s oil consumption averaged about 927 Kb/d in 2015, about 1% of the global consumption. Neither of these statistics would make the country an important energy market player.
Eni Starts Three O&G Treatment Plants at Zubair Field
Eni and Kogas have introduced, in the presence of H.E. the Deputy Minister of Oil Fayadh Hassan Nima and other representatives of the Iraqi government, three new generation plants for the oil, gas and water treatment (Initial Production Facilities) in the Zubair field, Southern Iraq. The plants, which together with those existing, restructured and modernized, have increased the oil and gas treatment capacity to about 650 thousand barrels per day, are positioned in the area of Hammar (4 trains for a total capacity of 200 thousand bd), of Zubair and Rafydia (with a capacity of 50 thousand bd each).
Oil Markets Unmoved as Air Strikes Ramp Up
Since the first oil shock of 1973, instability in the Middle East has frequently been associated with higher oil prices. In an industry desperate for positive movement in crude price, the current turmoil in this region is having a limited impact. Saudi Arabian forces are at war in Yemen, civil war continues in Syria and deep security concerns persist in Iraq, but oil price remains depressed. With ISIS militants and engineers in control of major oil fields in eastern Syria, including Omar and Tanak, the country’s production has fallen by more than 90 percent to below 25,000 bbl/d.
Decline Rates Ensure 2016 Output Drop
"It takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast," the Red Queen told Alice in Lewis Carroll's novel "Through the Looking-Glass". Oil companies have to invest heavily simply to offset the impact of natural decline rates on their existing fields, and even more if they want actually to increase production. The need for continued investment and drilling to maintain output as a result of the rapid decline rates on shale wells has been widely discussed.
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, 10 km (6 miles) to the south of Baiji town, near the refinery, sources at the nearby Tikrit security operations command said. Iraqi government forces and powerful Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias face Islamic State on several fronts in Iraq…
Brent Slips Towards $66 Before Long Weekend
Islamic State advances in Iraq, Syria raise supply worries; U.S. crude futures set for 10th consecutive weekly rise. Oil prices slipped on Friday as worries over the impact of war in the Middle East on crude supplies were outweighed by reports of profit-taking ahead of a long weekend. Monday, May 25 is Memorial Day in the United States and a public holiday in much of Europe, leaving many markets closed. "No one wants to hold open positions ahead of a long weekend so books are being squared, bringing some consolidation," said Carsten Fritsch, senior oil and commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
Technip Wins PMC Contract for Basra Refinery Upgrade
Technip, in partnership with UNICO, a Japanese engineering consultant, was awarded a Project Management Consultancy (PMC) contract on a reimbursable basis, for the upgrading of the Basra refinery. This contract, awarded by South Refineries Company (SRC) – Ministry of Oil, covers the engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, start-up and warranty management phase of the refinery upgrading project(1), located in Basra, Iraq. The project will aim at increasing the gasoline production capacity through the installation of a new fluid catalytic cracking unit and associated units like visbreaker, hydrotreating, hydrogen plant, etc.
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 to contain roadside bombs planted by the militants that have been preventing an advance, they said. A witness said security forces had crossed a bridge close to the refinery, 200 km north of the capital. "Daesh (Islamic State) militants are escaping to the direction of a river.
Iraq Sues Greek Shippers for Transporting Kurdish Oil
Iraq said it filed a lawsuit against Greek shipping company Marine Management Services (MMS) for its role in the export of crude from the Kurdistan region, which Baghdad says is illegal. The case is the latest move by Baghdad to deter customers and thwart independent exports of crude from the autonomous Kurdistan region. The federal government claims sole authority to manage sales of all the oil in Iraq. The Iraqi oil ministry said on Thursday that MMS operated five vessels that had transported oil on behalf of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) from a Turkish port.
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, and have repeatedly attacked oil installations. In February this year Iraqi oil production hit record highs of 2.8 million bpd nationwide, with an estimated 300,000 bpd coming from the northern province of Kirkuk.
