Thursday, September 13, 2007
Oil minister - Iraq to issue international oil contracts despite delay of oil law
Oil
(Iraq Directory) - Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussein Shahrastani, said on Saturday that Iraq will issue tenders for international oil companies to develop its current fields even if the long-awaited law to regulate its energy sector was postponed. Shahrastani said in an oil conference in Dubai, "Although we expect this new law for political reasons, if postponed, we will go forward and begin discussions with international oil companies, especially in the current fields to increase production levels."
He added "there is no legislative vacuum. There is a law prevails allow us to carry out any contract for the development of the fields. We will soon issue tenders, before the end of the year, for international oil companies to work with us to develop the current fields in addition to a major plan for gas."
Shahrastani said last month that Iraq will call for open competition, including about one third of the main fields in September as soon as the new federal oil law is issued. But now it seems that tenders will be issued whether the new law was issued or not.
The Iraqi government approved the draft law in July after months of talks, but so far it was not discussed in Parliament which resumed its sessions this month after the summer recess.
Shahrastani re-newed comments of other Iraqi officials that the law of oil should be approved "within a few weeks", despite the fact that many differences still exist on the details.
He said that the postponement of the bill will not delay plans for the development of the sector which provides more than 90% of the Iraqi government revenues, and which is in dire need of investment after a decade of sanctions and four years of violence since the invasion which was led by the United States in 2003.
Shahrastani said, "Iraq has an oil-law, and it has always been the prevailing law until the approval the new one issued. The Oil Ministry can sign any contracts for the development of its energy capacity and increase oil production ... There is a need for this for the reconstruction."
He added "there is no legislative vacuum. There is a law prevails allow us to carry out any contract for the development of the fields. We will soon issue tenders, before the end of the year, for international oil companies to work with us to develop the current fields in addition to a major plan for gas."
Shahrastani said last month that Iraq will call for open competition, including about one third of the main fields in September as soon as the new federal oil law is issued. But now it seems that tenders will be issued whether the new law was issued or not.
The Iraqi government approved the draft law in July after months of talks, but so far it was not discussed in Parliament which resumed its sessions this month after the summer recess.
Shahrastani re-newed comments of other Iraqi officials that the law of oil should be approved "within a few weeks", despite the fact that many differences still exist on the details.
He said that the postponement of the bill will not delay plans for the development of the sector which provides more than 90% of the Iraqi government revenues, and which is in dire need of investment after a decade of sanctions and four years of violence since the invasion which was led by the United States in 2003.
Shahrastani said, "Iraq has an oil-law, and it has always been the prevailing law until the approval the new one issued. The Oil Ministry can sign any contracts for the development of its energy capacity and increase oil production ... There is a need for this for the reconstruction."
Labels: draft oil law, Hussain al-Shahrastani, international oil companies, Iraq, oil contracts
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
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Oil minister discusses draft oil law
Oil
(VOI) - Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani said on Wednesday the enactment of an oil and gas law is a national achievement for Iraq’s people, underlining that it would have a positive affect on Iraq’s unity. "The law tops Iraqis' interests and its clauses are based on realizing national interests," the state-run al-Iraqia satellite channel quoted the minister as saying during a forum held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday.
"The oil and gas law consists of 43 clauses and four articles," the minister said in the forum, which was attended by deputy parliamentary speaker, Khaled al-Attiya, and a number of Iraqi lawmakers. "The law stipulates that the cabinet will be responsible for approving federal oil policy and supervising drilling, extracting, producing and marketing oil," al-Shahrestani also said. "To fulfill these responsibilities, the federal council for oil and gas will be established," the minister stated.
"The council consists of the oil, finance and planning ministers, the federal government, the governor of the Central Bank, a representative of each province where production capacity exceeds 100,000 barrels per day, and a number of Iraqi experts," he added. "The council will be assigned to make federal oil policies and production plans, grant licenses for drilling, and to sign contracts," al-Sharestani noted.
"An office of Iraqi independent experts will also help the council to fulfill its work," he highlighted."Licenses for drilling will be granted for four years," the minister said, noting that in the case where oil and gas are found in the field, the council will grant a license for two years for estimating production, and sign a contract for 20 years to produce oil and develop oil fields," the oil minister concluded.
Labels: draft oil law, Hussain al-Shahrastani, Iraq Oil, licenses
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Korea and Japan invited to dialogue with South Oil Company
Oil, Business
(Iraq Directory) - The Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahrastani invited Korean and Japanese companies to engage in a dialogue with the South Oil Company to develop the currently discovered fields in the southern region within the ministry's plan to develop and increase production rates in these fields. Assim Jihad, the media spokesman of the Ministry, reported on Shahrastani, before leaving last Saturday with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki along with a high-level delegation to Japan and Korea, saying: "We encourage Korean and Japanese companies to begin talks immediately with the South Oil Company to enter into contracts to develop oilfields in the southern region”.
Shahrastani pointed out that Iraq possesses many giant fields, but the quantities produced do not commensurate with the existing reserve in these fields, and that is why we are developing these fields through the National Oil Company in cooperation with foreign companies, noting: we are pleased that Japanese and Korean companies are showing great interest in developing the fields, especially in certain areas, including the field of oil in Nasiriyah and a giant field in the east of Baghdad.
Labels: Hussain al-Shahrastani, investment, Japan, Korea, South Oil Company
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Oil minister urges Kirkuk local council to protect oil facilities as pipeline attacked
Oil, Security
(VOI) – Iraqi Minister of Oil Dr. Hussein al-Shahrestani urged the Kirkuk local council to protect the ministry's oil facilities and pipelines from acts of sabotage. "The Kirkuk oil installations' production capacity is enough to meet the needs of the northern refineries in Kirkuk and Baiji," Shahrestani told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The minister explained that stopping exports from the Turkish Ceyhan port outlet due to ceaseless vandalism of oil pipelines has caused production levels to decrease and consequently cost Iraq millions of dollars in daily losses.
Earlier on Friday morning, a security source in the Iraqi police said unidentified men bombed an Iraqi oil pipeline in southern Kirkuk, setting the oil installation ablaze. The pipeline, which carries oil from Kirkuk to the Baiji refineries and is near the main road linking Kirkuk to the district of al-Huweija, was blown up with an explosive charge, causing a thick blaze firefighters are trying to control," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The oil industry in the northern fields are coming under constant attacks, which upsets the regularity of Iraqi oil exports. The northern oil fields are considered Iraq's only outlet to sell crude oil exports via the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Oil-rich fields in Kirkuk, 250 km northeast of Baghdad, have stopped regular exporting as a result of attacks that caused harms estimated at billions of dollars.
Labels: attack, Baiji refineries, Hussain al-Shahrastani, Kirkuk, oil pipeline
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Oil minister says negotiations with foreign companies have not yet begun
Oil
(Iraq Directory) Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussein Shahrastani, said on Thursday that Iraq has not yet begun negotiations with the major international oil companies on the development of its energy sector; although, these companies are still waiting impatiently. Shahrastani said, "We are not negotiating with any major oil companies at the moment and we are awaiting the parliamentary approval to the new oil law which is likely to take place before the end of May".
The minister added that almost all international oil companies had interest in working in Iraq, "We have memorandums of understanding with almost each of these companies; they are preparing themselves, but there are no negotiations on the development of any particular field". The new law provides for the establishment of an Iraqi National Oil Company, which will be responsible for the main oil fields, the newly discovered and the productive. Major international oil companies are focusing on these fields such as West Qurna, Majnoon and Bin-Omar.
During the time of the late President Saddam Hussein, a consortium of Russian companies led by “LUKoil” signed an agreement to develop the West Qurna field, but Iraq canceled that agreement in 2002. Iraq is also reviewing an agreement to develop Al-Ahdab field signed with the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation and the Chinese company NORINCO for weapons manufacture. The French company Total, also, signed by initials some deals to develop the fields of Majnoon and Bin-Omar.
Labels: Bin-Omar, Hussain al-Shahrastani, Iraqi National Oil Company, LUKoil, Majnoon, NORINCO, Total, West Qurna
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Ministry of Oil considering exporting to Syria
Oil, Syria, Jordan
(Azzaman) The Ministry of Oil is keen to diversify export outlets and is considering the possibility of reopening the pipeline via Syria. Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahrastani said both countries were “keen to reactivate the pipeline for the transfer of crude oil via Syrian territories.” But he said no agreement has been reached yet because the pipeline itself is in need of rehabilitation.
“The pipeline’s rehabilitation,” the minister said, “will need many requirements which will have to be met by both sides.” But Shahrastani said before talk of a resumption of exports via Syria or repair of the pipeline the security situation has to be dealt with first. He said the pipeline was already target of acts of sabotage inside Iraqi territory.
“It is important for the Syrian side to prevent the infiltration of saboteurs from its territories who target Iraqis and Iraq’s vital installations namely pipelines and oil projects,” Shahrastani said.
“The pipeline’s rehabilitation,” the minister said, “will need many requirements which will have to be met by both sides.” But Shahrastani said before talk of a resumption of exports via Syria or repair of the pipeline the security situation has to be dealt with first. He said the pipeline was already target of acts of sabotage inside Iraqi territory.
“It is important for the Syrian side to prevent the infiltration of saboteurs from its territories who target Iraqis and Iraq’s vital installations namely pipelines and oil projects,” Shahrastani said.
Mounting violence in western Iraq has prevented the country from resuming oil exports to Jordan. The minister said Iraq had agreed to resume exports to Jordan at preferential prices but both countries have found it almost impossible to carry out the deal. Shahristani said under the agreement the Jordanians were to ferry the crude from a point inside Iraqi territory to their refinery in Zarqa close to Amman.
But the drivers who were assigned to ship the crude through tankers could not make the trip owing to the upsurge in violence on the Iraqi side. Earlier reports had said that the Iraqi ministry, under political pressure, was no longer interested in the deal. But Shahristani said his ministry was keen to implement the deal once security conditions stabilize.
But the drivers who were assigned to ship the crude through tankers could not make the trip owing to the upsurge in violence on the Iraqi side. Earlier reports had said that the Iraqi ministry, under political pressure, was no longer interested in the deal. But Shahristani said his ministry was keen to implement the deal once security conditions stabilize.
Labels: Hussain al-Shahrastani, Jordan, Ministry of Oil, Oil Minister, Syria
