Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Iraq in joint venture with South Korea to rebuild oil tankers
Oil, Business
(IDP) - Iraq aims to rebuild its ageing fleet of tankers to carry its crude oil exports and is planning to form a joint venture shipping company with a South Korean firm, the oil ministry's spokesman said on Monday. "Iraq needs new huge oil shipping tankers to be capable of shipping exported crude oil," Asim Jihad said. "South Korea will provide a fleet of...tankers to form a joint shipping company run by the Iraqis, and South Korea will have a share of profits of transporting crude oil.
He said no agreement had been signed, but an "agreement in principle" was struck between Iraq's oil minister and his South Korean counterpart during a visit to Seoul earlier this month. Jihad said ownership of the fleet would be transferred to Iraq's oil ministry after a period that would be specified in the final agreement. He did not disclose the name of the South Korean company. Other foreign companies had approached the ministry with offers to help rebuild Iraq's tanker fleet, which was crippled by decades of war and sanctions, Jihad said. Iraq's once-proud Oil Shipping Company, which used to transport crude oil from the country's oil terminals in the Gulf city of Basra to refining facilities around the globe, has been out of operation since 1980. Tankers now loading at Basra's terminal are foreign-owned.
On his visit to Seoul, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani signed a cooperation deal with South Korea's energy minister, Kim Young-joo, on broadening opportunities for South Koreans to secure oilfields in Iraq. Iraq, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has the world's third-largest proven oil reserves and needs billions of dollars to revive its oil sector, which is crucial for rebuilding its shattered economy.
Labels: Asim Jihad, Hussain al-Shahrastani, Kim Young-joo, oil tankers, South Korea
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
15 Arab, Asian and U.S. firms invited to drill in Iraq
Oil
(Reuters) - Iraq has issued invitations for 15 Arab, Asian and American firms to drill 100 oil wells in the country’s south as part of efforts to boost production, the oil ministry spokesman said yesterday. Asim Jihad said the invitations, issued at the end of March, would close at the end of May. The state-run South Oil Company will review the offers, he said.
He said among the companies invited were Syrian, Iranian and Chinese firms.“We want to drill 50 wells in Maysan (province) and 50 in Basra. It will take from one year to three years,” he said. “These new wells will give us between 50,000 to 60,000 bpd.” Iraq has the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves and needs billions of dollars to revive its oil sector. Most of Iraq’s proven oil reserves are in the Shia south or the Kurdish north.
Iraq’s cabinet has endorsed a draft oil law regulating how wealth from the vast oil reserves will be shared by its ethnic and sectarian groups.The world’s top oil companies have been manoeuvring for years to win a stake in Iraq’s prized oilfields such as Bin Umar, Majnoon, Nassiriyah, West Qurna and Ratawi – all located in the south of the country. The oil law which is still awaiting parliament’s ratification has given the regions the right to negotiate with international firms on developing oilfields.
Labels: Asim Jihad, Basra, Maysan, oil wells, South Oil Company
