- An oil pipeline running in a predominantly Sunni Muslim region was blow-up
on June 21, 2003, near Hit, 90 miles northwest of Baghdad was described
as "sabotage" by Iraqi officials on June 23. It could disturb
oil supply to the al-Doura refinery in Baghdad renewing oil shortage in
the capital.
- On August 16, 2003, saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline near Beiji, Northern
Iraq, starting a big fire and halting oil export to Turkey. It is the second
time in so many days that the pipeline has been cut. The pipeline had only
started to work three days before. It will take many days to repair the
damage.
- On Saturday April 24, 2004, a few explosions damaged the oil installations
at the al-Baqra terminal in Basra. Two coalition sailors died and four others
were wounded -one of them died later- when the boat loaded with explosives
they tried to intercept blew itself up. The oil distribution will be stopped
for at least 48 hours. Two more small boats tried to attack two tankers
but they blew themselves up before when chased by American sailors. The
oil delivery went on from the Khawr al-Amaya and al-Basra platforms. Iraq
will loose about $110m in oil revenue if the damage is repaired on April
26 as foreseen.
- On June 26, 2004, Iraq's two key oil pipelines in the south were again
pumping oil to Iraqi sea terminals after engineers finished fixing the damage
caused by sabotage a few days ago.
- On July 3, 2004, an oil pipeline was damaged in southern Iraq causing
a fresh fall in exports. Exports had fallen to 40,000 barrels per hour from
84,000 barrels per hour.
- Saboteurs attacked a strategic oil pipeline linking Iraq's northern and
southern fields on July 4, 2004, cutting exports that were already halved
as a consequence of a previous attack. These attacks undermine economic
recovery and feed insurgency and political unrest.
- On July 15, 2004, saboteurs blew-up a crude oil pipeline halting exports
of oil from Kirkuk to Ceyhan, Turkey. It should take about two days to repair
it. On the same day, smugglers drilled holes into one of the two pipelines
in the south.
- On August 20, 2004, suspected Sadr militants set fire to the headquarters
of Iraq's South Oil Company in Basra.
- On August 20, 2004, militants loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Al-Sadr
attacked an oil pipeline near the southern city of Amara blowing up the
pipeline that connects the southern Bezergan oil field with a refinery in
Amara. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
- On August 23, 2004, news that Iraq's crude exports were back to normal
for the first time in two weeks helped to calm the oil markets. Exports
had been sharply reduced by sabotage and threats from militants. Oil prices
rose to nearly $50 a barrel last week but have since eased.
- On August 24, 2004, Oil prices fell nearly a dollar to end just above
$45 following a more optimistic Iraq export forecast. The downturn followed
a failure to hit the psychological $50 mark in New York, together with the
resumption of full Iraqi exports from the south and restored flows in the
north.
- Oil prices fell for a fifth consecutive day on August 26, 2004, despite
a sharp drop in Iraqi exports after pipelines were sabotaged. The price
of oil has plunged 11 percent in the past week, retracing nearly all the
gains it had made since the start of the month. Light crude for October
delivery dipped 37 cents to $43.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In London, Brent crude futures dropped 35 cents to $40.33 a barrel on the
International Petroleum Exchange.
- Oil prices closed higher on Friday August 27, 2004, for the first time
in a week as worries lingered about supply disruptions from Iraq even after
yesterday's deal between Shiite religious dealers seeking peace in the city
of Najaf. In other commodity markets, gold prices dipped as the dollar rose
following US economic data. But copper prices rose on a strike threat at
a big Peruvian miner. Grain prices closed lower as concern about Midwest
frost damage faded. At the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for October
delivery closed 8 cents higher at $43.17 a barrel. The gain followed losses
of more than $6 in the previous five sessions after NYMEX crude prices set
a record high of $49.40.
- Saboteurs blew up a cluster of export pipelines in southern Iraq on Sunday
August 29, 2004. The explosions occurred in al-Radgha, about 50 kilometres
southwest of Basra. The pipeline, which connects the Rumeila oilfields with
export storage tanks in the Faw peninsula, was set ablaze after the attack
and emergency workers were struggling to put the fire out. Previous sabotage
last week reduced oil exports to about 900,000 barrels a day - about half
the normal average of 1.8 million barrels a day. The attack Sunday further
shrunk exports to 500,000 barrels a day.
- On August 30, 2004, saboteurs blew up an internal oil pipeline on the
edge of Baghdad.
- World oil prices ended higher on September 2, 2004, after Russian oil
company YUKOS said a Moscow court's decision to effectively freeze its bank
accounts threatened its ability to continue production. Moreover a new sabotage
attack on Iraq's northern oil export pipeline also helped to extend a bounce-back
from last week's heavy profit-taking price drop from record highs of nearly
US$50 a barrel for US crude. New York light crude gained as much as US$1.37
a barrel at one point, rising well above US$45 a barrel, before settling
at US$44.06. London Brent crude increased US$1.11 to US$42.58 a barrel,
before easing to US$41.57
- Militants bombed Iraq's northern oil pipeline to Turkey on September 2,
2004, halting exports. It will take at least two days to put out the huge
blast. Only last week Iraq had restored exports of about 600,000 bpd along
this pipeline, the first deliveries from its northern oil fields since the
end of May.
- On September 3, 2004, an oil pipeline near the main southern Iraqi city
of Basra was attacked, but it was not immediately clear to what extent exports
were disrupted.
- On September 6, 2004, a pipeline supplying gas to a major electrical plant
south of Kirkuk was attacked. Insurgents set fire to a gas pipeline in the
Taza region" some 20 kilometres south of Kirkuk. The attack "had
serious consequences for the Bayji electrical plant which produces 400 megawatts
per day and supplies the whole of northern Iraq."
- On September 11, 2004, gunmen sabotaged a pipeline linking a northern
Iraqi city with the Havana refinery.
- On Wednesday October 3, 2004, gunmen killed a senior Oil Ministry official,
Hussein Ali al-Fatal in Baghdad. He was the general manager of a state-owned
company that distributes petroleum by-products.
- On November 2, 2004, insurgents again blew up the northern oil export
pipeline near Kirkuk forcing a shutdown of oil export to a port in Turkey.
The pipeline pumps about 400,000 barrels a day of crude oil. It will take
many days to repair the damage.
- On November 13, 2004 an oil pipeline was sabotaged north of Baghdad.
- On November 15, 2004, saboteurs blew up an oil pipeline and set fire to
a storage and pumping station in northern Iraq. The pipeline connects Kirkuk
to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Export of oil was stopped for at least a
week.
- Four oil wells were set on fie in northern Iraq.
- On February 15, 2005, nsurgents blew up an oil pipeline near Kirkuk. The
Al-Dibbis oilfield belongs to the North Oil Co. It will take workers at
least three days to extinguish the blaze and repair the pipeline.
- An oil pipeline in northern Iraq was put ablaze after saboteurs blew it
up on February 26, 2005. The pipeline connects oilfields in Dibis with the
northern city of Kirkuk.
- On March 7, 2005 saboteurs blasted a pipeline near Samarra, 60 miles northwest
of the capital that carries oil to a Baghdad refinery.
- Insurgents blew up two oil pipelines on March 4, 2005, one near Samarra
-95 kilometres north of Baghdad- and the other in the area near Riyadh,
a town close to Kirkuk -290 kilometres north of Baghdad. The extent of the
damage or the importance of the pipelines was unclear.
- Oil prices rose Monday August 22, 2005, as sabotage disrupted Iraq's southern
pipeline exports. Light sweet crude for September delivery rose 65 cents
to $66 a barrel in afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
- Exports resumed on a limited basis at Iraq's only functioning oil terminals
Monday afternoon August 22, 2005, following a shut down for much of the
day because of a power cut that darkened parts of central and southern Iraq.
Waiting tankers were being serviced by pumps on auxiliary power at a rate
much reduced from normal (about one-third the normal rate of approximately
1.5 million barrels a day).
- Exports were halted September 3, 2005, on a major Iraqi crude oil pipeline
from Kirkuk to Ceyhan in Turkey after a roadside bomb exploded on Saturday
morning in Fatha, 95 km southwest of Kirkuk. The fire was later extinguished
but an oil ministry source said exports stopped completely.
- Insurgents bombed a pipeline near the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk,
sending plumes of black smoke and fire up into the air. The pipeline connects
oil fields with Kirkuk's refineries.
- Exports through the country's other main route, the northern export pipeline
to Turkey, have long been halted by incessant sabotage. Iraqi officials
said sabotage was also responsible for Monday's blackout, which prevented
oil from being pumped into tankers waiting at berths.
- A 20% rise in its oil exports is expected by the start of 2006. Ahmad
Chalabi said output for export should hit 1.8 million barrels a day by January.
He backed the idea that US and UK oil firms should have priority in Iraq's
oil sector.
- December 6, 2004, the pipeline supplying domestic fuel oil from the north
to Baghdad was sabotaged.
- Iraq's largest refinery is closed since December 24 after insurgents threatened
to kill its drivers and blow up its distribution trucks.
- A oil refinery that provide most of the gasoline to the Iraqis, still
shut down on December 30, 2005, is creating a new crisis in Iraq. First
the cost of gasoline was increased from 13 cents to about 65 US cents a
gallon on December 19. This was necessary because already then most of the
gasoline had to be imported especially that sold in Baghdad. Now the refinery
closed under threat of attack on its installation but also on its delivery
trucks and their drivers. Long queue can be seen again at most distributors.
The Iraqi oil production should average 1.8 million barrel a day in 2006,
12% less that the 2 million barrels a day of 2004 and just above what it
was in 1990. The Iraqi oil reserves are estimated to be at least 110 billions
barrels, the third largest after Saudi Arabia and Canada.
- The Iraqi main oil refinery reopened for business January 2, 2006 as the
army agreed to protect the delivery truck drivers who have been threatened
by the insurgents. Iraq's oil exports hit their lowest level since the war
in December 2005. Only 34.4 million barrels were exported in December.
- Iraq will gradually increase state-controlled domestic fuel prices tenfold
in 2006 to meet International Monetary Fund demands, an Iraq official said
on Monday February 6, 2006. Iraq already increased prices by 200% in December,
igniting protests and creating a rift between the oil ministry and the government
over external political pressure. The price of gasoline will gradually increase
in 2006 to reach about 600 dinars per litre. A litre of ordinary gasoline
before the rise in December cost 20 dinars, or about 1.4 US cents. It climbed
to 50 dinars in early December. One litre of gasoline in oil producer Saudi
Arabia costs between 25-30 cents. When Iraq increases the price tenfold
a litre will cost between 40-42 cents.
- Attacks by insurgents on Iraq's oil industry cost the country $6.25bn
in lost revenue during 2005 we were told on February 19, 2006. A total of
186 attacks were carried out on oil sites last year, claiming the lives
of 47 engineers and 91 police and security guards. US officials say the
cost of rebuilding Iraq could reach more than $56bn.
- Unease about the standoff with Iran has helped push oil prices to record
highs on April 18, 2006. Prices hit $70.86 a barrel and analysts said prices
would continue to rise as long as the dispute appeared to escalate.
- Iraqi officials believe they can double their daily oil output quickly
if a new government improved security they said on Monday May 22, 2006.
-World oil prices could triple from their current level of about $70 per barrel if the West's standoff over Iran's nuclear programme escalates into conflict, the Saudi Arabian government warned on June 21, 2006. Iran is the Opec cartel's number two oil producer and analysts fear it could halt exports if the dispute worsens.
-Iraq's new oil minister offered an optimistic forecast for the country's oil industry on Sunday June 25, 2006, saying daily production has reached 2.5 million barrels a day and that Iraq hoped to rival top oil exporter Saudi Arabia within a decade. Iraq expects its daily oil production to reach 2.6 million to 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the year, rising to about 4 million bpd by 2010, and 6 million bpd by 2012. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, oil production had been stuck at 2 million bpd, with exports of 1.5 million bpd. That compares to pre-war output of just under 3 million bpd and exports of around 2 million.
A sabotage attack along Iraq's vital northern oil export route to Turkey 10 days ago fractured both pipelines and repairs will take at least another week, an Oil Ministry official said on Wednesday July 19, 2006.
On Sunday July 23, 2006, Iraq has completed repairs to one of two sabotaged
oil pipelines that export crude from its northern fields to Turkey and aims
to restart the flow this week.
The Iraqi government has adopted a draft legislation on how the huge oil
reserves will be managed and how the income from it will be shared among
the country's ethnic and sectarian divisions. The Kurds accepted the draft
oil bill over the weekend -nearly two months after the Government's own
deadline for enacting a new oil law. Oil revenues amount for about 90 per
cent of its national budget. The legislation now goes to parliament for
approval but it is unclear when the 275-member parliament will vote on the
measure. Iraqi has the world's third-largest reserves of oil. Revenues will
be distributed to all 18 provinces based on population size, a concession
to the Sunnis. Iraq's oil lies mainly in the Kurdish-controlled north and
the Shiite-controlled south.
Iraqi oil production is above the levels seen before the US-led invasion of the country in 2003 we were told on December 15, 2007. Iraqi crude production is now running at 2.3 million barrels per day, compared with 1.9 million barrels at the start of this year. The rise is due to the improving security situation in Iraq, especially in the north of the country.
Iraq's oil minister said Saturday March 8, 2008, his government will not recognize any oil deals that the northern Kurdish self-governing region has unilaterally inked with foreign companies. The Kurdistan Regional Government has approved several contracts with international companies, causing tensions with the Iraqi government which is seeking centralized control over the country's oil resources.
Iraq's oil exports and refining operations in Basra are running normally again on Saturday March 29, 2008, after sabotage attacks and power outages disrupted operations. Amid the chaos, a bomb on Thursday struck the Zubair-1 pipeline that sends crude oil from the Basra Zubair oil field to tanks for Iraq's two exporting terminals on the Gulf: al-Umaiya and Basra.
Iraq's oil ministry published a list of 35 companies on Monday April 14,
2008, qualified to bid in the first licensing round for oil and gas contracts.
Companies that failed to qualify for the first round could still be added
to the list for later bidding rounds. Some 120 companies submitted documentation
for qualification. Oil majors BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell
and Total all qualified.
Up to 41 foreign oil firms are now qualified to participate in Iraq's coming licensing round for oil and gas contracts we were told on Sunday June 22, 2008. Six more state-owned oil companies are added to 35 companies qualified in mid April to won rights to bid tenders to develop oil and gas fields in Iraq. The new oil firms are from Algeria, Angola, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. In April, Iraq qualified 35 companies out of 120 applicants around the world.
Iraq has begun on June 30, 2008, the process of opening up its oil industry
to foreign investment in an effort to boost output of the country's key
income earner. Iraq is seeking external help to boost output from six key
oil fields and has attracted interest from leading US, Asian and European
producers. Oil production is currently at its highest since the 2003 invasion.
High oil prices mean a windfall in revenue for Iraq's government, but the Iraqis have failed to spend all that money properly on the country's infrastructure we were told on August 6, 2008. The Iraq government had almost $30 billion in unspent funds in its coffers at the end of last year.
On Thursday August 28, 2008, in the first major oil deal Iraq has made with a foreign country since 2003, the Iraqi government and the China National Petroleum Corporation have signed a contract in Beijing that could be worth up to $3 billion. Under the new contract, which must still be approved by Iraq's cabinet, the Chinese company will provide technical advisers, oil workers and equipment to help develop the Ahdab oil field southeast of Baghdad. He said that Iraq had agreed to provide security for Chinese workers and that the Chinese company would also bring its own security team.
On September 2, 2008, we were told that China won the race to be the first to exploit Iraq's oil fields following a deal signed with the Iraqi Government last week. The deal is worth a reported $3 billion USD. Iraq's cabinet has approved the deal, an agreement which gives Beijing first access to the world's third-largest oil reserves. The deal will see China's state-owned company China Petroleum National Corp. develop the Al-Ahdab oil field in the central province of Wasit. The Chinese company will charge six dollars per barrel of production as service fees which would decrease gradually to three dollars. The contract was expected to drill 25,000 barrels of oil per day in the first three years, with the life of the oil field expected to be some 20 years.
Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell agreed to a joint venture deal worth up to four billion dollars to capture gas in Iraq we were told on Tuesday September 9, 2008. Shell will become the first western oil group to sign a deal with the Iraq government since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003. The project will be a joint venture, with Shell taking a 49 percent stake and the Iraqi oil ministry 51 percent.
The Iraqi government decided on September 12, 2008, to scrap plans to award no-bid short-term advisory and technical support contracts to a handful of Western oil companies. The companies -including Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, France's Total and British Petroleum- are expected to submit bids in coming weeks for deals that the Iraqi government hopes will boost exploration and output in its oil fields, which have been hampered by years of war.
Iraq's oil minister met 34 oil company representatives in London on Monday October 13, 2008, to set out the ground rules for foreign multinationals' first chance at the country's enormous energy reserves since the US-led invasion in 2003. Hussain al-Shahristani spoke to executives as part of Iraq's first round of bidding for new contracts since Saddam Hussein was removed from power. Journalists were barred from the talks. At the top of the list: Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC, ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Total SA, all eager for a shot at helping extract some of the 115 billion barrels of oil thought to lie beneath Iraq's surface.
Iraq opened the doors to foreign investment in its vast oil industry Monday October 13, 2008. Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani met with executives from 35 international oil companies in London, setting out the conditions of 20-year service contracts to develop six of the country's oil fields and two new natural-gas fields. Mr. Shahristani said Iraq wasn't producing enough oil to fund the reconstruction of the country. Iraq has 115 billion barrels of oil reserves, the third largest after Saudi Arabia and Iran. But more than a decade of sanctions and two wars have left its oil infrastructure in tatters.
On Tuesday November 11, 2008, North Oil, an Iraqi-owned company, signed
a contract with a Chinese state-owned oil corporation, CNPC that was first
negotiated during Saddam Hussein's government. The deal is worth $3.5 billion.
It is the first major oil-development deal that Iraq has made with a foreign
company since the American-led invasion in 2003. It will allow CNPC, with
Norinco, another Chinese company, to develop the Adhab oil field in Wasit
Province, southeast of Baghdad, for 20 years.
Iraq on Wednesday December 31, 2008, opened up some of its most prized oil and gas fields to international firms that have been excluded for decades, part of new deals that could more than double its output within a few years. In a second bid round, following on from one earlier this year, Iraq has put forward 11 fields. Two of the oilfields -Majnoon and West Qurna Phase II- are classed as super giants and between them could produce 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) when fully developed. The other fields are Halfaya, East Baghdad, Gharrafa, Qayara, Najmah, Badrah, Kifil/West Kifil/Mirjan and a group in Diyala province, as well as Basra's Siba gas field. The 11 fields could increase production by up to 2.5 million bpd within three to four years of the contracts being completed at the end of 2009. That increase is roughly equivalent to what Iraq produces today. Three of the fields are jointly owned with neighbours Iran and Kuwait. Developing them would require bilateral deals with those states, which were not opposed.
From January 21, 2009, the Iraqi Oil Ministry is evaluating offers submitted by three international companies to develop a prized oil field in southern Iraq. Italy's Eni SpA, Spain's Repsol and Japan's Nippon Oil submitted bids for a service contract to develop the Nasiriyah oil field. It is believed to have 4.4 billion barrels in reserves. The contract will be for engineering, procurement and construction services.
Iraq oil exports reached 56.2 million barrels in December 2008 we were told on Sunday January 25, 2009. 43.4 million barrels were exported through Basra terminals in the Gulf, while 12.8 million barrels were exported through Turkey's port of Ceyhan; the oil was purchased by 23 international oil companies. The month's revenues from the country's crude oil exports were about 1.943 billion dollars, with an average price of about 34.57 per barrel; the sale was 2.299 billion dollars in November, when the average of the oil price was about 43.54 a barrel.
On February 11, 2009 Iraq is inviting contractors to bid for drilling rights to 40 oil wells in two major southern oil fields. South Oil Co. issued two tenders to drill 30 wells in the Majnoon oil field and 10 others in the Nahr bin Umar field. Both locations are in Basra, the epicentre of its vast oil reserves. Bids must be submitted by March 1. Majnoon holds 12.6 billion barrels in reserves and has a potential to produce 600,000 barrels a day. Nahr bin Umar has about 6.6 billion barrels of reserves and a potential production of 440,000 bpd. Together, they are currently only producing about 100,000 bpd.
On February 12, 2009, Iraq is moving closer towards finalising a multi-billion
dollar natural gas deal with a joint venture including Iraq's South Gas
Company, Royal Dutch Shell and, now, Mitsubishi. Last September, Iraq signed
an initial agreement on the deal, described then as a joint venture between
Shell and the South Gas Company, in the southern Basra province. Under the
terms of the deal announced then, Iraq would hold 51 percent of the venture
and Shell 49 percent. The deal will now include Mitsubishi.
South Korean and Iraqi government reached an agreement on Tuesday February
24, 2009, over South Korea's investment into Iraqi social infrastructure
in exchange for rights of oil development in The Basra region. South Korea
will invest 3.55 billion U.S. dollars in reconstruction projects.
State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) and SK Energy said on Friday April 3, 2009, they had failed to pass the pre-qualification process for oil exploration rights in Iraq. The two firms said their previous investments in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region would not be affected by the disqualification.
Iraq's monthly oil exports rose slightly in April to 1.821 million barrels per day, from 1.815 million bpd in March we were told on Sunday May 3, 2009; the price was $47 per barrel. It is expected total average exports for May to exceed 1.9 million bpd.
Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region started exporting crude oil to foreign markets on June 1, 2009, for the first time. Companies chosen by the Kurdistan Regional Government will pump up to 90,000-100,000 barrels per day from two northern oilfields to Turkey.
An oil consortium led by British Petroleum has won a contract to develop a large oil field in Iraq, as dozens of international firms compete for the rights to the nation's oil and gas reserves. BP, along with China's CNPC, secured the contract for the Rumaila oil field on Tuesday June 30, 2009, the largest of Iraq's six oil fields on offer to foreign and state-owned companies.
Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday October 8, 2009, it had agreed commercial terms for a key deal with Britain's BP and China's CNPC International to almost triple production at a giant southern oilfield. The venture, expected to cost 14-20 billion dollars, is expected to boost production at the southern Rumaila field from the current one million barrels per day (bpd) to around 2.8 million bpd over its 20-year duration.
On October 17, 2009, the Iraqi government has approved a deal with a consortium
led by British giant BP PLC to develop a prized oil field in the south.
BP, which was booted from the country in 1972 when Saddam Hussein nationalized
the oil industry, and its partner CNPC of China were the only winners in
Iraq's first international oil auction in over 30 years for development
rights for the 17.8 billion barrel Rumaila field. Out of two gas fields
and six oil fields offered in the June 30 bidding round, the Rumaila contract
was the only success story. Most oil companies rejected the prices Iraq
was willing to pay, striking a major blow to Iraq's hopes for an oil-revenue
fuelled post-war recovery.
British oil major BP Plc and China's CNPC on Tuesday November 3, 2009, signed Iraq's first major new oil deal since the 2003 U.S. invasion. The 20-year contract for the southern Rumaila oilfield is the first of several deals Iraq expects to sign in the coming weeks and months.
On November 5, 2009, Iraq has struck a deal with a consortium led by US
oil giant Exxon Mobil, and including Royal Dutch Shell, to develop the West
Qurna 1 oil field. This latest deal, which needs cabinet approval, is designed
to boost oil production at the Qurna oil field from 280,000 to 2.1 million
barrels a day.
Earlier this week, Iraq struck a similar deal with Italian firm ENI that
will lead a consortium to develop the Zubair oilfield in southern Iraq.
The deal, which also needs cabinet approval, calls for the group to extract
200,000 barrels of oil a day, rising to 1.1 million a day within seven years.
Royal Dutch Shell and Petronas of Malaysia won the rights Friday December 11, 2009, to develop one of the world's largest remaining untapped oil fields. The companies proposed that a fee that Iraq would pay them to develop the Majnoon oil field be set at $1.39 per barrel and they pledged to increase output from the field to 1.8 million barrels per day, more than twice what Iraq had expected.
Russia's Lukoil and Norway's Statoil won a joint contract to develop a major untapped oil field in southern Iraq, Saturday December 12, 2009, on the second and final day of a two-day auction aimed at boosting Iraq's oil output.
Iraq's oil capacity could reach 12 million barrels per day (bpd) in six
years we were told on December 12, 2009. That oil producers would not necessarily
operate at full capacity, but would take into account demand. Saudi Arabia,
the world's largest oil exporter, has a capacity of 12.5m bpd.
Iraq's cabinet has ratified contracts with foreign firms to develop four oilfields the government said on Tuesday January 5, 2010.
Oil giant Shell and Malaysia's state-run Petronas Oil Company finalised a contract on Sunday January 17, 2010, to develop Iraq's giant Majnoon oil field. In December Shell and Petronas beat a rival bid from France's Total and China's CNPC to develop the 12.6bn barrel field in southern Iraq.
Iraq's state-owned oil companies South Oil Company (SOC) and Missan Oil Company (MOC) on January 22, 2010 finalised a $20 billion contract with a consortium led by Italian energy giant Eni SpA with partners Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) of the US and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) to develop the Zubair oil field near Basra in Iraq.
A consortium made up of Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC finalized a deal Monday January 25, 2010, to develop the West Qurna phase 1 oil field in southern Iraq. It represents the first time a U.S.-led group has been allowed into Iraq's oil patch since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
On January 26, 2010, Iraq signed two final deals with Angola's national oil company Sonangol to develop two small oil fields in the north. The 20-year agreements were part of seven deals awarded in Iraq's second post-war bidding round last month. Each deal could be extended for five more years. Sonangol will develop the 858 million-barrel Nejma field for $6 per barrel produced. It will be paid $5 per barrel produced for developing the 807 million-barrel Qayara field.
Iraq and a consortium led by China's National Petroleum Corp. have signed a final accord to develop a prized southern oil field. Under the 20-year deal, CNPC and partners Malaysia's Petronas and France's Total will develop the 4.1 billion-barrel Halfaya field for $1.40 per barrel produced. The deal was signed Wednesday January 27, 2010. It has an option to be extended for an additional five years.
Iraq signed a final deal with a group led by Russia's Gazprom on Thursday January 28, 2010, to develop its eastern Badrah oilfield, which has estimated reserves of 100 million barrels of oil. Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of the giant Russian oil company, is teaming up with Turkey's TPAO, South Korea's KOGAS and Malaysia's Petronas for the field, which is near Iraq's border with Iran.
Iraq signed a contract on Sunday January 31, 2010, with Russia's Lukoil and Norway's Statoil to develop one of the world's biggest oilfields, sealing the last of 10 deals that could turn the war-shattered country into a top oil producer.
President and CEO of Statoil, Helge Lund, together with president of Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov, have signed the development and production service contract for West Qurna 2, near Basra in Iraq.
Attackers bombed an oil pipeline north of Baghdad, slowing production at
a refinery in the capital by half we were told on Wednesday February 10,
2010. No one was hurt in the bombing, on Tuesday. The capacity at Baghdad's
Dora refinery was cut from around 140,000 barrels per day to 70,000 following
the attack.
Iraq's Minister of Oil Husayn al-Shahristani said Tuesday May 18, 2010, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation's (TPAO) winning of a second oil producing tender in Iraq will have a positive impact on the relations between Turkey and Iraq. TPAO and its Chinese partner CNOOCI International Company signed an agreement with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to extract oil in southern province of Misan on Monday.
On Tuesday June 29, 2010, Iraq has approved a $17 billion joint venture project with Royal Dutch Shell PLC to tap associated natural gas in four southern oil fields. Under the deal, Iraq will hold a 51 percent stake in the new Basra Gas Company while Shell will hold a 44 percent share. Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. will hold the remaining four percent stake in the company. Iraq, which is home to the world's third largest proven reserves of conventional crude oil, sits on an estimated 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Of the 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas it produces, almost half is burned off at the wells.
Iraq is claiming it has more oil than anyone else -except for Saudi Arabia. Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein al Shahristani says a re-evaluation of Iraq's oil fields increases the country's proven reserves from 115 billion barrels to 143 billion. And, Shahristani said, that number may go up, as it doesn't include fields in Kurdistan, and new exploration may find other reserves. However, the news is being greeted with a note of scepticism, with some analysts suspecting more of a political rather than an engineering basis for the 25 percent increase.
Iraq's daily oil production has increased by 100,000 barrels a day to 2.5 million barrels a day we were told on December 23, 2010. The increase came from two southern major oil fields that are being developed by Western companies. Iraq is aiming to increase export capacity from southern terminals to 4.5 million barrels a day, from the current 1.6 million barrels a day.
Iraq's oil minister said Sunday January 2, 2011, that the country's oil production has increased by about 100,000 barrels a day, exceeding 2.7 million barrels. Oil revenues make up nearly 95 percent of Iraq's budget, and the increase in production and exports is vital to bringing the country sorely needed cash for reconstruction after decades of conflict and sanctions.
Iraq's shaky power-sharing government suffered another setback on Thursday March 3, 2011, when former Prime Minister Allawi rejected a high-ranking advisory job that had been created to end the country's protracted political deadlock. The decision by Mr. Allawi, who leads a political coalition backed by much of Iraq's Sunni minority, exposed new fissures in a coalition government forged with American backing late last year. But in recent days, Mr. Allawi and members of his coalition, Iraqiya, have accused Prime Minister Maliki of failing to follow through on his promises to share power, deepening a sense of their marginalization.
The United States should have first dibs on any oil produced in Iraq because of its lead in the invasion of the country Donald Trump said on Friday April 29, 2011. He believes that the United States deserves Iraq's oil. He said "We lost thousands of soldiers, great military people, and thousands and tens of thousands are wounded and I say take the oil. Because what's going to happen is, Iran is going to take the oil the day we leave."
Iraq is targeting year-end crude exports of 2.5 million barrels a day compared with an average of 2.2 million barrels a day in the past five months. The Gulf state is producing 2.7 million barrels a day, Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said Tuesday June 7, 2011 before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in Vienna.
The largest Chinese oil company has begun major operations at the Al Ahdab oil field, making the field the first large new one to start production in Iraq in 20 years Tuesday June 28, 2011. Operations began June 21, and the field is expected to produce three million tons of crude oil per year. The oil field was discovered in 1979 and is believed to have reserves of one billion barrels. The Chinese company, China National Petroleum Corp., or C.N.P.C., a state-owned enterprise, secured rights to the field under a technical service contract signed with the Iraqi government in November 2008. Under the contract, C.N.P.C. can develop the field for 23 years. The company is investing $3 billion to develop and explore the site, China Daily reported. The deal is a renegotiation of a contract signed in 1996 with the government of Saddam Hussein to develop the field in Wasit Province. The contract was postponed after the United Nations imposed economic sanctions on Iraq and the U.S. military toppled Mr. Hussein in 2003. Analysts say the Ahdab operation is C.N.P.C.'s largest in the Middle East. The contract says C.N.P.C. will be paid per barrel of oil rather than get equity in the oil field, as it would have under the original agreement with Mr. Hussein's government. A Chinese oil executive said in 2009 that the company would receive a profit of less than 1 percent but that the contract was a way to "get a foot in the door" of the Iraqi oil industry, which has much larger fields than Ahdab.
Iraq took control Friday July 1, 2011, of billions of dollars in oil revenues set aside by the United Nations following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, money intended to be used build up the country's economy. The U.N. Security Council hand over of the Development Fund for Iraq is considered a milestone for Iraqi autonomy, which comes as the United States prepares to withdraw its roughly 47,000 troops from the country by the end of the year. The fund will be turned over to an Iraqi committee of financial experts that will operate under terms approved by Iraq's Council of Ministers, it said.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and Iraq have settled most pending legal issues
that have delayed a $12 billion gas deal for more than two years and an
initial pact could be signed mid next week, we were told on Friday July
15, 2011.
Iraq's crude oil output Monday October 3, 2011, hit 2.9 million barrels a day, the highest level achieved since the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003.
Output at Iraq's Rumaila oilfield has been cut to 530,000 barrels per day from about 1.24 million bpd after two bombs hit pipelines on Friday October 7, 2011, and halted some production. Approximately 700,000 bpd in halted output could be resumed partially from Rumaila on Sunday and it could take three days to restore normal production at the field. Stored oil would keep export levels the same.
On Monday October 10, 2011, Iraq has resumed crude oil production from
Rumaila South oil field after two blasts Friday night near an export pipeline
forced a partial suspension of output from the field in southern Iraq,.
On Wednesday November 15, 2011, Iraq approved a $17 billion contract with Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Mitsubishi Corp. (8058) for the capture of natural gas at three oilfields in the south of the country. Iraq has a 51 percent stake in the venture known as South Gas Co., Ali Al-Dabbagh said today. Shell has a 44 percent stake, while Mitsubishi owns the rest. The agreement is for 25 years. Iraq, holder of the fifth-biggest gas reserves in the Middle East, is struggling to restore power capacity after years of conflict and economic sanctions. The captured gas will supply domestic needs and may be exported at a later stage.
In Iraq's vast southern desert, red sandbags stretch along roadsides to
warn of the danger from Saddam-era landmines that litter the prized Rumaila
oilfield. White ones signal areas safe to walk or drive. Iraq may have 25
million landmines and millions of other unexploded bombs that are slowing
development of some of the world's largest fields and one of Iraq's key
cities, the southern oil hub Basra.
Iraq's crude oil exports in March rose to the highest level since 1980, a year after former President Saddam Hussein came to power. It exported 71.827 million barrels, or 2.317 million barrels a day, in March. The exports generated $8.475 billion, with an average price of $118 a barrel. The Arab nation depends on crude exports for money to rebuild the economy after decades of war and sanctions. Iraq has awarded 15 licenses for oil- and gas-drilling rights to foreign companies in the post-Saddam Hussein era, and it plans a new licensing auction in May. The gain in exports came even as the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region isn't supplying the agreed quantities, sabotage attacks targeted the northern export pipeline and bad weather slowed tanker shipments in the south.
Iraqi oil exports to Turkey were halted on Thursday April 5, 2012, after an explosion on the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline that an official said was triggered by sabotage. The cause of the blast, which occurred 59 kilometers inside Turkey in the southeastern province of Sirnak is being investigated. The pipeline was sabotaged. Turkish authorities extinguished the fire. Iraq and Turkey are discussing using a smaller secondary pipeline to resume the oil flow.
Iraq has proven oil reserves of 143 billion barrels and possible additional
deposits that may bring its total reserves to 214 billion barrels we were
told on Wednesday April 18, 2012.
On Saturday April 21, 2012, Iraq halted crude exports from northern oil fields because of a technical fault at a pipeline network in neighbouring Turkey. Transportation of Iraqi crude through the pipeline, which terminates at the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Turkey, has been halted at least 13 times since November due to sabotage, bad weather and technical reasons. Iraq normally exports 450,000 to 500,000 barrels a day from northern oil fields through Turkey. It ships most of its crude from the south on tankers sailing from the Persian Gulf.
Iraq's oil exports jumped by 15 percent in March compared to the previous month, putting them at the highest level the nation has seen since 1989. Last month's oil exports averaged 2.31 million barrels a day, up from an average of 2.01 million barrels a day in February; the sales grossed $8.472 billion, an increase of nearly 28.5 percent from February's revenues of $6.595 billion. The oil was sold to a 28 international oil companies. Iraq relies on oil exports for 95 percent of its revenues. The increase is attributed to the inauguration of a new export terminal in the Persian Gulf last month.
Iraq exported its first cargo of crude oil of two million barrels from its second new floating terminal in the Gulf on Tuesday April 24, 2012. The terminal is the second of four being built by Australia's Leighton Holdings, each with a capacity of 850,000 barrels per day (bpd) and which are expected to more than double Iraq's export capacity.
Iraq's crude exports from northern oil fields remain halted for a third day (Tuesday April 24, 2012) due to "a technical fault" at a pipeline network in neighbouring Turkey. Crude oil exports stopped on April 21 at station PS3 inside Turkish territory. Iraq normally exports 450,000 to 500,000 barrels a day from northern oil fields through Turkey. It ships most of its crude from the south on tankers sailing from the Persian Gulf.
Iraq boosted crude oil exports in April to an average of 2.51 million barrels
a day, the highest level "in decades" we were told on Tuesday
May 1, 2012. Crude exports rose 8.3 percent last month from 2.32 million
barrels a day in March. Oil sales in April generated $8.8 billion in revenue
compared with $8.47 billion in the previous month. Iraq exported 2.12 million
barrels a day by sea from the southern terminal of Basra and 387,000 million
barrels a day from the northern oil hub of Kirkuk through a pipeline to
Turkey. It also sent 6,000 barrels a day by road into neighbouring Jordan,
he said. The Middle Eastern nation holds the world's fifth-largest oil reserves.
Iraq's revenues from oil sales in April climbed to $8.79 billion, the highest the Middle Eastern country has achieved for decades we were told on Monday May 21, 2012.
Iraq has awarded Russia's Bashneft rights to develop its oil block 12 we were told on Thursday June 28, 2012. The company won the bid after initial negotiations broke down in May.
Iraq's oil revenues dropped by 17.6 percent from May to June 2012 due to plummeting prices in the international market and the diversion of some production to meet domestic needs. The decline in revenues challenges oil-reliant Iraq, since the country needs hundreds of billions of dollars for reconstruction after the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops late last year. Oil revenues make up about 95 percent of the fragile democratic government's budget.
Iraq's crude production overtook Iran's in June 2012 for the first time
in more than two decades as Iran led a decline in OPEC output ahead of a
European Union ban on purchases from the nation. Iraq pumped 2.984 million
barrels a day in June, outpacing Iran's 2.963 million. That's the first
time Iraq's output has exceeded Iran's since 1988, when the countries ended
their eight-year war. The reduction from Iran, ahead of full sanctions by
the EU that started on July 1, led to the second monthly decline in total
OPEC production to 31.36 million barrels a day in June, versus 31.47 million
in May. Falling OPEC production last month coincided with a 4 percent drop
in Brent crude on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange, contributing to
a 20 percent price decline for the second quarter.
French oil company Total has bought a 35 percent stake in two exploration blocks in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, risking the wrath of the Iraqi government which has tried to bar companies from dealing directly with the semi-autonomous region. Total, which is following U.S. rivals into the area, said it bought stakes in the Harir and Safen blocks from U.S. peer Marathon Oil, ignoring an earlier veiled warning from Iraq's central government in Baghdad to refrain from deals with the region in the north of the country without its approval. The Baghdad authorities were kept informed of Total's intentions we were told on Tuesday July 31, 2012. Total seeks to grow its annual oil production by 2.5 percent on average at $100 a barrel through to 2015. But lower output in this year's second quarter due to several disruptions led Total to refrain from reiterating the target for this year.
On Thursday August 2, 2012, a Middle East subsidiary of Russia's Gazprom Neft has inked two oil deals with Iraq's self-ruled northern Kurdish region, becoming the fourth major oil company to enter into agreements with Iraqi Kurds that bypass the central government in Baghdad. The Kurds and the central government are at loggerheads over rights to develop resources. Baghdad wants to manage its energy resources nationwide, but Kurds insist the constitution doesn't require them to go through Baghdad.
Iraq made a formal protest to Turkey's envoy in Baghdad on Friday August 3, 2012, after the Turkish foreign minister made a surprise visit to an oil-rich Iraqi city claimed by both the central government and the country's autonomous Kurdistan region. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had travelled to Kirkuk on Thursday after visiting the regional president in Arbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. But Iraq's foreign ministry accused Turkey of violating its constitution with the visit, saying that Davutoglu had neither asked for nor obtained permission to enter Kirkuk.
An explosion overnight on a pipeline carrying about a quarter of Iraqi
crude exports from oilfields near the city of Kirkuk has knocked out flows
and repairs are expected to take up to 10 days, Turkish Energy Ministry
officials said on Monday August 6, 2012. Exports at the terminus in Ceyhan
on Turkey's Mediterranean coast were unaffected because of reserves that
were held at the port. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was behind
the attack
Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region has signed a deal with Korean companies on Wednesday August 8, 2012, to construct two power plants. It's part of an oil exploration deal. The $700-million transaction calls for Posco Engineering and Construction Ltd. to build a 300-megawatt steam power generation plant in Irbil in three to six months, and a 400-kilovolt power transformer in Sulaimaniyah within eight months. It adds that Korea National Oil Corp., or KNOC, will finance the projects as part of its 2008 deal to explore for oil in eight blocks. They are expected to hold 7.2 billion barrels in reserves.
Iraq's crude output rose above 3 million barrels a day last month for the
first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Iraq pumped 3.08 million barrels
a day in July, 115,000 barrels more than the previous month, OPEC's Vienna-based
secretariat said Thursday August 9, 2012, in its Monthly Oil Market Report.
The Persian Gulf state for a second month outpaced Iran, where output dropped
by 173,000 barrels to 2.82 million. Iraq last produced more than 3 million
barrels in February 2002.
Production from Iraq's southern oilfields is at 2.5 million barrels per day as the country edges closer to becoming the world's biggest source of new supplies over the next few years. Iraq's biggest field Rumaila, operated by BP, is producing 1.35 million bpd while Zubair oilfield, run by Italy's ENI, is producing 270,000 bpd we were told on Tuesday September 11, 2012. OPEC member Iraq aims to double its output over the next three years as it recovers from years of sanctions and war. Last month, the country's total oil production rose above 3 million bpd for the first time in more than three decades.
Iraq has finalized a deal with a consortium led by Russian oil giant Bashneft to search for oil in the country's south. Bashneft and its UK partner Premier will explore the 8,000-square-kilometer Block 12, shared by the provinces of Muthana and Najaf. They will be paid US$5 for each barrel of oil equivalent. The contract is one of four deals Iraq awarded in its latest bidding round to hunt for oil and gas. Iraq, which sits atop of 143.1 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 126.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, is seeking to develop its vast resources after decades of war, U.N. sanctions and neglect.
U.S. energy company Exxon Mobil Corp. has asked interested oil companies to submit offers in December to buy its stake in a multibillion-dollar project in southern Iraq we were told Thursday November 8, 2012. Exxon, which upset Baghdad by signing a deal last year to explore for oil in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, has informed Iraq of its wish to sell its 60% stake in the West Qurna-1 project.
An Iraqi Kurdish official said on Tuesday December 25, 2012, that the country’s self-ruled northern Kurdish region has suspended oil exports over a payment row with Baghdad, a development that could add to already souring relations between the Kurds and the Arab-led central government. Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Kurds have unilaterally struck more than 50 deals with foreign oil companies, even though Baghdad says they have no right to do so. In 2011, the two sides reached a tentative deal by which the Kurds send the oil to Baghdad, which sells it, and pays 50 percent of the revenues to the developers to reimburse the development costs.
Iraq's state-owned oil exploration company has made the country's first oil find in 30 years we were told on Monday January 21, 2013. The company found at least a billion barrels of crude in a southeastern province near the border with Iran. The discovery in Maysan is a "significant achievement" for the country. Iraq's government depends on oil revenues to fund more than 90% of its budget.
On Saturday February 16, 2013, assailants have bombed a section of a pipeline carrying fuel oil from the country’s largest refinery in Baji to the northern province of Nineveh. The bomb attack was carried out in an area located some 390 kilometres north of Baghdad. There were no injuries in the bombing. Technical teams had started work to repair the pipeline, and that repairs would take several days.
On Wednesday February 20, 2013, a bomb explosion has disabled a pipeline carrying fuel oil from the country's largest refinery to a northern province, the second such attack on the pipeline in the past four days. The attack on the pipeline halted daily supplies from Beiji refinery to Ninevaha province. The pipeline carries 7 million litters a day to the province. Terrorists were behind the attack, a likely reference to Sunni insurgents. Mines were planted around the blast area to prevent technical teams from reaching the area.
Iraq's crude oil production in the first three months of 2013 reached 3.15 million barrels per day (bpd), while its oil exports in March stood at 2.42 million bpd, we were told on Thursday April 4, 2013. During the month, Iraq shipped 2.10 million bpd through the southern port of Basra, and 315,000 bpd were exported via Turkey's port of Ceyhan of the Mediterranean Sea. Oil production is expected to increase in the next month as crude production will begin in Majnoon oilfield in Maysan province in southern the country. Another increase is also expected in June when crude production starts in al-Gharraf oilfield in the southern province of Dhi Qar.
Iraq's oil exports rose in April to 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd), the country's oil minister said on Tuesday April 30, 2013, helping to keep global markets well supplied as shipments from regional rival Iran are crimped by tightening Western sanctions.
Iraqi oil exports fell in June for the second month in a row as poor weather hit southern ports and saboteurs damaged a key pipeline we were told on Monday July 22, 2013. Iraq exported 69.8 million barrels of oil in June at an average rate of 2.32 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 76.9 million barrels and 2.48 million bpd in May. Average oil prices were $97.4 per barrel, meaning the country took in $6.799 billion from crude sales in June.
A bomb hit pipeline carrying oil from Iraq to Turkey on Sunday July 28, 2013, stopping exports. A maintenance team was sent to conduct repairs. There have been about 30 attacks on the pipeline so far this year. The 970-kilometre pipeline runs from Iraq's northern oil hub of Kirkuk to the port of Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. But saboteurs in both Iraq and Turkey have repeatedly disrupted exports through the pipeline.
On Tuesday August 13, 2013, militants bombed a major pipeline carrying oil from northern Iraq to Turkey, near the town of Albu Jahash in Nineveh province. The attack halted exports via the pipeline although production was still continuing, but the oil was being stored. Repairing the pipeline, which runs from the northern Iraqi oil hub of Kirkuk to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey, is expected to take between one and three days.
Iraq's oil exports to Turkey were halted Wednesday August 21, 2013, by three bombings that targeted an oil pipeline north of Baghdad, the latest in a series of such attacks this year. The apparently coordinated attacks took place in the northern provinces of Nineveh and Kirkuk.
On Sunday September 1, 2013, we were told that Iraq's oil exports have rebounded from a 16-month low, as increased sales and rising prices in August lifted revenues to their highest level this year. Daily exports averaged 2.579 million barrels per day (bpd) in August and raised revenues of $US8.3 billion. In particular, Iraq was buoyed by rising oil prices. Prices have since fallen as those fears have eased, but oil is still trading at one of the highest levels in months.
Militants bombed a major oil pipeline on Saturday November 2, 2013, disabling it and forcing pumping to be suspended. Three blasts went off along the pipeline, in Nineveh province, which runs to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. They did not cause any casualties. Repairs were being carried out on the pipeline, with pumping expected to resume on Sunday.
Iraq's crude oil exports increased slightly in May 2014 despite constant militant attacks that have left a vital oil pipeline idle we were told on Sunday June 1, 2014. The oil exports averaged 2.582 million barrels a day last month, an increase from the 2.510 million barrels per day in April. The sales grossed $8.68 billion, based on an average price of $100.08 per barrel. April's revenues stood at $8.08 billion.
The Hamrin oil fields located in southern Kirkuk province in northern Iraq, are considered to be a vital financial source for Islamic State (IS), which produces and exports 100 tankers of crude oil every day. But the Iraqi government and coalition partners have not taken any serious steps to prevent them. Hamrin, in the south of Kirkuk province, is one of the richest oil fields in Iraq. The US has previously warned that IS is using oil as a major source of funds. IS militants have taken control of the oil fields and they export and sell crude oil through local traders. They use the road from Hawija to Mosul and then to Syria. They sell one barrel for just $10. But the Iraqi Government has not taken any proper steps to stop them, and coalition airstrikes are not preventing them so far. IS has had control of about 33 oil fields in Hamrin since last year.
We were told on Thursday February 12, 2015, that crude exports averaged 2.535 million barrels a day in January, a decrease of nearly 14 percent from the previous month, depriving the nation of badly needed cash both for ongoing military operations against extremists and reconstruction efforts. Last month's revenues stood at $3.258 billion, based on an average price of $41.45 per barrel. December's exports averaged 2.941 million barrels a day, bringing that month's revenues to $5.161 billion. Iraq's 2015 budget is based on an expected oil price of $56 per barrel, with a daily export capacity of 3.3 million. The nearly 119.6 trillion Iraqi dinars budget (about $102.5 billion) runs with a deficit of 25 trillion dinars (about $21.4 billion). Iraq has the world's fourth largest oil reserves, some 143.1 billion barrels, and oil revenues make up nearly 95 percent of its budget. The price of oil has fallen by about half since June to around $55 per barrel. Like other oil-producing countries, Iraq's economy has been affected by the plummeting oil prices.