Monday, October 08, 2007
New tender for Kirkuk crude to be announced
Oil
(Reuters) - Iraq has sold nearly 5 million barrels of Kirkuk crude to buyers in Europe and the United States and plans to issue a new sales tender in the coming days, an Iraqi oil ministry source said on Monday. Shell, BP, Cepsa, Tupras, Erg, and Exxon Mobil had been awarded a total of 5 million barrels, he said. A new tender for 5 million barrels of Kirkuk crude -- the fourth such sale in six weeks -- will be announced in the next few days, the source said.
Through the three previous sales, Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation has sold about 12.5 million barrels of Kirkuk crude that is pumped from its northern oilfields and piped to Turkey for export. Repeated sabotage attacks along Iraq's northern pipeline to the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan have kept the export route mostly idle since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
But intermittent flows through the line over the past month have allowed Baghdad once again to ship crude to world markets. "We're moving volume to Ceyhan at a steadier rate," said the source. "So we're studying the possibility of term contracts." The Iraq-Turkey pipeline is Iraq's secondary export route. It relies on its main terminal in the south at Basra for exports of about 1.5 million barrels per day.
Through the three previous sales, Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation has sold about 12.5 million barrels of Kirkuk crude that is pumped from its northern oilfields and piped to Turkey for export. Repeated sabotage attacks along Iraq's northern pipeline to the Turkish terminal of Ceyhan have kept the export route mostly idle since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
But intermittent flows through the line over the past month have allowed Baghdad once again to ship crude to world markets. "We're moving volume to Ceyhan at a steadier rate," said the source. "So we're studying the possibility of term contracts." The Iraq-Turkey pipeline is Iraq's secondary export route. It relies on its main terminal in the south at Basra for exports of about 1.5 million barrels per day.
Labels: BP, Cepsa, Ceyhan, Erg, Exxon Mobil, Kirkuk crude, Shell, SOMO, State Oil Marketing Organisation, Tupras
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Total and Chevron to work together in Iraq
Oil
(Times online) - Two of the world’s biggest oil companies have signed an agreement to work together on projects in Iraq in the first clear sign that Western energy companies are preparing to enter the country. Reports yesterday revealed that Total had teamed up with Chevron and that they were putting together plans for Majnoon, the fourth-biggest oilfield in Iraq, with estimated potential reserves of 12 billion barrels.
Elf, now part of Total, negotiated a contract to run Majnoon with Saddam Hussein in the late 1990s. Both Total and Chevron refused to comment, but industry sources said that the two companies had met Iraqi officials to discuss a services agreement to develop the field. While less lucrative than a pro-duction-sharing agreement, where companies discover and sell on the oil, experts said that it would give them a vital foothold for other deals.
Iraq holds an estimated 110 billion barrels of oil, with more than half still to be developed, offering huge opportunities to Western companies desperate for new reserves. So far, companies such as Total, BP, Shell and Exxon have limited themselves to helping the Iraqi Oil Ministry to train junior staff and pull together data recorded under Saddam.
BP, however, is understood to have been asked to look into the potential of Kirkuk in the north. Shell is thought to have studied Rumaila, the country’s biggest oilfield. Muhammad-Ali Zainy, a former oil official in the Iraqi Government, said: “Iraq is the last remaining frontier that offers so much potential. International oil companies will be in Iraq, but in what form it is difficult to tell.”
Iraq is expected to ratify a petroleum law that would allow deals with Western companies to take place next month. However, experts believe that it could take years for companies to feel confident in sending contractors to the unstable country. The Irish-owned Petrel Resources is one of four minnows operating in Iraq under a contract to develop the Subba and Luhais field. Dave Horgan, managing director, said: “The big companies will be chomping at the bit to sign a deal. They will then hope they can delay any work for two or three years until the security scares die down.”
Labels: BP, Chevron, Elf, Kirkuk, Majnoon, Muhammad-Ali Zainy, Petrel Resources, Rumaila field, Shell, Subba and Luhais field, Total
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Shell may be first foreign oil and gas company to re-enter Iraq
Oil
(The New Anatolian) - Shell is poised to become the first oil and gas major to agree terms to re-enter Iraq following reports that it has struck a deal with Turkey’s state oil company, TPAO, to extract gas in the war-torn country, the Times said. The report went on to say that, “The Anglo-Dutch giant is expected to work in partnership with TPAO to build a pipeline from the Kirkuk field near Kurdistan to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, according to reports.
(The New Anatolian) - Shell is poised to become the first oil and gas major to agree terms to re-enter Iraq following reports that it has struck a deal with Turkey’s state oil company, TPAO, to extract gas in the war-torn country, the Times said. The report went on to say that, “The Anglo-Dutch giant is expected to work in partnership with TPAO to build a pipeline from the Kirkuk field near Kurdistan to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, according to reports.
A spokesman for the Turkish Energy Ministry said: “An agreement has been reached which has to be ratified by the administration in Baghdad.” Shell refused to rule out an agreement with TPAO but insisted there was still no legal framework in place in Baghdad to allow any contracts to be issued to foreign companies. Ian Bromilow, Shell’s chairman for Iraq, told The Times: “We have discussions but the contents of those discussions are really quite confidential. It is still very, very unclear what will happen in the sense that there is no petroleum law in place and the issue of security,” Bromilow said.
Iraq has some of the biggest oil and gas reserves in the world and speculation about Shell’s involvement has mounted in recent weeks. The oil major has long expressed an interest in returning to the country after being forced out when the industry was nationalised in 1972, and signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a plan for Iraq’s gas infrastructure in 2005. Last month industry in-siders claimed Shell managers met Iraqi officials in Oman to discuss investment terms for any future deals. The Iraqi Parliament is due to debate a draft Petroleum Law soon. Ratification would open the doors to billions of pounds of foreign investment.
Labels: Ceyhan, Gas, Ian Bromilow, Kirkuk, Shell, TPAO, Turkey
Saturday, March 10, 2007
British diplomats tried to influence Iraqi oil law in favour of UK businesses
Oil
(Al Jazeera)
A social justice group has obtained documents showing that the British government tried to influence a new Iraqi oil law in favour of UK businesses. The London-based Platform group said on Friday that the documents showed British diplomats tried to exclude Iraqi oil firms in favour of firms such as BP and Shell. Greg Muttitt, an oil campaigner with Platform, told People and Power programme aired on Al Jazeera on Friday, that the British government was "using their position as a military occupier to influence and shape the future of the country's economy in the interests of powerful companies".
British diplomats have been involved in "extensive efforts since at least 2004 to push for companies such as BP and Shell to receive long-term contracts, which would give them exclusive rights to extract Iraq's huge oilfields", Platform said in a press release on Friday.
The group said they were able to prove this using documents obtained under Britain's freedom of information act. Muttitt said Iraqis have been "excluded" from the oil law while the British foreign office played a "central role in supporting the efforts of the oil companies to lobby the Iraqi government".
A social justice group has obtained documents showing that the British government tried to influence a new Iraqi oil law in favour of UK businesses. The London-based Platform group said on Friday that the documents showed British diplomats tried to exclude Iraqi oil firms in favour of firms such as BP and Shell. Greg Muttitt, an oil campaigner with Platform, told People and Power programme aired on Al Jazeera on Friday, that the British government was "using their position as a military occupier to influence and shape the future of the country's economy in the interests of powerful companies".
British diplomats have been involved in "extensive efforts since at least 2004 to push for companies such as BP and Shell to receive long-term contracts, which would give them exclusive rights to extract Iraq's huge oilfields", Platform said in a press release on Friday.
The group said they were able to prove this using documents obtained under Britain's freedom of information act. Muttitt said Iraqis have been "excluded" from the oil law while the British foreign office played a "central role in supporting the efforts of the oil companies to lobby the Iraqi government".
Speaking to Al Jazeera's People and Power programme broadcast on Friday, Kim Howells, a British foreign office minister, denied those claims, saying, "This is paranoia gone completely loopy ... If we were interested in the oil, we would have done those dirty deals that some of the other countries did with Saddam Hussain and the gangsters who ran his regime." He also accused campaigners of seeking to promote their own causes at the expense of the Iraqis.
Speaking to People in Power, David Horgan, managing director of Petrel Resources, said: "If you worry too much about a perfect solution, you will get no solution. What's right is what works. The oil industry and business people generally are very good at getting things done." Petrel Resources was awarded a development service contract for Iraq's Subba and Luhais oil field in September 2005.
Critics have also said the new legislation, which aims to share oil revenues between 18 provinces making allocations based on population levels, will aggravate sectarians tensions in Iraq. Isam Al-Chalabi, Iraq's former oil minister, has called the oil law "ambiguous and unclear". He said: "If it's accepted in its present form certainly it will not be a new beginning to the betterment of the people. On the contrary, it is only adding fuel to the fire."
Speaking to People in Power, David Horgan, managing director of Petrel Resources, said: "If you worry too much about a perfect solution, you will get no solution. What's right is what works. The oil industry and business people generally are very good at getting things done." Petrel Resources was awarded a development service contract for Iraq's Subba and Luhais oil field in September 2005.
Critics have also said the new legislation, which aims to share oil revenues between 18 provinces making allocations based on population levels, will aggravate sectarians tensions in Iraq. Isam Al-Chalabi, Iraq's former oil minister, has called the oil law "ambiguous and unclear". He said: "If it's accepted in its present form certainly it will not be a new beginning to the betterment of the people. On the contrary, it is only adding fuel to the fire."
Labels: BP, British government, draft oil law, Kim Howells, Petrol Resources, Platform group, Shell, Uk
