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| South Kurdistan oil & gas development | |
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| Topic Started: 17th November 2012 - 12:25 AM (238,742 Views) | |
| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:25 AM Post #1 |
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This is an interesting subject, and I want to go into detail here. First I want to start off by looking at the recent big companies that have signed contracts with the KRG and the success the kurds showed in the in the government formation. Estimated 45 billion barrels in the KRG. Some notable oil companies: ExxonMobil (American) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExxonMobil Chevron (American) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron_Corporation Total oil (French) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_S.A. Gazprom (Russia) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazprom Marathon Oil (American) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Oil Murphy Oil (American) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy_Oil Repsol (Spanish) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repsol_YPF Sinopec (Chinese) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinopec Along with another 36 smaller to medium oil companies. What is interesting is that the big companies only invested when the kurds emerged as kingmakers, maliki has practically agreed to the kurds 19 demands one of which was approving of the KRG's oil and gas contacts. Iraq has included 100,000 barrels from the KRG in the countries 2011 budget which means we're not far away from The technocrats at the Oil and Finance Ministries are expecting the same as they have recently included 100,000 barrels a day in Kurdish exports as part of their estimates for Iraq’s income in the 2011 budget. http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/20...s-in-2011.html Another interesting thing is the oil exploration in areas outside the KRG which are apart of the disputed areas, which means they will be added to the KRG sooner or later (I assume this is the reason Baghdad was against the contracts). As you can see from the Image some of the exploration is happening outside the KRG. Turkey was against president talabani in Iraq and they lost again, I though they would have learned from their mistakes, I doubt it will have an impact on the ties though, as both sides rely on each other. |
 
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:29 AM Post #2 |
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South Kurdistan ministry of natural resources logo and website http://mnr.krg.org/index.php/en |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:31 AM Post #3 |
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New Kurdistan pipeline under construction operational by August 2013
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:31 AM Post #4 |
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 11/Sep/12 PNA - Norwegian oil firm DNO has found oil in Kurdistan region in the Bekhme formation at a depth of around 2,000 meters, it said in a statement on Tuesday. It added that further testing on the Benenan-3 well was required to assess the discovery. |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:32 AM Post #5 |
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Oil Companies are Security Guarantee for Kurdistan, Experts ERBIL, South Kurdistan - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is determined to give oil contracts to multinational oil companies despite pressure from the Iraqi government. Observers believe that these oil companies will bring security to the South Kurdistan. The oil reserve in the South Kurdistan is estimated to be around 45 billion barrels; foreign oil companies are searching for more oil in Kurdistan. According to data obtained from Kurdistan’s Ministry of Natural Resources, the KRG has signed 50 oil and gas contracts with foreign companies including the oil giants ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total. The Iraqi government does not recognize the oil policies of the KRG. Ali Balo, an oil expert and former oil committee chairman in Iraqi Parliament, says these contracts are very important for the South Kurdistan. "These three giant oil companies provide a big portion of energy to the world, and right now their interests are in the South Kurdistan. Sabotaging the interest of these companies is a red line for the superpowers in the world because they provide energy to the world." Balo believes that the arrival of these companies to the South Kurdistan will positively affect the region’s security in the future. "These giant oil companies control the economy of the world and the security of the South Kurdistan will be vital for their businesses," he said. After returning from a visit to the U.S., South Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani said, "The presence of companies such as ExxonMobil in the South Kurdistan is equivalent to the presence of 50 military brigades." The Iraqi government has tried to prevent these oil companies from coming to the South Kurdistan, especially ExxonMobil, but so far these efforts have failed. Responding to a letter sent by the Iraqi government to U.S. President Barak Obama about ExxonMobil’s involvement in Kurdistan, Obama stressed that there needs to be coordination with the government in Baghdad and Iraq needs to pass the oil and gas bill as soon as possible. Ali Musawai, advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, says, "The contact between ExxonMobil and the South Kurdistan will be the reason for war, because Maliki thinks it will have dangerous consequences that will lead to the partition of Iraq." Ashti Hawrami, the KRG minister of natural resources, previously announced that the South Kurdistan can produce 1 million barrels of oil a day until 2014, and by 2019 this production rate will be doubled. Ahmed Safar, a political economy expert from Duhok University, told Rudaw, "The main goal of the oil companies is to make a profit and those giant oil companies coming to Kurdistan are from capitalist states and the governments of those states support their companies in the South Kurdistan." Regarding the threats of the Iraqi government to the South Kurdistan and oil companies, Safar said, "If a country or a group threatens to attack the South Kurdistan where the giant oil companies are investing and have businesses, then the superpower countries will interfere to defend their interests without hesitation." "These giant oil companies in Kurdistan do not have weapons or armies, but they are influential in global politics. They can create lobbies to influence the decisions of governments," said Balo. According to Balo, who also worked as an energy advisor for the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources, the energy of the world is controlled by five major companies: ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total, BP and ENI. Three of these companies are currently working in Kurdistan. "These companies have great influence not only on OPEC members, but also on consumers, and the politics of energy and oil is the most important globally," Balo said. He added, "Kurdistan will never be the same, after these companies have started business in the region. It will not be like 1988 where the Kurds were abandoned by the superpowers while they were bombed with chemical gas and murdered in groups. The presence of these companies will become an economic and political support for the Kurds." Wajid Shakir, an advisor to the Iraqi Oil Ministry and director of Iraqi Institute of Oil in the South Kurdistan, said, "Forty percent of the Iraqi oil reserve is in Kurdistan." Adnan Osman, an MP from the Change Movement (Gorran) in Kurdish Parliament, is very critical of KRG oil policies and says it is an illusion to think that the presence of these companies would protect Kurdistan. "I do not think these oil companies can protect Kurdistan since they have no political or military power. Their presence constitutes no national achievements for Kurdistan and will bring no stability to security in Kurdistan," he said. Source: Rudaw |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:33 AM Post #6 |
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Taq Taq Refinery Employer: TTOPCO-Genel Energy    Taq Taq Pipelines between Refinery and The Oil Tanks : 26 km   |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:33 AM Post #7 |
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Boom time for Kurdistan 1 million barrels per day |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:34 AM Post #8 |
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 Exclusive to the Kurdish Globe Ashti Hawrami talks about the Region's oil achievements In an exclusive interview with the Kurdish Globe Dr. Ashti Hawrami, Minister of Natural Resources KRG, explains the significant point when the KRG oil policy was launched and the success that this brought to the South Kurdistan. He also elaborates more on his reasons for criticizing Gorran for their counterproductive attacks on the Ministry of Natural Resources and their continuous undermining of its achievements. He also reveals that oil export will be continuing, and confirms that more major oil companies are coming to the South Kurdistan. Kurdish Globe: How did it all start and what was it like before you came back to Kurdistan in 2006? Ashti Hawrami: Many mistakes were made before the Ministry of Natural Resources was established in 2006. A handful of contracts were awarded, which were far too generous in favour of the oil companies. However, that was generally understandable to some extent, as we did not have many professionals familiar with the commercial aspects of the oil business or with the international contracting standards at that time. However, as I explained in my recent interview with Rudaw, the lack of transparency issues hidden behind these contracts were more serious and had to be dealt with. Kurdish Globe: So what were the first steps KRG took after your appointment to formulate the oil policy of the Region and deal with these old contracts issues? Ashti Hawrami: Soon after my appointment as a Minister in 2006, I brought with me all the required experience, expertise and some international advisors to draft a regional law to be enacted by the Parliament to establish KRG's full control over all the Oil Operations in the Region. In order to enable us to practice our constitutional rights, the Law was badly needed otherwise all our rights would have been controlled by Baghdad. The Law was approved by all the members of Parliament and empowered the ministry of Natural Resources to review the old contracts and to bring them in line with international commercial and transparency standards. Kurdish Globe: In addition to fixing the old contracts, why was that step of passing the regional oil law so important for the South Kurdistan? Ashti Hawrami: The Law translated the rights we have acquired in the Constitution into a practical tool to enable us to work legally according to our rights. If we did not establish that control by Law over the management of our natural resources, we would not have 50 oil companies working here; we would not have been able to produce natural gas for our power stations, hence only 4 hours of electricity at most; and we would not have been able to have our own refined products. We would have therefore remained firmly under the mercy of Baghdad for all our needed products. Kurdish Globe: Can you summarize the main achievements so far? Ashti Hawrami: The results we have achieved in a short period of time have made us self -sufficient with independent controls over power generation and refined products. We have attracted some 50 oil companies, amongst them the super-majors and the majors, who are investing huge sums of money in our Region which will make our future brighter and better. The oil sector development paved the way for many other economic activities in the Region. In my view, if we did not have the oil industry controlled by ourselves, probably very little other inward investment would have followed for all the other sectors. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been offered by the oil companies to the Government for social programs and to improve the infrastructure of the Region. The companies have also agreed to implement, at their own cost, many social and infrastructure projects. This process is continuing, for example the Koreans will implement two power projects over the next 2/3 years, costing them $700 million, and once completed they will be donated free of charge to the Government. More importantly, Kurdistan is now firmly on the energy map of the world as a new frontier for oil and gas exploration and development. This has happened because in a short period of time we have proved potential resources in access of 45 billion barrels of oil and 200 trillion cubic feet of gas, very little of this was known or expected prior to 2006. This gains Kurdistan more international recognition that will translate into a better security for our Region. Kurdish Globe: Many people in Kurdistan feel the results of these achievements, so why do you care about the accusations of Gorran? Ashti Hawrami: I know that many people appreciate the difference we have made to the Region. I know that they remember that in 2006 we had only 3 to 4 hours of electricity per day and long queues for accessing fuel products, and they appreciate that now we have nearly 24 hours of electricity and hardly any fuel shortages, and all those other achievements that I just summarized. However, I feel that Gorran?s repeated and unfounded attacks on our policies, has confused some of our people, and has undermined their confidence on self-reliance and belief in self-rule, that is why I am not happy with the people behind these attacks. For example, some people in Gorran, without producing any shred of evidence, repeatedly talk about the lack of transparency in the payments and contributions made by the oil companies, and they do this by falsifying the facts to deceive our people for their own political aims. They do this despite the fact that we have published all the payments made to the Government up to and including 2009, and all subsequent payments have been reported to the Parliament. The full information up to and including 2009 was put out into public domain, indeed, the whole world has seen this information, which is published in a book that is freely distributed. Kurdish Globe: Can you elaborate more on the tactics Gorran deployed to undermine the KRG oil policy achievements? Ashti Hawrami: Some in Gorran have unfairly and deliberately falsified the facts and mixed and added the value of the infrastructure projects to be implemented by the companies at their costs with the cash donations they made to the Government. This way Gorran makes the cash component sound much bigger. Then, they used this made-up larger figure of their own to claim that money is missing. This is done for political reasons, and to deceive the public. They have allegedly created a centre for economic studies. But it would appear that either they don't have a clue on oil contracting or the centre has been created to falsify information. For example, the published information on our contracts is there for everyone to see, but this Gorran centre allegedly reviewed the contracts, and came up with their own made-up tables and figures on 40 of them, and then shamelessly published this mad-up information to claim that 40% of the interest in each of our contracts is for PUK and KDP. Again, this is done to deceive the public and for their own political purposes. When Baghdad cut our share of Fuel Oil, instead of defending our rights, some in Gorran went out of their way to the rescue of Baghdad, offering their services, such as using their so-called free media to blame the KRG policies for Baghdad's cut of Region's share of fuel supplies. This was done in a shameful, secret and indefensible letter that they sent to Mr Shahristani at the time. It is becoming clear that some people in Gorran (but not all) do not care about the interest of the people of Kurdistan. For sure those people are not the future nation builders, but to me they can be described as reckless and determined destroyers. They appear to have no conscience or feeling in harming others, and for them rules or facts have no meaning, so they do no care about the consequence of their actions. They collaborate with anyone, enemies included, to achieve their own political objectives. Fabricating lies and falsifying facts are tools they frequently employ in their mission. Sadly, this is what some in Gorran are about, but our people will see through these shameful tactics and will not accept such betrayal from any party against our own national interest. Kurdish Globe: In addition to attacking KRG's achievements, they have been also targeting you personally, would you like to comment on that? Ashti Hawrami: Their reason for targeting me personally fits with what I said earlier; that they have no conscience or feeling in harming others. They identify me as the person who is driving the KRG's successful policy forward, and as they see it, this success is making KDP and PUK popular. Therefore I should be a target for them, and they give themselves the right to deploy their standard tools for fabricating lies to attack me. Just to illustrate an example of falsifying the facts about me personally; when in an open-minded way I went to see Mr Nawshirwan Mustafa, I thought that we really had a good respectful meeting and a useful discussion, we were both happy with the meeting, but as soon as I was out of the door, they reported in their so-called free media, in a typical shameless Gorran style, that I was called in for a meeting by Mr Mustafa to explain oil contracts and money to him. When the truth was in fact the other way round, it was the Prime Minster who suggested that it might be a good idea for me to go and see Mr Mustafa and bring him up to date with our oil policy and the progress so far. We planned to do the same with all the other opposition leaders as well as with PUK and KDP leadership. Another cheap and nasty example of them attacking me through their so-called free media was when they showed pictures of my house in the UK. In attempt to deceive the public they implied that I owned my house through illegal benefits from my post as Minister. This deplorable article was published when they knew that the house has been bought in 1996, some 10 years before I returned to Kurdistan to serve our people. Kurdish Globe: How big a concern is this Gorran approach to you? Ashti Hawrami: What I am trying to say is that these tactics are counterproductive and a worrying source for self-inflicting harm to our people's interest. Their media attacks on our oil policy achievements are not in our national interest. We should work together on this most important sector and not to politicize it to the benefit of our enemies. Sadly, until now some in Gorran have seen the success of our oil policy as the victory for the ruling parties and not as a victory for our people, which is why I fear that they will continue with these futile tactics. But these actions have been noticed and discovered, allowing people to judge them accordingly. I would still like to remain hopeful that some others in Gorran will speak out against these tactics, to ensure that the national interest can be the priority for all of us, and for them to influence others in Gorran to change the policy and become constructive rather than destructive, joining us hand in hand to work together on this important national interest. That way the success can be claimed by all the parties and not just by the ruling parties, as some in Gorran fear. Kurdish Globe: Now, let us turn to the status of the oil export, we understand that there are still no payments from Baghdad, so will the export stop this week as reported before? Ashti Hawrami: The oil export restarted on 7th of August, and it was agreed with the contractors that this would last for one month (30 days), so we still have a few days to go. The efforts are continuing by our US friends and some others to convince Baghdad to come up with the payments. Our friends asked us for some additional time to enable them to complete their mission in Baghdad. In light of this request, we have talked to the contractors involved and managed to persuade them to continue with the agreed level of export (100,000 barrels per day) until 15th September, so we hope that by that time we have a solution to report. Kurdish Globe: We hear that after TOTAL and Gazprom more major oil companies, including Turkish companies have been visiting Kurdistan, can you tell us about these new companies and have any of them agreed to sign contracts with the KRG? Ashti Hawrami: I can confirm that very recently we have been and continue to be in discussion with at least 3 or 4 more important companies. Of course it is not our policy to report on negotiations and discussions, or to name the companies involved, however, as usual announcements will be made once any new contracts are signed and after all the related formalities are completed. |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:35 AM Post #9 |
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Wall of oil on the way from Kurdistan says research house DNO's Tawke Oil Field in Kurdistan Kurdistan’s oil sector may have crossed the tipping point with a wall of crude set to flow from the region, according to research house Edison. Previously the objections to investing in Kurdistan centred on the political tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central Baghdad government. But four of the top ten major oil companies are now active in the region and it will soon be easier to list the large companies not in Kurdistan, says Edison. If you measure political risk by the positioning of the majors, it is now beyond the tipping point, it says. There is a wall of oil coming and politics will have to bend to economics in the long term, it believes. No one doubts the potential of the region with exploration success over 70 per cent. Current production capacity is 200,000 barrels per day (mmbd) and investments in Taq Taq and Tawke will increase this further. Beyond this, Gulf Keystone’s (LON:GKP) Shaikan (13.7bn bbls OIP) will soon start extended well testing, as will discoveries Akri-Bijell, Atrush, Bina Bawi and Miran. Recent discoveries have the potential to increase the production output to 2 mln barrels daily by 2019 according to the KRG (total current Iraqi production is c 3 mln). Of the majors, Exxon, Chevron, Total and Gazprom have all recently signed deals with Kurdistan, while Statoil has publicly announced it is looking at the region. The absentees among the giants are Petrochina, Shell, Petrobras and BP. If a Chinese company enters, Edison believes Baghdad’s position against the KRG would become transparently untenable. It argues anyway that a solution is now inevitable with the recent agreement between Turkey and KRG on oil exports the key. The additional money that would accrue to Iraq from extra oil production in the mid-term would be significant and the technical challenges of adding capacity in Kurdistan are surmountable, the research house says. However, even without a formal deal, Edison believes it is time for investors to flolow the lead of the majors and take another look at Kurdistan. Aside from Gulf Keystone other medium-sized London-listed players in the region include Afren (LON:AFR), Petroceltic (LON:PCI), Genel (LON:GENL). proactiveinvestors |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:36 AM Post #10 |
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KURDISTAN, OIL & ECONOMIC PROGRESS By Michael Gunter KRG president Massoud Barzani recently claimed that “since 2003, we have created a democratic and economically vibrant Region and take our role as a beacon of hope for Iraq seriously by providing a model of economic activity, ethnic and religious tolerance, security, and progress.” Indeed, in March 2011, FDI Magazine, a subsidiary of the British publication Financial Times, ranked Irbil, the capital of the KRG, fifth among the top Middle East cities in terms of the potential for foreign direct investment (FDI). On the other hand, critics point out how South Kurdistan is a classic rentier state, largely dependent on the oil revenues it receives from Baghdad and thus susceptible to all the problems associated with that status. Corruption and nepotism are problems and there is a perception that business ventures need partnering with the leading politicians. What then is the true situation? The KRG annually receives 17 percent of the Iraqi budget which last year meant it received about $10 billion. In addition, the Iraqi government is now paying oil companies for their production costs in Kurdistan plus part of their profits. (The term “petrodollars” here refers to the extra money received from oil and gas.) The KRG argues that Article 115 of the Iraqi Constitution states the supremacy of regional laws over federal laws. Since the Iraqi Constitution is silent on undeveloped or new oil fields, the regions and governorates have all the controls. After much debate between Baghdad and Irbil, the Kurds, as of September 2011, are producing about 100,000-150,000 bpd. As indicated above, after much debate and numerous false starts, Baghdad is also now paying the oil companies in Kurdistan for their production costs and partially for their profits. Many observers speculate that without any formal agreement these Baghdad cost payments will eventually cross over into payments for profits too. This money is in addition to the 17 percent paid each year to the KRG from the Iraqi annual budget. Early in 2011, the KRG announced it had an estimated 45 billion barrels of oil reserves. Thus, if the KRG were independent, it would possess the world’s sixth largest oil reserves. Kurdish production can reach 1 million bpd by 2015. The KRG also has a potential of some 100-200 billion cubic feet of non-associated natural gas. Unfortunately, the KRG and Baghdad have again fallen into heated disagreements over the oil resources in the Kurdistan region. Who has the stronger claim? The argument goes to the heart of the relationship between the two and the future of Iraq’s federal system. In May 2012, Rex J. Zedalis published an important book that analyzes this question in great detail. His book is aptly entitled: Oil and Gas in the Disputed Kurdish Territories: Jurisprudence, Regional Minorities and Natural Resources in a Federal System. This book should be closely read by those who want an expert opinion. Although oil is the KRG’s main economic resource, there are others to consider. For example, given the KRG’s progressive investment law, free-market practices, and excellent security situation, foreign investment in the region is expanding tremendously. As already noted, in March 2011 FDI Magazine, a subsidiary of the British publication Financial Times, ranked Irbil fifth among the top Middle Eastern cities in terms of potential for foreign direct investment (FDI). Turkish and Iranian investments led the way, followed by Jordan, Germany, France, the UAE, etc. The United States lagged. However, starting up a business is quite expensive ranging from $3-10,000. Trading also is still a problem as one needs a license, a situation that harks back to the earlier autarkic Iraqi economy of Baathist days and also presents opportunities for corruption. Bilateral trade between Turkey and Kurdistan is projected to grow from $6 billion to $20 billion in the next four years. The excellent new airport in Irbil has the world’s fifth longest runway and the longest in the Middle East. Sulaymaniya also has a new smaller international airport. A third airport is now projected for Dohuk. Several luxurious new shopping malls have been constructed in Irbil, largely replacing the famous ancient Qaysaria Bazaar near Irbil’s even more ancient citadel. The New York Times recently ranked South Kurdistan as one of the top 34 places to visit in the world, while National Geographic listed it as number 20. Compared to Arab Iraq, there is a much lesser refugee and IDP (internally displaced persons) problem in Kurdistan. About 20 percent of Arab Iraq’s pre-2003 population is displaced. These tend to be the better educated people who had the resources to leave Iraq and thus constitute a brain drain on Iraq. The less fortunate have been left in Iraq to fend for themselves. To some extent the reverse prevails in Kurdistan as many very capable members of the Kurdish diaspora have returned. (For example, former KRG prime minister Barham Salih and Kirkuk governor Najmaldin O. Karim, among many others.) Many other positives exist. IT (information technology) developments are impressive, in part because of South Kurdish language skills. Experts from the international consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers have been brought in to advise. Cell phone services are good, but Internet connections need improvements. Electricity shortages have been greatly reduced and this basic service is now available to most in the Kurdistan region up to 20 hours a day. Indeed, Kurdistan potentially may become a net exporter of electricity. Better electricity availability improves the standard of living, employment opportunities, and leads to improved goods and services. Water also is everywhere as five major rivers flow through different parts of the Kurdistan region, each eventually joining the Tigris: The Greater Zab, Khabour, Lesser Zab, Awa Spi, and Sirwan. In addition, three major dams control and regulate these rivers: The Dohuk, Dukan, and Darbandikhan. Tourism has great potential given the magnificent mountains and ancient historical sites. Already there are some excellent hotels, while security is good. As for education, illiteracy has been reduced in the past decade from 37 percent to 17 percent. Equal educational opportunities exist for girls and boys, and there are at least six public universities. More will soon be built. However educational infrastructure problems exist. Up-to-date books and journals are lacking, and the entire culture of higher education needs more dedication on the part of students especially. Still, most observers remain very bullish (optimistic) about the future of Kurdistan. http://www.gulan-media.com/english/articles.php?id=95&eid=18 |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:36 AM Post #11 |
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Sulaimani Oil Refinery  http://snnc.co |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:37 AM Post #12 |
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Oil blocks per company   |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:38 AM Post #13 |
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Total expands its Kurdistan assets ERBIL, August 22 (AKnews) – French oil giant Total won a 20 percent stake in an oil exploration block in the South Kurdistan from Canada's ShaMaran Petroleum Corp despite threats and warnings from Baghdad. The company signed the contract for $48 million in cash, plus a reimbursement for costs incurred from April 1 until the closing date, reported MarketWatch. An anonymous source said: "After all, Exxon has been threatened, but nothing has happened so far." Total has interests in Halfaya bloc in Iraq too, and hopes its move to the South Kurdistan does not anger Baghdad more. Iraqi spokesperson Faisal Abdullah said on August 1 that the government would blacklist Total after it signed oil contracts with the South Kurdistan. The spokesperson for the deputy prime minister for energy affairs said Iraq would penalize companies signing contracts with the region without prior approval from the central government, reported Reuters. Total announced earlier that it signed a contract to explore oil in the region. This angered the Iraqi government. Total explained that it won a 35-percent share in two blocks in the region. The Iraqi government earlier blacklisted US oil outfit Chevron Corp and barred it from signing deals with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. The decision was made after the corporation announced on July 19 it purchased 80 percent of stakes in Sarta and Rovi blocks in the South South Kurdistan from India's Reliance Industries Ltd. Austria's OMV AG holds the remaining 20 percent. An official statement from Iraq’s government said the corporation, the second largest US oil company after Exxon Mobil, signed the deal without the approval of the Oil Ministry. |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:39 AM Post #14 |
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Kurdistan Oil & Gas pipelines totally bypassing iraq, they are dotted in blue and red full image http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2510/oilrush0000.jpg |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:40 AM Post #15 |
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Kurdistan's one million barrel plan is a game-changer ERBIL, August 25 (AKnews) – The Kurdistan Regional Government's plan of exporting one million barrels of oil per day to Turkey is a game-changer, said oil company Genel Energy’s chief executive Tony Hayward, indicating to an ongoing dispute between Baghdad and Erbil over oil production and export control in the region. Erbil and Ankara agreed to build an export pipeline, which could be operational next year, to transport one million barrels of oil per day to Turkey. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) started trucking exports of crude oil to Turkey at the beginning of July despite a long-running dispute between Baghdad and Erbil. Hayward believes that the entrance of further oil giants to the region will led Baghdad and Erbil to an agreement over who controls the South Kurdistan's oil fields. During the last few months, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total signed contracts with the region to invest in the oil sector and neglected Baghdad's threats and warnings, reported the Financial Times. Exxon Mobil signed six oil contracts last year with Kurdistan. The contracts led to strong opposition from Baghdad, which says Kurdistan is not authorized to sign contracts for its oil. The Iraqi government later threatened to blacklist oil giants if they continue their contracts with the KRG. Hayward stressed: "Such developments reinforced the KRG’s position, strengthened its hand in negotiations with Baghdad and were a strong indication that there would be an agreement between the two sides. "Kurdistan’s oil will one day flow freely. I don’t know anywhere in the world where you have one million barrels a day in the pipeline and it doesn’t find its way to market. "This would come either through a bilateral deal between the KRG and Turkey, or a peace agreement between the Kurdish authorities and Baghdad." |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:41 AM Post #16 |
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Total signs new Kurdish deal, shrugs off Baghdad threats French oil major Total has bought a minority share in an exploration block in Iraq's semi-autonomous South Kurdistan, ignoring threats from the central government in Baghdad made after a similar deal last month. Total followed U.S. oil majors Exxon and Chevron last month in disregarding Baghdad's warnings about possible punitive action and signing contracts with the country's South Kurdistan directly. Canada's ShaMaran Petroleum Corp said on Monday a unit of the French company had paid $48 million for a 20 percent stake in the Taza exploration block in the Kurdish province of Suleimaniya in KRG. The exploration well is operated by Papua New Guinea's Oil Search, which has 60 percent of the contract. The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), based in Erbil, owns the remaining 20 percent, ShaMaran said in a statement. In July, the French major bought a 35 percent stake in the Harir and Safen exploration blocks in Kurdistan, where crude reserves are plentiful and contract terms more attractive than in the southern part of the country. The move drew an angry response from Iraqi authorities, who warned Total, which has an 18.75 percent stake in the Halfaya oilfield in the southern Missan province, that it would be forced to sell it if it did not cancel or freeze deals with Kurdistan. The petroleum deals are worsening already tense ties between Baghdad and South Kurdistan, autonomous since 1991, in their long-running dispute over land and oil rights. Total could not immediately respond to a request for comment. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/20/total-iraq-idAFL6E8JKA9520120820 |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:42 AM Post #17 |
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The High Stakes Chess Game For Oil It started late last year with ExxonMobil, then a month ago Chevron joined in, followed this week by Total and now Gazprom. That’s four of the world’s biggest international oil and gas giants that have defied Baghdad to sign up for concessions to drill for oil in the South Kurdistan of KRG. Baghdad has blacklisted the oil giants from future bidding rounds for southern fields, and has condemned the sweet deals that the Kurds have been offering as in violation of the Iraqi constitution. “We will punish companies who sign deals without the approval of the central government and the oil ministry,” said an oil ministry spokesman, according to Reuters. “Unless Total reviews the deals, it will face severe consequences… Total will be blacklisted for violating Iraqi law.” Big talk, but so far no details on punitive measures. Don’t think for a second that the oil companies are worried. “It’s a chess game, that’s how I read it,” an international oil tycoon with investments in Kurdistan told me recently. For Big Oil, these moves are part of a chess game, played with the intention of forcing Baghdad to rationalize the laws governing Iraq’s oil industry. The companies would like the entire Iraqi oilpatch to be governed like Kurdistan. The Kurds’ production sharing contracts give the oil giants a big cut of the upside in finding new oil. That’s in contrast with the service contracts that Baghdad has forced in the south, with pay out a set fee of as low as $1.15 per barrel recovered. Even though contracts allow for reimbursement of capital costs, that’s too little to make money or justify the political risk. Yet the majors bid for the projects anyways. Exxon is partnered with Shell in the West Qurna 1 project in southern Iraq, which calls for an expansion of output in that field to 2.3 million bpd. While Total is partnered with PetroChina and Petronas in the 500,000 bpd Halfaya project. The contract terms call for payment of $1.90 and $1.40 per barrel, respectively. Chevron doesn’t have any deals in the south, but says in a statement that it has been working with the Iraqis since 2003, and that “new opportunities must offer a competitive return measured by various metrics relative to perceived risks and as compared to other investment alternatives in our portfolio.” The reason Chevron’s peers agreed to crazy contract terms in the south was simple, explains our oil tycoon: “We enter into the cake, and once we’re in we see slowly what we can do to change the model.” But change isn’t coming. Baghdad still has not approved a national oil law, and some companies have gotten fed up. Norway’s Statoil recently sold its interest in the West Qurna 2 project (which pays $1.15 per bbl) back to its partner Lukoil. Thomas Adolff, analyst with Deutsche Bank, writes in one of his regular reports on Iraqi oil that Exxon “is in advanced discussions with Rosneft” to sell all or part of its concession. “Total has very little to lose in the south,” writes Adolff. “There’s not much the government can do other than banning Total from future licensing rounds.” But why couldn’t the government yank those southern concessions from Exxon and Total? They could, and in this chess game the companies are challenging Baghdad to do just that. “If Baghdad takes the risk of taking back the concession, you think Exxon will not react? They will immediately go to court,” says our tycoon. The issue would be sent to an international arbitration tribunal, where Exxon would make the point that there is no official oil law in place and that the Kurdish deals do not violate the Iraqi constitution. The debate is not over whether the South Kurdistan has the right to offer the concessions–it does–but over the model of the contract itself. “Do you think Baghdad wants to have an international court to say what the law is? I don’t think so. The government in Baghdad does not want to fall into the trap,” says the tycoon. This is why Exxon and Total have little to worry about. “Everybody is making gesticulations, but nobody has taken anything from Exxon. They cannot. They won’t take the risk.” Checkmate Big Oil. The result is that it’s game on in Kurdistan. Both Total and Chevron have indicated that they want to expand their positions there. Statoil is looking at opportunities. They’ll have to compete with a crowd of companies already there, like Sinopec, Marathon, Hess, Heritage Oil, DNO, Maersk Oil, and Gulf Keystone (which has found an estimated 10 billion barrels so far). Not to mention a passel of billionaire-backed ventures such as Ross Perot, Jr.’s Hillwood International, Ray Lee Hunt’s Hunt Oil, Jean Claude Gandur’s Oryx Petroleum as well as Genel Energy, which was bankrolled by Nat Rothschild and is run by former BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward. A spokesman for Kurdistan Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami recently said that with the help of all this firepower the region expects to boost oil output from 300,000 bpd now to 1 million bpd by 2015 and 2 million bpd by 2019. That would put South Kurdistan in same oil exporting league as Venezuela. If Baghdad is serious about building a world-class oil industry in the south they should stop dreaming of building a Saudi Aramco redux and decide to do it the Kurdish way. forbes |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:43 AM Post #18 |
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One interesting part of this video is that it says Iraq has 10.7% of world's oil reserve. Then it says that Kurdistan has 40% of Iraq oil reserves. This means Kurdistan has 5.35% of world's oil reserves. WOW Also, it says that Kurdistan will finish discovering 80% of its oil in 5 years time. at 3:29 it shows the constitution articles which speaks of oil handled by central and regional governments * article 111: the oil and gas is the property of the people of Iraq in all provinces and regions. * article 112 (a): the central government is responsible and in control of the "existing" oil and gas fields in Iraq. * article 112 (b): both the central and regional governments take care of oil operations. * in 2007 Erbil and Baghdad signed a deal, which is : "if by Nov 2007 Iraq does not pass a new oil and gas law, both sides have the ability to control their oil fields and sign oil deals until a new law is passed" signed by nouri al milky and Kak Massod. so as it is clear, i-raq is violating its own constitution bcoz it does not "suit" them in Baghdad so they love to keep the current Baathist era oil law and refuse to put the above mentioned into a new law which will give Kurdistan the power it has anyway but it will be official then, and they signed that deal which now they cant back out on if they want to say oh that is not constitutional then why did you sign it? sorry it don't work that way you have signed and we will show it to the international companies coming it, the international oil companies are fully aware of these and have studied them before coming to Kurdistan, if Iraq moved a muscle , they will go to court with full proof that they have not violated the Iraqi constitution and Iraq will come out as a loser. so they don't want to look like losers what they do is just "bark bark bark" , but that period of time has expired and the world has changed but the Iraqi minds stay the same since 1921, which is deny kurds and kurdistan of any control of their own land and its properties which by the way was attached to this so called Iraq, invade Kurdish lands if its strategic for them Iraqis and threaten them with military means, which they have failed at in all of mentioned above, they lost the oil game, they lost at trying to invade Kurdish areas in Nineveh which is under Kurdish control but not part of KRG officially yet, they failed at creating disunity amongst kurds , and they will continue to fail till the day they realize kurdistan divorced them and took the areas it controls official and unofficial. Iraq which is a french and British project is starting to fail as a country after 90+ years since it was created against the will of Kurdish people and god is number one with reversing these kind of unfairness , it will reach all occupied Kurdish lands one by one. |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:44 AM Post #19 |
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These are the new gas and oil pipelines which are dotted blue(oil) red(gas) , these are the routes for our independent gas and oil pipelines connecting all of our gas and oil fields going thru KRG soil and bypassing anything to do with 'iraq'. and according to KAR company, so far 23% has been completed to be fully operational by 2013. As you can see Kerkûk's Baba , Havana and Khurmala oil fields are connected to the new line, of course it will be since Avana is one of ExxonMobil's blocks  New gas and oil lines New gas and oil lines |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:45 AM Post #20 |
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Nechirvan: Kurdistan will become self-sufficient in fuel and electricity. ERBIL, Aug.7 (AKnews)- Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said that the policy of his government aims at self-sufficiency for Kurdistan in fuel and electricity generation. The PM made the remark during a meeting in Kurdistan Parliament for discussing the creation of a Supreme Negotiations Council for settling disputes with Baghdad. Barzani said it is a while Baghdad government is cutting Kurdistan's share from the fuel produced at the Iraqi refineries. It has cut Erbil's share completely. He continued it is not feasible for Baghdad to cut Kurdistan's share of fuel or electricity under every pretext daily. "Therefore, in these two fields we will have our independence and will provide the demand of the [Kurdistan] region," Barzani said. A number of issues between KRG and Baghdad are yet to be settled. Among them are the status and salary of peshmarga (Kurdistan border guards), the ownership of some multiethnic areas and the oil contracts signed by the KRG. The oil contracts have become a highly sensitive subject as Baghdad labels the contracts illegal and presses the foreign companies to quit investment in Kurdistan fields. Kurdistan and Baghdad official also accuse each other of smuggling oil and a vague dealing with oil file. Whenever there is any tension between KRG and Baghdad, the latter puts pressure on the former by cutting its share of fuel. |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:46 AM Post #21 |
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We can see here the new pipeline will be connected to existing one going to turkey at Fishkhabur, we can just simply cut iraq-turkey oil route from where it enters kurdish territories in Ninevah if w think its wise which is the main reason iraq wanted to occupy these territories but as you all saw they failed .
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:46 AM Post #22 |
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so far so good, 23% of independence pipeline has been completed , by Aug 2013 it is to be totally completed which i see it complete as scheduled. 
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:47 AM Post #23 |
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Gazprom Neft signs production sharing deals with Kurdistan Aug 1 (Reuters) - Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom, said it had acquired interests in two blocks in Iraq's South Kurdistan after similar moves by international rivals angered the central Iraqi government in Baghdad. Gazprom Neft will take 40 percent of the Garmian block, putting it on a parity footing with Canadian operator WesternZagros, and 80 percent of the Shakal block. The regional government of the semi-autonomous region will keep 20 percent in both. Gazprom Neft estimated the blocks contained potential resources of about 3.6 billion barrels of oil equivalent. It already has a project in Iraq, near the Iranian border, where it expects to produce about 15,000 barrels per day from 2013. "Based on our positive experience in cooperation with the Republic of Iraq, where we are already participating in the development of Badra field, the company had decided to expand its presence in this country," Gazprom Neft First Deputy Chief Executive Vadim Yakovlev said in a statement. "Carrying out these projects will allow Gazprom Neft to increase its input in Iraq's plans to boost oil production, to gain additional experience in this country and to expand its presence abroad," he added. |
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:48 AM Post #24 |
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ExxonMobil deal blocks  (Kirkuk included)
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| ALAN | 17th November 2012 - 12:48 AM Post #25 |
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Important article on the pipelines Tony Hayward Loads Trucks With Kurdish Oil Awaiting Pipe: Energy By Nayla Razzouk and Brian Swint - Jul 30, 2012 9:01 AM ET Tony Hayward, the former chief executive officer at BP Plc (BP/), is now loading a fleet of as many as 500 trucks a day while he waits for a new pipeline to carry oil from his fields in KRG. Since joining Genel Energy Plc (GENL) last year, Hayward has pushed the semi-autonomous Kurds to finish building a link to neighboring Turkey so he can find buyers outside the local market. Kurdish contractor Kar Group said it has completed 23 percent of the first 48-mile (77-kilometer) section of the line north to the border, though Turkey hasn’t said publicly it will take the oil. Tony Hayward, seen here in a May 4, 2010 file photo as BP Plc's Chief Executive Officer, joined Genel Energy Plc last year. Photographer: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg Kurdish authorities, feuding with the central government over sharing oil revenue, plan in the next two years to complete the 175-mile export link that will start at a Genel-operated field and move as much as 1 million barrels a day, equal to a third of Iraq’s output now. Following Hayward into the region are Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX), bolstering the Kurdish plan to break Baghdad’s control of shipping crude from the landlocked territory that’s ruled itself since the U.S.-led invasion ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003. “This will be a transformational development for companies operating in the region,” Hayward, who ran Europe’s second- biggest oil company until 2010, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “It will allow the direct export of crude oil production to Turkey and international markets and accelerate the monetization process for resources” in the Kurdistan region. Course for Independence Kurds, who historically have resisted control by Arab-dominated central governments, are charting a course to independently develop oil reserves that the Kurdistan Regional Government calculates at 45 billion barrels -- larger than BP’s estimate for the U.S. or Nigeria, Africa’s biggest producer. The Kurdistan region plans to increase output to 2 million barrels a day by 2019, Michael Howard, an adviser to Kurdistan Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami, said in a June 10 phone interview. It has signed energy agreements with about 50 companies and plans to increase output to 1 million barrels a day by 2015 from about 300,000 barrels a day now, he said. Kurdish authorities recognize production-sharing agreements, which give investors a share of any oil they may produce, whereas Iraq’s Oil Ministry offers only fee-based service contracts. This has attracted interest from investors such as Norway’s Statoil ASA (STL) that are unhappy with the central government’s contract terms for exploration and production. Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Total SA (FP) are flouting warnings by the government against seeking separate deals with the Kurds, whom Iraq’s Oil Ministry accuses of “smuggling” oil from the country. Chevron Entry Chevron, the second-largest U.S. energy company, said July 19 it will buy a majority stake in two Kurdish blocks. The Oil Ministry responded five days later by barring Chevron from doing business in the rest of Iraq. Similarly, the ministry punished Exxon for investing in the Kurdistan region by excluding it from an energy-licensing round in May. Separate deals between the Kurds and foreign investors are “illegal and illegitimate,” and Chevron “should feel ashamed about what it did,” the ministry said July 24 in an e-mailed statement. “These agreements grant the oil companies a large share of crude production and are thus a squandering of the national wealth.” The Kurdish pipeline project resembles one that enables the United Arab Emirates to circumvent politically inspired shutdowns of oil exports. The U.A.E., also a member state of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, began shipping crude on July 16 through a pipeline from Abu Dhabi to the Indian Ocean port of Fujairah, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, the transit corridor Iran threatened to shut earlier this year in response to sanctions on its nuclear program. Revenue Dispute DNO International ASA (DNO) is among companies pumping crude at Kurdish fields that have one main export route, the central government’s pipeline from the city of Kirkuk in KRG to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Turkey. A dispute over oil contracts and revenue-sharing prompted Kurdish authorities to halt flows into this network on April 1. Producers now must sell their oil locally or send small loads by truck into Turkey. Kar Group expects to complete the Kurdish pipeline’s first section, linking the fields of Taq Taq and Khurmala, by the end of the year, the company’s project manager Besoon Jalizada said in a telephone interview on July 17. Kurdish authorities will probably seek bids for construction of the remaining part of the system, from Khurmala to the Turkish border, he said. Pipeline Capacity The first phase will have a capacity of about 200,000 barrels a day, a Genel official said on July 23, declining to be identified because the pipeline is being built and financed by Kurdish authorities and not Genel. The pipeline plan “seems quite provocative,” Ivor Pether, a fund manager at Royal London Asset Management which oversees $60 billion of securities, said in a June 26 e-mail. “The risk is obviously that it may take a long time to agree how to divide the oil revenues, or even that the relationship between Kurdistan and Baghdad breaks down.” The Kurds are seeking closer cooperation with Turkey amid a political impasse in Baghdad, where opposition groups accuse Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of abusing power. Al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders have said they worry that the planned pipeline may make the Kurds economically self-sufficient and embolden them to seek independence. Iraq has faced a series of violent attacks since the pullout of U.S. troops in December, including the killing of 115 people in a wave of nationwide bombings claimed by an Al-Qaeda affiliate group on July 25. Turkey’s Role Turkey, with its own restive Kurdish minority, is ready to work with Iraq’s Kurds on the construction of oil and natural- gas pipelines provided the central government in Baghdad agrees, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said in an interview in Ankara on July 5. At the same time, he said, the Turkish and Iraqi governments have committed to repair a link to Kirkuk from Basra in southern Iraq to help boost the amount of oil sent into Turkey through the established Kirkuk-to-Ceyhan network. Hayward said he’s not surprised that Exxon, Chevron, Total or Eni SpA would be interested in Kurdistan. “This only serves to reaffirm our long-held belief in the enormous opportunities that exist,” he said. bloomberg |
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