Kurdistan Oil & Gas Development

[unitedkurdistan]

An ocean of reserves waiting to be tapped

"The field is almost too big."


Richard Lowe faces a dilemma most oilmen can only dream about: what on earth is he to do with 14 billion barrels of crude?

Mr Lowe's company, a small London-listed explorer called Gulf Keystone, found the oil in question in Shaikan, in Iraqi Kurdistan, in 2009. It was one of the world's largest onshore discoveries in more than 20 years.

Stretching for miles under a ridge of brown, rugged hills near the Turkish border, Shaikan is huge. Yet its sheer size is problematic. "The big question is -- where do you start?" says Mr Lowe, Gulf Keystone's drilling manager. "The field is almost too big."

Oil finds such as Shaikan have made Kurdistan, an autonomous region in the north of Iraq, one of the biggest draws in the global oil industry. It has attracted $10bn in investment from foreign oil companies -- a vast amount for a country of only 4.9m people.

"It is almost the only place in the Middle East where the private sector can explore virgin territory," says Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of BP who runs the Kurdistan-focused oil explorer Genel Energy.

Initially, the region was the playground of wildcatters -- small buccaneers with a big appetite for risk. But now the big boys are moving in. Over the past year, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total have been grabbing some of the 45bn barrels of oil thought to lie underneath Kurdistan.

Ashti Hawrami, Kurdistan's minister of natural resources, forecasts a wave of consolidation as the majors swoop in. The number of operators in the region will, he says, soon shrink from 50 to 20 or less. "We're moving from the small and the beautiful to the large and the magnificent," he told the Financial Times.

The big oil companies are coming despite a somewhat precarious legal environment. For years, Kurdistan has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with Iraq's central government over who owns the region's oil. Baghdad says the Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, lacks the authority to sign contracts with western energy groups and has declared them illegal.

In April 2012, the KRG suspended crude shipments from the region in protest at Baghdad's delays in disbursing $1.5bn owed to operators in Kurdistan.

Since then circumstances have improved. In August, the KRG restarted exports as a goodwill gesture and, a month later, the central government agreed to pay foreign companies what they were owed for their oil. The Kurdish authorities reciprocated by agreeing to increase exports.

The deal enabled Gulf Keystone to resume production at Shaikan after a near five-month hiatus. "It's a huge relief that we're able to start again," says Mr Lowe. Some 30 tankers a day are loading up at Shaikan and taking its crude to local refineries.

The September agreement was extraordinary in that it seemed to acknowledge the legitimacy of KRG contracts. Mr Hawrami says Baghdad realised that the most important priority was to make sure oil flows were resumed in full -- regardless of which companies were producing it under what contracts. The view was "now Kurdistan must export the oil and we need the revenue," he says. "Any stranded oil is not to the benefit of Iraq." He called the deal "a win-win".

It is not hard to tell that Kurdistan is sitting on a bountiful resource. On the northern side of Gulf Keystone's Shaikan field, Mr Lowe points visitors to crude oil oozing out of the limestone rock and dribbling down in dense black seeps.

Iraqi geologists knew about the area's potential. "These fields should have been discovered 30 or 40 years ago," says Mr Lowe. Leaving them untapped was, he says, part of a policy of neglect designed to keep the Kurdish population down. Instead, Iraq focused on the huge fields around Basra and Kirkuk.

That has redounded to the Kurds, advantage. "If these oil reserves had been developed 30 years ago, all the benefit would have gone to Saddam Hussein and his family," says an Erbil-based diplomat. "It's the only time the Kurds have been thankful to Saddam for something."

It was only after 2006, when Mr Hawrami was appointed minister, that Kurdistan's oil industry really took off. He has been credited with creating Kurdistan's oil sector -- with its complex contractual and regulatory framework -- from scratch.

"It's an amazing achievement in difficult circumstances," says one diplomat.

Unlike the oilfields of southern Iraq, which had export pipelines linked to the Gulf, Kurdistan's were stranded, with no outlet to wider markets. The area was largely unexplored and there was confusion over whether they had the right to sign their own contracts.

But according to Mr Hawrami's view of Iraq's 2005 constitution, under which the country's oil and gas was "owned by the people of Iraq in all the regions and governates", they did. He started allocating blocks of exploration acreage in production-sharing agreements -- contracts that offer oil companies the potential for handsome profits.

Initially, small companies took the bait but their success encouraged larger competitors. Mr Lowe says seven out of 10 exploration wells drilled in Kurdistan are commercially successful -- a "strike rate" with few parallels.

As the oil companies' presence expanded, Kurdistan changed -- fast. In the early days, Erbil was a provincial backwater and, as in all of Iraq, power came on for only a couple of hours a day. The city had one decent hotel, the Sheraton, built in the late 1970s. It felt like a "Wild West frontier town", recalls one oil engineer who lived there then.

Now it is booming. Planes full of businessmen fly into Erbil's new international airport from Dubai, Vienna and Istanbul. Five-star hotels tower over a cityscape dotted with cranes and vast construction sites.

The pace of development will increase. In 2008, there were only three drilling rigs in Kurdistan. This year there are 24 and next year there will be 40. Production, at about 200,000 barrels a day, will reach 250,000 b/d next year. By 2015, Kurdistan hopes to be exporting 1m b/d.

To achieve that will need a major reconfiguration of the region's export infrastructure. The current Baghdad-controlled pipeline is plagued by bottlenecks. Many believe that Kurdistan will build its own pipeline into Turkey, giving it full control over exports. If that happens, the KRG will receive oil revenues directly from Turkey, rather than via Baghdad.

This will give the KRG the economic independence many Kurds have long craved and build on the close relationship evolving between Kurdistan and its neighbour, Turkey.

"Kurdistan is going to emerge as a major contributor to global oil supplies by the end of this decade -- possibly sooner," says Mr Hayward.

http://www.kurdishglobe.net/display-art ... 3B91FEF101

[burnsss]

Staff of Iraq Oil Report
Published December 20, 2012

ERBIL - Oil producing companies in the Kurdistan region of Iraq have cut exports to a trickle, as the outlook for payments from Baghdad to the region's oil industry seems increasingly bleak.

A senior official with Iraq's state-run North Oil Company (NOC), which handles exports through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, says that exports from Kurdistan producers have dropped to 4,200 barrels per day (bpd) as of Tuesday, down from 25,000 bpd on Dec. 15. In recent months, Kurdistan had pumped as much as 190,000 barrels in a day.

Producers in the region, chiefly the Anglo-Turkish firm Genel Energy and Norway's DNO, have grown concerned about their financial exposure as hopes of payments for their oil production have faded. Erbil and Baghdad negotiated an agreement on Sept. 13 that provided for a trillion dinars ($833 million) of advance payments to be made and for future payments to be included in the 2013 federal budget, but the fate of the deal now looks dubious.

The central government made an initial transfer of 650 billion dinars ($541 million) but it has not made a second payment that is called for in the Sept. 13 agreement. Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani recently said the Cabinet never ratified a second payment, and Maliki-aligned MPs are lining up to oppose Kurdistan's priorities in the 2013 budget, including payments for contractors.

Oil companies have been pressuring the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to reduce exports, citing the lack of reliable payment. For the time being, companies prefer to sell on the domestic market to Kurdistan's network of refineries and topping plants, where they are assured compensation.

In light of those complaints, exports from the region were cut in late November to between 70,000 and 80,000 bpd.

KRG exports are now between 4,200 and 8,000 bpd, with NOC and industry sources giving slightly different numbers. One industry source in the KRG said the NOC tends to under-record export contributions from Kurdistan producers.

According to the senior NOC official, the region's current exports are all coming through a metering station at Khurmala, operated by KAR Group, a Kurdish company. That oil is all coming from Taq Taq, the official said.

A source familiar with the operations of the Taq Taq Operating Company (TTOPCO) confirmed that exports are currently about 4,200 bpd, without specifying why. TTOPCO is jointly owned by Genel and Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of Chinese state oil company Sinopec.

DNO International, which operates the Tawke field, is no longer exporting any of its crude production, according to the NOC source. By Dec. 17, the company had winnowed its exports from Tawke from a high of about 67,000 bpd down to between 2,000 and 3,000 bpd, the NOC official said.

A senior oil official familiar with DNO’s operations, however, said that the company was still sending a few thousand barrels of crude through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. The source attributed DNO’s export cut to planned maintenance and new work to boost capacity to 100,000 bpd by the end of the year, which follows an intensive expansion production capacity program this year funded by DNO and its non-operating partner Genel.

An industry source familiar with KAR group's operations said the Khurmala Dome's production is now completely being routed to the company's Erbil refinery. According to the source, the exports via Khurmala are around 1,000 barrels per day higher than recorded by NOC.

With exports off the table, Kurdistan's oil producers are turning to the local market. They can receive payment a month in advance for selling to local refiners; in return, they settle for below-market rates set by the KRG at between $55 to $60 per barrel.

The local market has an official capacity of only 170,000 bpd, however, so oil production over that amount which cannot be exported via the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has to be shut in. KRG production capacity is currently approaching 300,000 bpd.

An official from the MNR was unable to confirm the latest export figures. DNO and Genel could not be reached for comment.

The KRG's contractors have pumped millions of barrels of oil without payment – a policy that is difficult to justify to shareholders, especially as the political dialogue between the federal and regional governments has shown signs of breaking down.

Following the Sept. 13 deal, the two sides met to discuss how their new export cooperation would be codified in the 2013 national budget law. After negotiations in Baghdad, the KRG expected more than $3 billion to be carved out for oil companies. Instead, the draft passed by the Cabinet in Baghdad on Oct. 23 allocates just 750 billion dinars ($625 million).

Under the 2013 draft budget, the KRG is slated to commit 250,000 bpd of oil to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, which may now be unrealistic given the apparent refusal of producers to send large quantities of crude for export without getting paid.

The KRG’s inability to export oil at budget-mandated production levels is already provoking allies of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki to pursue a reduction of the KRG’s share of the 2013 federal budget by 30 percent.

Kamaran al-Najar reported from Kirkuk. Ben Lando contributed from Baghdad.

[Anthea]

Reuters

China the frontrunner to buy Exxon out of Iraq oil

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has emerged as the frontrunner to take over Iraq's West Qurna-1 oilfield from Exxon Mobil, a move that would diminish Western oil influence in Iraq a decade after the U.S.-led invasion.

U.S. oil major Exxon (XOM.N) is giving up its stake in the giant southern oilfield after clashing with the central government in Baghdad over exploration contracts it had signed with the autonomous Kurdistan region in the north.

Iraqi and Chinese sources said CNPC unit Petrochina (0857.HK) (601857.SS) is negotiating for Exxon's 60 percent in the $50 billion West Qurna-1 project and that there are rival bidders. Royal Dutch Shell is a minority partner.

"CNPC has shown interest; they are there. And from our side, there is no problem with them taking on a bigger position. We are not sensitive about this," a senior Iraqi official said.

For energy-hungry China, a major buyer of Iraqi crude, access to reserves is a strategic imperative, and Beijing is prepared to accept tougher terms and lower profits than Western oil majors and even Russian firms such as Lukoil (LKOH.MM), which have to answer to shareholders.

Iraq has the world's fourth-largest oil reserves and wants to at least double its production in the next few years and ultimately challenge Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil nation.

"PetroChina is in talks to buy the stake from ExxonMobil. There are rival bidders," a source familiar with the Chinese company said. "A decision is expected from ExxonMobil soon."

FULL STORY:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/ ... ZH20121220

[Aslan]

TAQA buys stake in Iraqi Kurdistan oil block for $600 mln

A TAQA spokesman said on Wednesday production was expected to start in 2013 and the acquisition would be funded "from corporate resources".

GEP is a venture between privately-held Aspect Energy, which owns a 66.5 percent interest, with the remainder held by a subsidiary of Canadian group ShaMaran Petroleum.

The acquisition marks the first time the Abu Dhabi-based company has operated an oil and gas project in the Middle East.

"It's part of our strategy to expand in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region," the TAQA spokesman said.

An autonomous region since 1991, Iraqi Kurdistan is often touted as one of the final frontiers for onshore oil exploration and has signed deals with foreign majors such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Total.

But those deals have angered the federal capital Baghdad, which rejects oil contracts offered by the Kurdistan region's government as illegal, and has blacklisted some firms that ventured north. (Reporting by Mahmoud Habboush; Editing by William Maclean and Mark Potter)

[Aslan]

Kurdistan’s vast reserves draw oil majors

For decades, the rugged hills of northern Iraq were the sole preserve of sheep herders and the Kurdish militia known as peshmerga. Now they play host to some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, drawn by its estimated 45bn barrels of oil.

“We are driving over huge reserves,” says Richard Lowe, drilling manager for oil explorer Gulf Keystone, as he crosses Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil-rich northern corner.

Off to the right, he says, lie Ain Sifni and Barda Rash, where the London-listed oil company Afren has made two big oil discoveries. On the left are vast unexplored fields. “That’s where ExxonMobil will be drilling,” he says.

The region’s oil is so plentiful it oozes out of the ground. Near Gulf Keystone’s Shaikan field – one of the world’s largest onshore oil finds of recent years – Mr Lowe points to crude oil leaking out of the limestone and dribbling down in thick black seeps.

Barely on the oil majors’ radar five years ago, the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq is now one of the biggest draws in the energy industry. But the enthusiasm is tempered by escalating tension between the region and Baghdad, which has led to border skirmishes and rows over oil. Last month, regional crude exports, which feed into a centrally controlled pipeline system, fell to a trickle because of a row over payments.

Observers in Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, say the row reflects a broader crisis at the heart of the Iraqi government. “There are clearly big problems with its ability to govern,” says one official. “No one knows what’s going to happen next.”

Despite the problems, Iraq’s oil industry is seeing a major rebirth – a revival so strong that it is helping to dispel fears of a future global oil shortage. The country’s production, long suppressed by war, sanctions and neglect, is expected to double to more than 6m barrels a day by 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. By the 2030s, the IEA says, Iraq will be the world’s second-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.

The Kurdish region’s contribution to this revival is small but growing. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) sees production from the region, now about 200,000 barrels a day, rising to 1m b/d by 2015 and 2m b/d by 2019.
That has made it Big Oil’s hottest real estate.

Its largest oilfields – Tawke, Taq Taq and Shaikan – have become household names in the industry.
“Kurdistan is the oil exploration capital of the world,” says Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of BP, now chief executive of Genel Energy, the largest independent oil producer in the region.

Exxon’s decision to enter the region in 2011 was a turning point, with Chevron, Total and Gazprom following in its wake.

The KRG says their arrival should silence critics who question the legality of the production-sharing contracts it has signed with international energy groups. “[Exxon’s arrival] is an endorsement of our policy,” says Ashti Hawrami, the KRG’s minister of natural resources.

Baghdad says the Exxon contract and the roughly 50 other deals the KRG has signed are unconstitutional and has barred oil companies that enter the north from participating in Iraqi oil licensing rounds. It has also made life hard for oil companies operating in KRG-controlled areas who often have to wait months for Baghdad to pay them for the oil they produce.

Nearly 10 years after US-led forces invaded Iraq and removed Saddam Hussein, relations between the Kurds and Iraq’s Sunnis and Shia remain strained.

That has translated not just into tensions between Baghdad and Irbil over oil but also skirmishes in disputed territories, including oil-rich Kirkuk, on the border between KRG territory and Iraq. The illness of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, an ethnic Kurd, makes the situation even more febrile.

Tensions flared up in dramatic fashion last November, with a shoot-out between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the small town of Tuz Khormato in which one person was killed and several wounded. On December 17, explosions in a Shia district of the town killed at least five people and wounded 24, while a truck bomb killed seven near Mosul.

New security arrangements in the disputed areas, with a joint command replaced by one led by Baghdad, have also fuelled concerns. “They’re worried about what they see as the creeping militarisation of Kirkuk,” says a diplomat based in Irbil. “They say that makes it even less likely that there will be a proper political settlement of the status of the disputed areas.”

For now, there are hopes that ultimately the export issue will be resolved. These hopes rest on the KRG’s plans to build a new 1m b/d oil pipeline to the Turkish border.

Though there is no clear date for construction, under current proposals, it will tie in to Iraq’s existing export pipeline between Kirkuk and Turkey’s port of Ceyhan. But the KRG could seek to develop a separate route across the border into Turkey, effectively giving it control of its own exports. Already, Iraqi Kurdistan is shipping small amounts of oil by truck across the Turkish border.

“This [dispute] will not resolve itself until Kurdistan has the infrastructure to allow it to export oil directly to Turkey and be independent from Baghdad,” says one foreign oil executive active in KRG territory.

Experts say such an outcome would inevitably hasten a full, comprehensive agreement on exports and oil rights because the KRG would have much more leverage in any negotiations with the central government.

Despite the problems, oil companies in the region are willing to persevere. They “are used to working in very ambiguous circumstances”, says one Irbil-based energy consultant. “With Kurdistan, they feel the risk is worth it.”

[Aslan]

Energy Journal: Iraqi Kurdistan Begins Symbolic Oil Exports

The semiautonomous Kurdistan region in Northern Iraq has started exporting oil independent of the central government, Reuters reports.

While volumes are small, the move demonstrates the region’s determination to push for complete independence from Baghdad rule. It also poses questions about Iraq’s ambitious production growth targets.

The oil majors that flocked into Iraq in the uneasy peace following the fall of Saddam Hussein have now mostly abandoned the giant oilfields of the south. Frustrated by what they see as onerous contractual terms in the south, Exxon Mobil and others have turned to the Kurdistan region, which Big Oil sees as the hottest real estate

[kinematik]

Hello!

Have you heard any rumors about a huge turkish oildeal? Big
Companys taking over the small ones in kurdistans oilfields

If you know anyone who works with oil, send me a message please! I have some questions

[Anthea]

Hello!

Have you heard any rumors about a huge turkish oildeal? Big
Companys taking over the small ones in kurdistans oilfields

If you know anyone who works with oil, send me a message please! I have some questions

Hello my friend

OilVoice is by far the BEST information site about Oil, I have even found their link to Turkish oil

http://oilvoice.com/open/search.aspx?do ... 3A11&hl=en

SORRY I do not have any friends working in Oil but if I find any in the future I will send you a postcard for somewhere warm and sunny

[Anthea]

Rudaw

Iraq’s Kurds Reject Baghdad’s Kirkuk Oil Deal



ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq said that a deal between Baghdad and oil major BP for oil fields in disputed Kirkuk was “illegal and unconstitutional."

The autonomous region defended its own policy of developing fields with foreign help and exporting crude to Turkey without involving the central government.

In a statement Thursday, the KRG challenged remarks made the previous day by Iraq's Oil Minister Adbul Kareen Luaibi.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Luaibi threatened to cut the KRG's share of the federal budget, sue companies that export crude oil directly from the KRG and announced details of an alleged deal in the making with BP in Kirkuk.

Kirkuk sits atop one of the country's largest oil reserves, but lies in a disputed territory that is claimed by both the central government and the autonomous Kurds.

Luaibi “reveals details of an illegal and unconstitutional plan to allegedly allow BP to enhance the recovery of some of the depleted fields in Kirkuk... without consulting and obtaining approval of the other parties to the dispute," the KRG said.

"Such remarks reflect a lack of respect for the constitution of Iraq and for the people of Kurdistan," the statement added. "They represent a degree of panic and desperation.”

The KRG and Iraq's central government are sitting on an ongoing conflict over control of oil revenues and territory. Tensions between the two have mounted since the KRG began signing oil deals with major companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

The Iraqi government maintains that it is the legitimate authority to export crude oil and finalize deals. But the KRG argues that the constitution merely allows Baghdad to agree on contracts, and that the KRG can undertake shipments independently of the central government.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/5674.html

[Anthea]

Reuters

Exxon Mobil may be moving closer to Baghdad's side in its bitter feud with autonomous Kurdistan, industry sources said, with a sweeter deal to keep it operating in southern Iraq on the table.

Exxon Chief Executive Rex Tillerson has met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to ask about staying at the West Qurna 1 field - a greater potential prize than its deals with the northern Kurds if Baghdad could mould the deal closer to the Kurdish model.

Tillerson met Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani on Tuesday in Davos.

"After the meeting with Maliki, we can now say that Exxon is moving along the right course the central government has set for foreign oil companies working in the country," an Iraqi oil source said on Wednesday, without giving any details.

Last year, Exxon offered to sell its stake in the $50 billion southern oilfield after fighting with Baghdad over its contracts with Kurdistan, deals which the central government in Baghdad rejects as illegal.

"Baghdad wants to lure Exxon in. Will they bite?" said one oil industry source.

Another Western oil executive from a company involved in the south said Exxon would likely need to see improved conditions on its West Qurna deal to stay.

Any shift in Exxon's positioning would be a major win in favour of Baghdad over Kurdistan in their political battle over control of the country's oil resources that is straining Iraq's uneasy federal unity.

Iraqi officials were tight-lipped on details of any offer, but Baghdad has been clear in the past foreign oil companies operating in the south should give up their contracts with the Kurdish region or risk losing assets in the rest of Iraq.

"At the same time we understand Exxon has to fix its issues with the Kurdistan Regional Government before we can reach a final agreement on continuing working in the south," the Iraqi oil official said.

A statement on the website of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said Tillerson met with Kurdish leader Barzani to discuss the company's operations, without giving any further details.

"You don't engage at CEO level unless there is something substantial on the table," a chief executive of a rival oil company operating in the south said about Exxon's meetings.

LONG DISPUTE

Exxon was the first major oil company to test the waters by signing for six blocs with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2011, upsetting Baghdad which says only the central government has the right to oilfield deals and to control exports of the OPEC member's crude.

Its move heralded an increase in tensions between the Arab-led central government and the self-governed region run by ethnic Kurds since 1991, where they have their own armed forces but rely on Baghdad for a share of the national budget.

The two regions late last year sent troops from their respective armies to reinforce positions along their disputed internal border in a major escalation of tensions. Talks to defuse the crisis are ongoing.

It was not clear whether Baghdad's offer was conditional on Exxon putting its Kurdish assets on hold, and further details were not immediately available, but Iraq's oil minister hinted a week ago that sweeter terms could be on offer.

"We wish Exxon would stay and work with us. When we talk about West Qurna, we are talking about double of what is going to be achieved in the Kurdistan region," Abdul Kareem Luaibi told Reuters in an interview.

"We have started our preparations for the fifth licensing round, which is going to be with completely different contract shapes that are going to be very attractive to the oil companies."

Oil majors have been lured north by better contract terms, security and an easier working environment compared with the bureaucracy and infrastructure bottlenecks which hamper oil projects in the rest of Iraq.

Iraqi officials said late last year that China National Petroleum Corp, or CNPC, had emerged as the favourite in negotiations to take over Exxon's 60 percent stake in the $50 billion West Qurna-1 project.

Iraq's central government and the KRG have long feuded over control of oil revenues, oilfields and territory, but the Exxon talks come with the country caught in a crisis over power-sharing among Shi'ite Muslims, Sunnis and ethnic Kurds.

Any Exxon offer from Baghdad would emerge at a time when Shi'ite premier Maliki is struggling to manage increasing political pressure from Sunni street protests that have complicated his government's fight with Kurdistan.

While Iraq's government says it alone has the legal authority to export crude and sign deals, Kurdistan says its right to grant contracts and ship oil is enshrined in the constitution.

Attempts to resolve the dispute have failed in part because of disagreements over a long-delayed oil and gas law meant to set a clearer framework for managing the world's fourth largest oil reserves.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/ ... LB20130123

[Anthea]

Reuters

European oil companies are purchasing an increasing volume of oil independently exported by Kurdistan, in defiance of Baghdad's threats to punish those that deal in exports it says are illegal.

Baghdad has promised to prosecute buyers of Kurdish condensate, a light grade of oil that has been exported without its permission since October.

Exports of regular crude started around the beginning of the year, and Baghdad has already announced plans to sue Genel Energy, the first firm to export the oil directly from the region on trucks via Turkey.

Demand by international oil firms has been strong enough to absorb an increasing amount of the independently exported oil, and traders said tenders have been drawing interest from a widening range of companies.

So far, buyers of Kurdish condensate have faced few repercussions, with one notable exception - trading house Trafigura, which was banned from Iraq in December.

This month, the region's exports are expected to hit around 60,000 tonnes, equivalent to about 15,000 barrels per day.

The flow of oil, including condensate, from the Kurdish region could gradually rise to around 40,000 barrels per day (bpd), Turkey's energy minister has said, the equivalent of around 200 trucks a day.

Condensate exports already account for nearly the entire output of 17,000 bpd from Kurdistan's Khor Mor field, and as capacity grows there are plans to begin exporting oil from other fields.

The flow has drawn a wide range of interest from Swiss-based trading firms such as Vitol and Trafigura, and new firms such as U.S. chemical company Dow have joined the rank of buyers, shipping sources said.

Dow declined to comment.

The latest shipment of Kurdish condensate loaded aboard the Lucky Lady at the Toros terminal near Ceyhan in Turkey on Jan. 15 and was bought by a small trading house called Crownhill Investment Limited, the shipping sources said.

The independent firm is sometimes used as a middleman by large trading companies in oil deals that may be politically sensitive or unusual.

Ship tracking data showed the cargo was headed for Terneuzen in the Netherlands, due for arrival on Jan. 31.

A second cargo of Kurdish condensate is scheduled to load aboard the Iver Progress in the last week of the month and was purchased by Dow, the shipping sources said.

The central Iraqi government in Baghdad has repeatedly insisted that it considers independent exports from the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) as smuggling. State-owned marketer Somo is the only body legally entitled to export Iraqi oil.

Baghdad has also promised to ban any firms that sign agreements with the KRG.

On Sunday, Iraq's oil minister said Exxon Mobil, the first major oil company to sign an agreement with the KRG, had been given an ultimatum to choose between its oilfields in the south or Kurdish blocks in the north.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/ ... DV20130128

[kinematik]

ExxonMobil visited ChamChamal today to set up a camp


A delegation from Exxon along with KRG officials from oil department, today Wednesday, visited the Kirkuk district of Chamchamal, preparations are underway to setup a camp in the district.

According to the news crew from (NRT) TV, today Exxon visited the (Kani Kuchala) village, where Exxon is working on setting up a camp which is 3 KMs away from the district of Chamchamal, in order to start their operations in the Exxon block of Qara Hanir.

NRT reveals that from next week the exploration work will begin at the Qara Hanjir block.

NRT crew tried several times to get a briefing from the Exxon delegation in Chamchamal, but the security team accompanying the delegation told the TV crew that "due to the sensitivity of the subject, you are not allowed to talk to the delegation" thus our camera was forced to stop from taking any videos by the security team.

On the other hand NRT spoke to the Mayor of Chamchamal who revealed that KRG has allocated 60 Dunams (6 hectares) of land for Exxon in the village of Kani Kuchala.

http://www.nrttv.com/dreje.aspx?jimare=25627

[kinematik]

Hello!

Have you heard any rumors about a huge turkish oildeal? Big
Companys taking over the small ones in kurdistans oilfields

If you know anyone who works with oil, send me a message please! I have some questions

Hello my friend


SORRY I do not have any friends working in Oil but if I find any in the future I will send you a postcard for somewhere warm and sunny

Thank you !

Great job your doing!

[Natsidruk]

Is there any kurdish oil companies?

[Anthea]

Is there any kurdish oil companies?

GOOD QUESTION

Sorry NO idea