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
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
In brazen attack, gunmen in military uniform kidnap deputy oil minister
Security
(AFP) - Gunmen dressed in Iraqi security uniforms kidnapped Deputy Oil Minister Abdel Jabar al-Wagaa from the compound of the state oil marketing company in Baghdad on Tuesday, an official said. "A gang of armed men dressed in Iraqi security uniforms broke into the compound of the State Oil Marketing Organisation and kidnapped several people, including Deputy Oil Minister Wagaa," oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said.
Jihad said the daylight raid on the company's compound which also houses residential quarters for its employees took place soon after the closing of the offices. Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani told state-run television that an investigation had been launched and some hostages were even "freed." "At 4:00 pm, a gang wearing Iraqi security uniforms broke into the compound and kidnapped five employees, including Wagaa," the minister said.
"We have marshalled all our forces and are carrying out raids on various hideouts and some of the hostages have been freed," he said without specifying the identity of the rescued victims. Insurgents dressed in security uniforms have often carried out raids on government buildings and abducted employees, many of whom are later found dead.
Jihad said the daylight raid on the company's compound which also houses residential quarters for its employees took place soon after the closing of the offices. Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani told state-run television that an investigation had been launched and some hostages were even "freed." "At 4:00 pm, a gang wearing Iraqi security uniforms broke into the compound and kidnapped five employees, including Wagaa," the minister said.
"We have marshalled all our forces and are carrying out raids on various hideouts and some of the hostages have been freed," he said without specifying the identity of the rescued victims. Insurgents dressed in security uniforms have often carried out raids on government buildings and abducted employees, many of whom are later found dead.
It was the highest profile kidnapping in Baghdad since five Britons were snatched from the Iraqi finance ministry when men wearing police uniforms stormed the building on May 29. The Britons have still not been released.
Labels: Abdel Jabar al-Wagaa, abduction, Deputy Oil Minister, State Oil Marketing Organisation
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Iraqi oil officials, experts worry over loss of Iraqi profit from oil
Oil, Politics
(AFP) - Some Iraqi oil experts and politicians are aghast over their government's approval of a bill that many fear will deliver the country's oil wealth to international firms on a platter. In February, capping months of bitter wrangling, the Baghdad government approved a draft law that aims to distribute revenue from crude oil exports equitably across Iraq's 18 provinces and open the sector to foreign investors.
The multi-party government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sees the legislation as a key plank in moves to reunite a country torn apart by sectarian violence, and hopes that parliament will ratify the bill in May. But former Iraqi oil industry officials, experts and lawmakers gathered in Jordan to debate the bill have warned that the timing is wrong, and expressed strong concerns that Iraq would lose control of its own "black gold."
"There are many question marks hanging over this draft law," said Dhia al-Bakaa, former president of the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO). "Why the timing? Why the hurry when we still lack political, economic and security stability," Bakaa asked a recent conference organised by the non-governmental Iraqi Centre for Strategic Studies. "The Iraqi National Oil Company should have been restructured before the government endorsed the draft law, to allow INOC to develop the giant oil fields so that they would not face pressure and extortion in the future."
Issam Chalabi, an oil minister under executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, said the bill did not take "into account our greater national interests." It was adopted "to satisfy US President George W. Bush," who called on the newly installed Maliki government last June to restore electricity in Iraq, adopt a new investment law and restructure the oil industry, he said. Chalabi also charged that Iraqi oil exports over the past four years have gone "unchecked and unaccounted for."
Since the US-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi production has tumbled from 3.5 million barrels per day to around two million. Chalabi said Iraq has been exporting around 1.5 million bpd. Faleh al-Khayat, a former head of planning at the oil ministry, warned that "major foreign oil firms are greedy and will covet Iraq's oil wealth" if the bill is adopted. "If Iraq's giant oilfields are developed they would yield 80 percent of Iraq's proven reserves estimated at 115 billion barrels," he said.
MP Saleh Mutlak of Iraq's National Dialogue Front echoed him: "We have no need for foreign companies. We are experienced enough to reap the fruit of our wealth." Mutlak also said he feared the bill may not live up to government hopes that it will unify Iraq. "We don't want a new law that will further divide us. We need a law that will unite the Iraqi people," he said.
Most oil production is in the Shiite south, with the best prospects for new finds centred on the Kurdish north. The northern oil hub of Kirkuk is disputed between Kurdish and Arab leaders. Motlak said parliament in Baghdad should not ratify the bill "until we reach the appropriate climate for investments in Iraq."
The multi-party government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sees the legislation as a key plank in moves to reunite a country torn apart by sectarian violence, and hopes that parliament will ratify the bill in May. But former Iraqi oil industry officials, experts and lawmakers gathered in Jordan to debate the bill have warned that the timing is wrong, and expressed strong concerns that Iraq would lose control of its own "black gold."
"There are many question marks hanging over this draft law," said Dhia al-Bakaa, former president of the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO). "Why the timing? Why the hurry when we still lack political, economic and security stability," Bakaa asked a recent conference organised by the non-governmental Iraqi Centre for Strategic Studies. "The Iraqi National Oil Company should have been restructured before the government endorsed the draft law, to allow INOC to develop the giant oil fields so that they would not face pressure and extortion in the future."
Issam Chalabi, an oil minister under executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, said the bill did not take "into account our greater national interests." It was adopted "to satisfy US President George W. Bush," who called on the newly installed Maliki government last June to restore electricity in Iraq, adopt a new investment law and restructure the oil industry, he said. Chalabi also charged that Iraqi oil exports over the past four years have gone "unchecked and unaccounted for."
Since the US-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi production has tumbled from 3.5 million barrels per day to around two million. Chalabi said Iraq has been exporting around 1.5 million bpd. Faleh al-Khayat, a former head of planning at the oil ministry, warned that "major foreign oil firms are greedy and will covet Iraq's oil wealth" if the bill is adopted. "If Iraq's giant oilfields are developed they would yield 80 percent of Iraq's proven reserves estimated at 115 billion barrels," he said.
MP Saleh Mutlak of Iraq's National Dialogue Front echoed him: "We have no need for foreign companies. We are experienced enough to reap the fruit of our wealth." Mutlak also said he feared the bill may not live up to government hopes that it will unify Iraq. "We don't want a new law that will further divide us. We need a law that will unite the Iraqi people," he said.
Most oil production is in the Shiite south, with the best prospects for new finds centred on the Kurdish north. The northern oil hub of Kirkuk is disputed between Kurdish and Arab leaders. Motlak said parliament in Baghdad should not ratify the bill "until we reach the appropriate climate for investments in Iraq."
Labels: Dhia al-Bakaa, draft oil law, Faleh al-Khayat, INOC, Iraq, Iraqi National Oil Company, Issam Chalabi, Saleh Mutlak, SOMO, State Oil Marketing Organisation
