Kurdistan Oil & Gas Development

[Anthea]

Business News

Nearly 850,000 barrels of Kurdish oil sent to Turkey in first quarter.
By Daniel J. Graeber



LONDON, May 14 (UPI) --Production revenues from oil produced from the Kurdish north of Iraq should increase this year, Gulf Keystone Petroleum said Wednesday.

Gulf Keystone, which has headquarters in London, said it received a gross payment of $6.46 million in May for its first crude oil exports from the Shaikan reserve areas in the Kurdish north of Iraq.

"Production revenues are expected to increase significantly in [second half of] 2014," it said.

The company issued an interim financial statement Wednesday. It said gross exports by truck totaled 836,205 barrels for the first quarter of the year. Domestic sales from the Shaikan reserve area in the Kurdish north was 24,767 barrels for the quarter.

The company estimates the region's Shaikan field could hold as much as 10.5 billion barrels of oil. The semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government has said production could reach 250,000 bpd by 2018.

Exports of Kurdish oil, however, have faced delays because of the lingering stalemate between the Kurdish and central governments over who controls what in the Iraqi energy sector.

http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy ... 400077966/

[Anthea]

BasNews



Baghdad to investigate KRG oil export to Israell

Member of Oil & Energy committee in the Iraqi parliament Rihad Abuda has asked for a thorough investigation into the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) alleged export of oil to Israel.

Abuda told local media outlets: “the insistence of KRG to export its oil independently to a Jewish country without referring back to Baghdad proves the credibility of Reuters’ report.”

She stated that the KRG will face great legal consequences if the report about oil exportation of Kurdistan Region to Israel proves to be accurate.

Reuters recently published a report stating that the Kurdistan Region has begun exporting oil to the US and Israel.

http://www.basnews.com/en/News/Details/ ... rael/20554

[Anthea]

Kurdistan Rejects Report on Oil Sales to Israel, US



ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Kurdish officials rejected on Thursday a report by Reuters that the Kurdistan Region had sold shipments of oil to Israel and the US.

“Those places mentioned in (Reuter's) report have not been sold even a drop of oil,” said an official source from KRG's Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).

Reuter wrote that Kurdish oil has been sold via the Turkish Powertrans to Israel’s Oil Refineries Limited's (ORL) and that some oil shipments had reached refineries in Houston, Texas.

“The United States imported its first crude cargo from the region two weeks ago while at least four have gone to Israel since January, ship tracking and industry sources said, after two were shipped there last summer.” Reuters reported.

The report also mentioned that Kurdish natural gas condensate has been sold to Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Latin America.

“Kurdistan oil has not been sold until now,” KRG spokesperson Safin Dizayee told Rudaw, supporting the denial by the MNR. “But the KRG’s hands are open to sell.”

Dizayee added that approximately 2.5 million barrels of Kurdish oil is currently stored in the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

According to the Reuters report, different buyers have picked up Kurdish oil from Turkey since January this year.

This report comes just days after Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said that the sale of Kurdish oil had started at Ceyhan and that Iraq was supervising the process.

Iraqi officials were quick in their response to the report of Kurdistan’s alleged oil sales to Israel, describing it as “damaging to Iraq's status.”

“Exporting oil to any country without Baghdad's authority, in particular to Israel is violation of the constitution and degrades' Iraq's prestige,” said Ali Zari, an MP from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition.

“Diplomatic and economic ties with Israel cannot be accepted at all,” warned Zari, who is also the deputy head of the Iraqi parliamentary oil and gas committee.

As Kurdish officials rejected Thursday’s report, “Israel's Energy Ministry declined to comment, saying that it does not discuss the country's sources of oil.” Reuters wrote.

Dizayee maintained that the KRG has decided unambiguously to export and sell its oil via Turkey, but that no specific date has been chosen and that Erbil would take into account Baghdad’s role in the process.

Dizayee said that oil sales at this stage wouldn’t cover KRG’s expenses, but that it would be a political triumph for Erbil.

“If the oil is sold at the world market price now it would be more a political achievement than economic because the volume sold would not cover all the government's expenditures,” he said.

Meanwhile, members of the Kurdish parliament expressed different opinion on the controversial subject that is likely to heighten tensions between Baghdad and Erbil.

“The Arab countries themselves have all kinds of relations with Israel,” said Ari Harsin, an MP from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). “Why is it OK for them to do so and is a taboo for us?”

“If the sale of our oil is in the interest of the people of Kurdistan and doesn’t deviate from the principles on which the Kurdistan Region builds its relations, then it is totally normal,” he added.

Bestun Fayaq, an MP from the Change Movement (Gorran) however, disagreed, saying, “at this stage we don’t need to sell oil to Israel otherwise we will open doors of enmity on ourselves from many fronts,”

http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/16052014

[Anthea]

Oryx Petroleum announces appraisal drilling update for Demir Dagh in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The Sakson Hilong 10 rig spudded the DD-3 appraisal well in November 2013 approximately 3 kilometres to the South-East of DD-2. DD-3 reached a total depth of approximately 4,400 metres in the Kurra Chine formation in the Triassic in March 2014.

The Romfor 22 rig spudded the DD-5 appraisal well in early March 2014 approximately 3 kilometres to the west of DD-2 in the saddle between the Demir Dagh and Banan structures.

Oryx Petroleum Corporation Limited announces the test results for the Demir Dagh-3 well ("DD-3") and Demir Dagh-5 well ("DD-5") appraisal in the Hawler license area in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Oryx Petroleum is the operator and has a 65% participating and working interest in the Hawler license area.


Highlights:

DD-3

All four tests successfully flowed oil with the highest achieved sustained rate exceeding 4,000 bbl/d

First successful test of Butmah formation in the Lower Jurassic at Demir Dagh

Second successful test of the Adaiyah formation in the Lower Jurassic at Demir Dagh

Third successful test of the Cretaceous reservoir at Demir Dagh

Crude characteristics and porosities similar to other wells drilled at Demir Dagh

DD-5

Logging data and drilling fluid losses experienced during drilling indicated the presence of hydrocarbons and a permeable fracture network with matrix porosity similar to other Demir Dagh wells

Only small quantities of oil flowed to surface during testing due to the inability to re-connect to the permeable fracture network indicated by logging data and losses

2014 Demir Dagh Appraisal and Development

First production on target for this quarter and full year 2014 production guidance unchanged

Demir Dagh-6 well ("DD-6") recently spudded and expected to reach total depth in early Q3 2014

DD-6 and four additional development wells to be drilled in 2014 as deviated wells to Lower Cretaceous

3D seismic campaign to commence in June 2014

Commenting today, Henry Legarre, Oryx Petroleum's Chief Operating Officer, stated:

"We are very pleased with the results of DD-3. We successfully flowed oil from the well's primary targets in the Cretaceous and Lower Jurassic reservoirs. The results confirmed the presence of similar crude qualities for all reservoirs tested as experienced at other wells drilled at Demir Dagh. DD-3 is being completed as a Cretaceous producer together with DD-2 and DD-4 and first production will be achieved soon. Our production guidance for 2014 remains unchanged.

At DD-5 there was evidence of a permeable fracture network, hydrocarbons and matrix porosity similar to observed in the Cretaceous at other Demir Dagh wells. However, the well tested only small quantities of oil as it was unable to re-connect to the permeable fracture network. DD-5 and DD-3 results will be considered together with results and data obtained from other Demir Dagh appraisal activities in the Corporation's year end reserves and resources update.

We have now spudded DD-6 and expect to drill four additional development wells at Demir Dagh this year in order to increase production capacity and continue delineating the field. DD-6 will be the first deviated well in Demir Dagh which is generally dominated by vertically oriented fractures. We anticipate DD-6 will provide greater information regarding the fracture network's characteristics while also allowing us to better access the fracture network for future production."

Demir Dagh-3 Test Results

The Sakson Hilong 10 rig spudded the DD-3 appraisal well in November 2013 approximately 3 kilometres to the South-East of DD-2. DD-3 reached a total depth of approximately 4,400 metres in the Kurra Chine formation in the Triassic in March 2014. Based on core and logging analysis and observations during drilling, including losses, oil on shakers and oil shows on cuttings a multi zone testing was designed. The testing program was comprised of four cased-hole drill stem tests ("DSTs") targeting Cretaceous and Lower Jurassic reservoirs.

Oryx Petroleum successfully flowed oil in both DSTs conducted in the Lower Jurassic.

DST#1 conducted in the Butmah formation in the Lower Jurassic successfully flowed oil at a sustained natural flow rate of 500 bbl/d and water at a rate of approximately 1,250 bbl/d over a period of three days using a 128/64" choke.

The well flowed 100% oil at over 3,000 bbl/d during the initial six hour phase of the test, but water appeared later in test indicating the bottom of the interval perforated was close to the free water level. The bottom of the interval perforation was 173 metres from the estimated top of the Butmah formation in the well bore which is down-dip of the Butmah crest. No pressure decline was observed during the test.

The crude oil from the Butmah formation was measured on site between 23° and 31° API gravity with an average of 28° API. Hydrogen sulfide was measured at 1.8% in the natural gas phase and small quantities of natural gas were encountered but were unable to be measured.

Overall the fluid characteristics of the oil tested in the Butmah was similar to the oil tested in the Butmah formation by the Banan-1 exploration well ("BAN-1"). The DD-2 well was unable to test the Butmah formation due to technical issues.

DST#2 conducted in the Adaiyah formation in the Lower Jurassic successfully flowed over a period of 24 hours using a series of different choke sizes. The maximum sustained flow rate achieved was 4,000 bbl/d of oil for a 6 hour period using a 64/64" choke under natural flow. No pressure decline was observed during the test. The crude oil from the Adaiyah formation was measured on site between 36° and 40° API gravity, similar to crude measured in the Adaiyah and Mus formations tested with DD-2. Natural gas was measured at 2,040 scf/bbl, also comparable to levels encountered in the Adaiyah at DD-2, and hydrogen sulfide was measured at a relatively high level of 9.0% in the natural gas phase.

Oryx Petroleum also successfully flowed oil in both DSTs conducted in the Cretaceous

DST#3 conducted in the Mergi and Kometan formations in the Upper Cretaceous successfully flowed oil at an average rate of 550 bbl/d over a period of 18 hours using a 128/64" choke size. There was poor connectivity between the well and the reservoir. The crude oil tested was measured on site between 20° and 21° API gravity, similar to crude measured in the Cretaceous formations tested at DD-2 and DD-4.. Natural gas and hydrogen sulfide were encountered but it was not possible to obtain measurements.

DST#4 was conducted in the Shiranish formation in the Upper Cretaceous. Oil was successfully flowed over a period of 24 hours using a series of different choke sizes. The maximum sustained flow rate achieved was 3,200 bbl/d of oil for an 8 hour period using a 64/64" choke under natural flow. The crude oil from the Shiranish formation was measured on site between 21° and 22° API gravity, similar to crude measured in the Cretaceous formations tested at DD-2 and DD-4. Quantities of natural gas and hydrogen sulfide were encountered comparable to those encountered at DD-2 and DD-3 with natural gas measured at between 180 to 300 scf/bbl and hydrogen sulfide at 1.6% in the natural gas phase. No pressure decline was observed during the test.

DD-3 is being completed as a producer from the Cretaceous and the Sakson Hilong 10 rig is in the process of moving to Banan to spud the Banan-2 appraisal well.

Demir Dagh-5 Test Results

The Romfor 22 rig spudded the DD-5 appraisal well in early March 2014 approximately 3 kilometres to the west of DD-2 in the saddle between the Demir Dagh and Banan structures. DD-5 reached a total depth of approximately 1,900 metres in the Lower Cretaceous in April 2014. Based on core and logging analysis and observations during drilling, including losses, oil on shakers and oil shows on cuttings a testing program comprised of two DSTs was designed. Notably logging analysis and observations during drilling indicated the presence of hydrocarbons, a permeable fracture network and matrix porosity similar to that observed at DD-2, DD-3, and DD-4.. Both DSTs flowed small quantities of oil to surface but were unable to re-connect with the permeable fracture networks and achieve sustained flow rates. It was not possible to accurately measure crude qualities or the presence of natural gas and hydrogen sulfide. The results need to be further analyzed but the DD-5 results reinforce the view that the Demir Dagh and Banan are not connected.

All field fluid measurements at DD-3 and DD-5 will require laboratory analysis to confirm results and should be considered preliminary until such analysis has been done. The aforementioned test results are not necessarily indicative of long-term performance or of ultimate recovery.

Remaining 2014 Demir Dagh Appraisal Program

The Romfor 22-rig has now spudded DD-6 from the DD-4 drill pad 1.5 kilometres from DD-2. DD-6 is expected to reach a total measured depth of approximately 2,060 metres in the Lower Cretaceous in Q3 2014. The well is targeting the crest of the Cretaceous reservoir just to the south of the fault running from west to east across the structure between the Demir Dagh-1 well and DD-2. Four additional development/appraisal wells will be drilled in 2014 to the Lower Cretaceous in order to increase production capacity and to further delineate the Cretaceous reservoir. Due to the vertical oriented nature of much of the fracturing evident on logs the next wells will be drilled in a more deviated manner than has been done with earlier wells in order to more optimally access the fracture networks.

The Corporation has recently agreed with a third party seismic provider to acquire 440 square kilometres of 3D seismic covering the Demir Dagh, Banan and Zey Gawra discoveries. The seismic acquisition campaign will commence in June 2014. The data acquired should help the Corporation better understand the three discoveries and determine optimal locations of future appraisal/development drilling.

http://www.oilvoice.com/n/Oryx_Petroleu ... c044f.aspx

[Anthea]

Tony Hayward, Ex-BP CEO, Gets His Life Back as Kurdish Pipeline Opens



Erbil, the regional capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, has all the trappings of an oil boomtown. It bristles with construction cranes. Land Cruisers and Range Rovers with tinted windows ply the busy streets. Oil workers and briefcase-bearing foreigners crowd into the Divan Erbil Hotel’s piano bar.

At the foot of the 8,000-year-old Citadel -- which claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in the world -- currency traders in the central market swap dollars, euros and Turkish liras for Iraqi dinars out of glass boxes on the sidewalk. Shoppers flock to Erbil’s Family Mall, which features stores such as French hypermarket operator Carrefour SA (CA) and Spanish clothing chain Mango.

With the opening of a new oil pipeline this year, the boom is getting a boost, Bloomberg Markets magazine will report in its June issue. Crude that used to be transported by truck across the rugged, mountainous terrain of the three northern provinces known as Iraqi Kurdistan began flowing in stages through the pipeline in January.

The conduit, built by the Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, runs about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Khurmala, southwest of Erbil, to the Turkish border, where it connects with an existing link to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Oil that sells for about $70 a barrel domestically could fetch $100 or so in world markets.

Soaring GDP

The KRG said in October that an average output of 400,000 barrels a day in 2014 could jump to 1 million barrels by 2015 and twice that much by 2019. For 5.2 million Kurds in an area roughly the size of Switzerland, the influx of foreign investment and rising oil-related income promises an improving standard of living as the rest of the country remains mired in sectarian violence.

The KRG’s Ministry of Planning forecasts that the economy will grow 8 percent a year through 2016. Since the KRG began selling oil contracts to foreign investors in 2007, per capita gross domestic product in Kurdistan has soared; it hit $5,600 in 2012, up from $800 10 years ago.



The boom has also benefited oil exploration companies, especially those that placed early bets. Beginning with the 1980 to 1988 Iran-Iraq War, the development of natural resources across all of Iraq, including the north, was virtually on hold for more than two decades.

Fractious Leadership

That’s because a series of full-blown conflicts and internecine clashes preoccupied first Saddam Hussein and then the fractious leadership in Baghdad that followed his ouster by U.S. and U.K. coalition forces in 2003.



Since then, almost daily clashes in the south have pitted the Shiite majority that dominates Iraq politically today against the Sunni minority that held sway under Hussein. In the north, the population is overwhelmingly Sunni and relatively free of sectarian strife. In fact sheets for foreign investors, the KRG says that no coalition soldiers have been killed and no foreigners kidnapped in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Todd Kozel, chief executive officer of Hamilton, Bermuda–based Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) Ltd., came to Iraqi Kurdistan three years after the 2003 invasion.



“If you were an oilman in 2006, with oil in your blood, you just had to be here,” he says, sipping Johnnie Walker Black Label at the Divan.

Highly Rewarded

Pittsburgh-born Kozel, 47, says he saw opportunity in a land where high risk would be highly rewarded. And it was. Since Gulf Keystone discovered oil at Iraqi Kurdistan’s Shaikan field in 2009, its market value has grown to about 1 billion pounds ($1.66 billion) from about 50 million pounds.


Todd Kozel, the CEO of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, placed an early bet on Kurdistan's oil riches, arriving in the north three years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Photography: Courtesy of Gulf Keystone Petroleum

Full Article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-2 ... opens.html

[Anthea]

Iraq's Kurds Start Exporting Oil Unilaterally



Iraq's self-ruled northern Kurdish region on Thursday started exporting crude oil to the international market through the Turkish port of Ceyhan despite objections from the central government in Baghdad, Turkey's energy minister said.

The Iraqi government insists it has the sole right to develop and market the country's natural resources. Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Kurds and Arab-led central government in Baghdad have been at loggerheads over rights to develop resources.

Baghdad says only the central government may draw plans, award deals to developers and export crude on the international market, while the Kurds argue that the constitution allows their regional government to do so as well.

The Kurds have signed more than 50 deals with Western oil companies without Baghdad's consent. Since early January, they started pumping crude oil through a separate pipeline that goes to through Turkey, bypassing a Baghdad-controlled one.

"The shipment of northern Iraqi oil waiting at Ceyhan to international markets has started," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. "The loading of one million barrels of oil is continuing," Yoldiz added without naming the buyer.

Baghdad has warned that it will deprive the Kurds of their 17 percent share in the national budget if they go ahead with the exports without the government's approval and will sue the buyers. Officials in Baghdad were not immediately available to comment.

The latest development could add to the already souring relations between the Kurds and Baghdad at a time of starting negotiations to form a new government after the April 30 national elections. The country's Shiite Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, emerged the biggest winner, securing 92 seats in the 328-member parliament.

Also Thursday, Iraq's Oil Ministry said crude exports averaged 2.51 million barrels a day in April, a nearly 6 percent increase from the previous month.

In a statement on its website, the ministry said April's revenues stood at $7.582 billion, based on an average price of $100.691 per barrel. March's oil exports averaged 2.37 million barrels a day, bringing that month's revenues to $7,507 billion.

The ministry said a major pipeline — not the Kurdish-pumped one but the one under Baghdad's control that is also north-bound — remains idle because of "terrorists attacks."

The pipeline also goes to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, pumping 300,000 to 400,000 barrels a day, but traverses Sunni-dominated areas in Iraq and has been a favorite target for militants.

Iraq holds the world's fourth largest oil reserves, some 143.1 billion barrels. Oil revenues make up nearly 95 percent of Iraq's budget. Anthea: not without Kurdish oil they do not

http://knnc.net/en/full-story-28298-28-False

[Anthea]

BBC News Middle East

Iraqi Kurdistan makes first oil sale amid exports row



The government in the Iraqi autonomous region of Kurdistan says it has made its first sale of crude oil despite strong opposition from Baghdad.

The oil was piped to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the Kurdish authorities said in a statement.

Iraq's central government says it has filed legal action against Turkey and the pipeline operator.

It is locked in a bitter dispute with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over who can sell the country's oil.

Analysts say the latest development could further strain relations between Baghdad and the KRG, as well as ties between Iraq and Turkey.

'First of many'

The Kurdish government says it hoped to reach an understanding with Baghdad but would continue to export oil independently until then.

In a statement, it said more than a million barrels of oil were loaded in Ceyhan on Thursday night and shipped to Europe.

"This is the first of many such sales of oil exported through the newly constructed pipeline in the Kurdistan region," it said, adding that the revenue would be treated as part of the region's share of the national budget.

Iraq's oil ministry filed a request on Friday for arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris against the Turkish government and its state-run BOTAS company, according to a government statement.

It said that by "transporting and storing crude oil from Kurdistan... without the authorisation of the Iraqi ministry of oil" Turkey had violated the terms of an agreement between the two countries.

The tensions come as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki looks to form a new coalition government after falling short of a majority in last month's parliamentary elections.

Analysts say the Kurds could use the negotiations to secure concessions.

Oil underpins Iraq's economy, making up more than 95% of its budget revenues.

Until now, all exports have gone through a pipeline controlled by the federal government, with Baghdad collecting the revenues for distribution.

The dispute between Iraq and the KRG has caused a series of stoppages in oil exports.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27545439

[Anthea]

Kurdistan’s oil sale going to France?



The president of Iraqi Kurdistan was received in Paris on the same day that Erbil surprisingly announced a unilateral shipment of 1 million barrels of oil, a move sure to create division with Baghdad.

While Kurdistan has some flexibility regarding its own foreign relations, Baghdad considers the contracts it signed with French oil giant Total to be invalid, as independent oil sales violate Iraq's constitution.

The oil is being loaded in Turkey and headed for Europe. The buyer was unknown, but Reuters recently reported that Israel has already illegally received 6 deliveries of Kurdistan crude, while the US may have given them some cover by recently receiving a single shipment.

The oil could be headed for France as part of Kurdistan’s contracts with Total, but no declaration was made. Baghdad refuses to sell oil to Israel, like most Arab states and Iran. That could be why Israel is the only nation among the West and its allies which openly supports an independent Kurdistan.

While oil money may be used to create further turmoil in Iraq, nearby Syria was also on the agenda. Most of the 200,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq are camped in Kurdistan. Last week Kurdistan’s political parties agreed in principle on a referendum for independence, but with so much autonomy and their own security forces, most believe that the Kurds will choose to remain a part of the federal republic of Iraq. That was before the new oil sales, which may upset the current political order.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/05/24 ... to-france/

[Anthea]

CNN

Iraq’s future looks more like Kurdistan
By Marina Ottaway, Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Marina Ottaway is a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center. The views expressed are the writer’s own.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has emerged as the clear winner of the Iraqi parliamentary elections. His State of Law coalition has won at least 92 seats of the 328 seats in the Council of Representatives, three times as many as the next largest party. In the 2010 elections, in contrast, al-Maliki lost by two seats to Ayad Allawi’s Iraqiyya Party, a coalition of secular Shia and Sunni organizations that has now completely disintegrated.

There is therefore no doubt that al-Maliki will be asked by the president (when parliament can agree on one) to form the new government. In 2010, he had to battle with Allawi for months to get that chance. But putting together a coalition with the needed 164 votes may prove even harder than in 2010, when the process lasted nine months, only coming to an end with an agreement to form a government of national reconciliation in which all parties participated.

This time, al-Maliki has already announced that he does not want another government of national unity, but he will find it difficult to get sufficient support. After four years of increasingly authoritarian rule, the prime minister has little backing among Sunnis and Kurds, and has even failed to unite Shias behind him. Eventually, al-Maliki will probably succeed, but not without making major concessions that would give him a third term as prime minister but also change the country toward a confederal form of government.

The Shia parties of Ammar al-Hakim and Muqtada al-Sadr (theoretically now retired from politics but still quite involved) have a combined 65 seats and are on record as opposing a third term for al-Maliki. So is Allawi’s Wataniyya coalition, which secured 21 seats. The Kurdish parties, with 62 seats, are also against him and threatening to organize a referendum on independence if he stays on as prime minister for a third term. And there is no love lost between al-Maliki and the major Sunni parties. If all these declared opponents remain lined up against him, al-Maliki would face an opposition bloc block of about 180 seats and thus could not prevail. (Figures are not precise because some seats are still object of disputes)

So, can he get the support of some his present detractors? In the case of Hakim and Sadr, the answer will come from Tehran. If Iran continues backing al-Maliki, as it did in 2010 together with the United States, it will press all Shia parties to stay together. Al-Maliki could then put together a majority with the help of smaller parties. But a predominantly Shia government would be weak, encourage Kurdistan to move toward independence, and increase anger – and with it the influence of Islamist radicals – among Sunnis.

Kurdish parties, which are negotiating as a block, would probably agree to back al-Maliki if offered what they really want: an agreement by Baghdad to let Kurdistan export its oil and gas directly, though paying Baghdad the 83 percent of revenue both sides agree is the central government’s share. With a pipeline linking Kurdish fields directly to Ceyhan in Turkey, and two and a half million barrels of oil stored there waiting to be sold, Kurdistan can export oil. An agreement with Baghdad has proven elusive so far, but in an attempt to press the Kurdish authorities into submission, al-Maliki has suspended the payment of Kurdistan’s share of oil revenue, causing anger and increasing pro-independence sentiments among the Kurds. But if he allowed Kurdistan to export its oil and gas directly, implicitly agreeing on their interpretation of the constitution, the Kurds would likely be willing to back him and shelve the idea of independence for the time being.

Such an agreement would have far reaching ramifications for Iraq because a growing number of provinces, including all Sunni and even some Shia ones, are talking openly of following the example of Kurdistan and becoming autonomous regions, as the constitution in theory allows.

Kurdistan, much criticized in 2005 for insisting on a constitution that granted them autonomy at the expense of Iraqi unity, is now seen by many as the example to be emulated – compared to the rest of Iraq, Kurdistan is a model of stability and its economy is flourishing. If Baghdad recognized the right of Kurdistan to export its own oil, other provinces would demand the same and Iraq would turn into a federation with a weak central government or even a confederation. There is much talk of such a solution, particularly in the embattled Sunni provinces.

Elated by his victory, al-Maliki is sounding uncompromising, and although he has declared that he is open to work with any political party, he has made it clear that it would be strictly on his own terms. For example, he has told the Kurdish party that they are welcome in a government coalition as long as they accept his interpretation of the constitution, thus renounce their ambition to export oil independently.

Ultimately, all sides will try to stare each other down before they finally start bargaining in earnest. But while at the end of the process al-Maliki will probably still be prime minister, Iraq will be a different country.
Post by: CNN's Jason Miks

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com ... kurdistan/

[Anthea]

Kurds say Iraqi bid to thwart oil exports via Turkey will fail

(Reuters) - Iraq's bid to thwart exports of oil from Kurdistan via Turkey by filing for international arbitration is a "hollow threat" that will fail, the autonomous region said on Sunday.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Friday it was taking legal action against Ankara and state-owned pipeline operator BOTAS for facilitating the first sale of crude to be piped from Kurdistan without Baghdad's consent.

The move raised the stakes again in a long-running game of political brinkmanship with ramifications for Iraq's territorial integrity, as Kurdistan seeks greater self-sufficiency.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said it was undeterred by Baghdad's "self-defeating" request for arbitration at the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce and accused the Iraqi Oil Ministry of flouting the country's constitution.

"The KRG assures its contractors and international partners, including transporters and traders, that it will not allow hollow threats from the Iraqi Oil Ministry to interfere with the KRG's oil export regime," it said in a statement.

"Its threats will fail."

The Kurds say they are entitled to develop and market the resources in their region, and late last year finished building a pipeline to Turkey that circumvents federal export infrastructure.

Oil has been flowing through the new pipeline into storage tanks at the Turkish port of Ceyhan since the start of the year, and the first shipment of more than one million barrels left shore last week.

Baghdad claims exclusive rights to manage all the oil in Iraq, and has already cut the Kurds' share of state revenue as punishment for their move to export unilaterally, plunging the region into economic crisis.

"These efforts are misguided and can only harm the Federal Government," read the statement, noting that previous attempts to blacklist companies operating in the Kurdish region had proved unsuccessful.

The KRG also blamed the Iraqi Oil Ministry for misleading the federal government and parliament about the nature and extent of Kurdish exports, and reasserted its right to receive revenue from crude sales directly.

Last week, the KRG said oil revenue from the sale would be deposited in an account in Turkey's Halkbank.

"The KRG warns against any internationalising of this Iraqi domestic constitutional issue by attempting arbitration processes obstructing the KRG’s constitutional right to sell its oil to the international market," its statement said.

(Editing by Sophie Hares and Mark Potter)

[Anthea]

Production at Iraq's Qurna-2 field at 200,000 barrels a day - Lukoil head



The production volume of the Qurna-2 field in Iraq has reached 200,000 barrels a day, the head of Russian oil major Lukoil Vagit Alekperov told journalists at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

He said that in the two months since the field was launched production had risen from 120,000 a day.

"By the end of the year according to obligations 400,000 will be reached. Today there is no doubt that 400,000 will be reached by December," he said.

(Reporting by Denis Pinchuk, writing by Jason Bush)

Source: Reuters

http://www.pukmedia.com/EN/EN_Direje.aspx?Jimare=20449

[Anthea]

Bloomberg

Turkey Allows Unilateral Kurdish Oil Exports as Iraq Ties Fray

Turkey and Iraqi Kurds defended last week’s sale of more than 1 million barrels of Kurdish oil to world markets, dismissing Baghdad’s claim before an international court that the sale was unauthorized.

Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said yesterday that Iraq had agreed that Kurdish-held northern Iraq could export 100,000 barrels of oil a day and that Turkey didn’t violate agreements, state-run Anadolu agency reported today. The Kurdistan Regional Government, which controls the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, dismissed Iraq’s May 23 claim before the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration in Paris, and vowed in a statement yesterday to continue exporting oil.

The export of Kurdish crude through a pipeline controlled by the central government in Baghdad deepens the divide between Iraqi Kurds, who want to control oil and gas resources in the north, and the Baghdad government, which says all energy transactions require its approval. Turkey’s collaboration with Iraqi Kurds further complicates the issue, while straining ties with Baghdad.

“Independent oil exports amount to a powerful step for Iraq’s Kurdish region to strengthen the regional economy,” Oytun Orhan, an analyst at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies in Ankara, said by phone today. “Turkey, heavily reliant on imported energy, did not want to the miss the opportunity to become the conduit for energy exports from the region, while downplaying importance of political snags.”

Ready to Engage

Both Yildiz and the Iraqi Kurdish administration said they were ready to engage with Baghdad authorities to resolve differences. Yildiz said the oil belongs to all of the Iraqi people and proceeds are being held by Turkey’s Halkbank, to be shared between Iraq’s central government and the Kurdish region in “a fair and just manner in line with the Iraqi constitution.”

Turkey says it is seeking to develop ties with all sides in Iraq to improve trade and to fully use the Baghdad-controlled pipeline through which Iraqi Kurds are now pumping oil to Turkey’s Mediterranean oil terminal of Ceyhan. Turkey also has expressed interest in building a new oil pipeline to carry oil from the Iraqi port of Basra to Turkey.

To contact the reporter on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at shacaoglu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net Amy Teibel, Karl Maier

[Anthea]

Iraqi Kurds slam Baghdad legal action over oil shipment

Iraq's Kurdistan region on Sunday slammed legal action filed by the central government against Turkey, saying it was illegitimate and likely to fail, in the latest sign of worsening ties with Baghdad.

The Kurdish Ministry of Natural Resources statement came just days after Baghdad's Oil Ministry filed a request for arbitration against Ankara at the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce after crude from Kurdistan was exported to international markets via a Turkish port.

Relations between Iraq and its Kurdish region, and between Baghdad and Ankara, were already fragile and are likely to chill further over the row, with the latest shipments flying in the face of the Iraqi government's insistence that it has the sole right to sell its prized natural resources.

"The MOO (Ministry of Oil) is, with its behaviour, isolating itself... (and) potentially damaging Iraq's petroleum industry and Iraq's petroleum reserves," the statement said.

"The MOO is also... now prepared to damage Iraq's relations with Turkey and other friends of Iraq."

The statement said the arbitration request is "self-defeating" and "illegitimate", and that it would "not allow hollow threats from the MOO to interfere with the KRG's (Kurdistan Regional Government's) oil export regime."

It also acknowledged that Kurdish authorities had been "exporting oil by trucking through Turkey and Iran for many years," insisting it was done with the knowledge of the federal government.

Baghdad has branded the trucking of oil as "smuggling".

The dispute between Baghdad and Kurdish authorities centres around interpretations of Iraq's constitution, with both sides insisting they are behaving legally.

The central government insists it has the sole right to export Iraqi crude, and also says contracts between Kurdish authorities and foreign energy firms without its expressed consent are illegal.

But the row took on a new dimension after Turkey confirmed shipments of oil pumped from the autonomous northern Iraqi region and stored at Ceyhan port began on Thursday.

Iraq responded by filing the arbitration request on Friday, asking the ICC to order Turkey and its state-owned pipeline company to "cease all unauthorised transport, storage and loading of crude oil," and added it was seeking financial damages of more than $250 million (180 million euros).

Oil expert Ruba Husari said Baghdad's move "might not stop the exports immediately but it will increase the perception of risk of doing business with KRG."

"This will hurt many businesses and the business environment in the Kurdistan region," said Husari, the Dubai-based editor of http://www.iraqoilforum.com.

Washington has warned that the oil export move could destabilise Iraq.

The tensions come as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki looks to secure a third term in power after April 30 elections in which his bloc emerged with by far the most seats in parliament, though well short of a majority.

Maliki is likely to need some Kurdish support if he is to secure the seats necessary to win re-election, but the latest row threatens to further complicate any potential talks for government formation.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/iraqi ... 51798.html

[Anthea]

Very much the same as watching a game of ping-pong - hardly wait for the next move

After all that has happened in the past few years why would Kurds want to support Maliki

[Anthea]

The Kurdistan Regional Government is pleased to announce the successful delivery via pipeline of the first quantities of natural gas from the gas field at Summail to fuel the Duhok Power Station

The Summail Gas Field lies within the area of the Duhok Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and is operated by the Norwegian company DNO, which together with Anglo-Turkish PSC partner Genel Energy, signed a landmark gas sales agreement (GSA) with the KRG on 18 September 18 2013.

Long-term deliveries are expected to reach 120 million cubic feet per day sold on a take-or-pay basis for the duration of the production, showing the KRG can successfully develop its newly discovered gas assets in Kurdistan.

Under the long-term GSA, the KRG will purchase up to 120mmscf/d. Initial volumes will start at around 55mmscf/d, ramping up to 120mmscf/d within the next few months, and thereafter itis hoped that gas production will eventually rise to around 200mmscf/d.

The Duhok Power Station is a 750 MW power plant in the city of Duhok, located 40 kilometres from the field. The power station’s six turbines have been run on expensive diesel until now, due to significant delays in originally expected gas deliveries from the Khor Mor area. Each of the turbines consumes around 24 million litres per month of diesel, or around 27.50mmscf/d natural gas.

The locally-produced natural gas will displace diesel from the power station and is part of a KRG strategy to save the people of Kurdistan millions of dollars every year in costly diesel imports for power generation.

Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami said that the successful commissioning of the Duhok Power Station operated by Mass Global, the Kurdistan main and feeder gas pipelines constructed by Kar Group, and the Summail gas facilities built by DNO, represented a significant step forward for the Kurdistan Region.
“It is the result of win-win coordination and cooperation of Ministry of Natural Resources staff, local Kurdistan companies and IOCs to deliver natural gas on a fast-track basis to the benefit of ordinary citizens,” Minister Hawrami said.

KAR Group built the main 36” Kurdistan Gas Pipeline from Summail to the Dohuk Power Station and also the feeder line from the Summail Gas Field connecting to the main Gas pipeline. Mass Globalcommissioned their GE Turbines facilities to take the gas.

It is expected that the people of Dohuk will be self-sufficient in locally-generated power by the end of 2015, saving well above $100 million on expensive fuel each month. The KRG plans to replace diesel with gas in all the Region’s power plants within the next two years.

“The policy is to keep the lights switched on in people’s homes, and provides cheaper, environmentally-friendly power to hospitals, schools and factories,” said Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami.

Minister Hawrami added: “This important achievement shows that newly discovered gas in Kurdistan can be monetized on a timely basis, and that this is the beginning of creating a gas market in Kurdistan - it is hoped to connect the Kurdistan gas network in Dohuk in the near future to the Gas line that connects to Erbil - to enhance gas deliveries within Kurdistan to the domestic market.”

He said: “The gas specifications meets the Kurdistan gas specifications to ensure the network of gas within Kurdistan meets international standards and can be used in facilities locally or internationally.”

Source: KRG.org
PUKmedia

http://www.pukmedia.com/EN/EN_Direje.aspx?Jimare=20463