Kurdistan Oil & Gas Development

[alan131210]

30.05.2012

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s deputy prime minister for energy affairs Hussain Shahristani denied on Tuesday allegation that he has stopped the flow of refined oil products to the Kurdistan Region.

“I have never made such a decision,” Shahristani told Rudaw. “I have only said that oil products from all refineries should be distributed on Iraq’s provinces based on their population.”

Shahristani said that people who pay attention to the subject of oil should be accurate in their reporting and “do proper follow up and verify their facts.”

A statement from the office of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said last week that following a meeting with Talabani, “Shahristani decided to temporarily reverse a decision made earlier to bar fuel to the Kurdistan Region until all related issues are solved.”

But on Tuesday Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Natural Resources rejected Shahristani’s statement, saying, “He has reduced the sending of fuel to less than 15 percent.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources said Baghdad has for years sent to Kurdistan 33 thousand barrels of refined oil a day which was cut by half earlier this month.

“That amount does not satisfy Kurdistan’s need and it is a violation of the rights of Kurdistan’s people as well as the Iraqi constitution,” the ministry spokesperson said.

Iraq’s law stipulates that Kurdistan’s share of refined oil is 140,000 barrels per day, but Kurdish officials recently accused Baghdad of cutting the region’s due of the product.

To find a reliable source of fuel for Kurdistan’s growing economy Kurdish officials have been in close contact with neighboring Turkey.

During the Erbil energy conference this month, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told Rudaw that Turkey would provide the Kurdistan Region with its need for refined oil and fuel.

Rudaw

[alan131210]

The Kurdistan Region heads towards 2 million bpd production as international interest continues to grow in the next global energy hub

The immense oil reserves of Kurdistan with an estimated at 45 billion barrels, attracts dozens of international oil giants to the Kurdistan Region's 2012 Energy Conference.

Only five years ago, Kurdistan did not know the extent of oil under its feet. It has now found out that it has an amount of oil similar to that of Libya and about the same amount of natural gas as Kazakhstan.

The region's oil and gas story started in 2006 when it passed its oil and gas law into legislation. Since then, the government of Kurdistan has signed some 57 oil and gas exploration, production, and transportation agreements with a number of oil companies.

This was the third oil and gas conference through which the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) aimed to showcase the opportunities for keen investors and companies in the industry.

This year's conference witnessed participation of companies from all across the globe. However, it was Turkish participation that was most prominent.

The Turkish Minister of Energy, Taner Yildiz, accompanied by 20 of his ministry's officials was in Erbil along with a business delegation seeking oil and gas deals with the KRG.

In recent years, the political tensions have distorted the bilateral ties between Erbil and Ankara, but this time the Turkish government officials were prepared to speak in a new language.

"Kurds play a significant role in the politics and economy of Iraq and we would like to improve our economic ties with them," stated Yildiz.

Few years ago, Turkish officials barely recognized the Kurdistan Region and its influential role in Iraq.

"After years of keeping distance, today we have understood each other's significance and we work on the basis of brotherhood rather than hostility," says Pars Kotay from the Turkish Genel Energy, who thinks that the backbone of the growing Kurdish-Turkish relations is energy.

Kotay thinks that the main route for the transportation of Kurdish energy to the world is Turkey and Kurdistan is Turkey's strategic source of energy.

The Region's gas reserve is estimated at between 2.8 to 5.7 trillion cubic meters. Dr. Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdish Minister of Natural Resources, disclosed his government's plans to export its gas to Europe via Turkey.

According to Hawrami, the gas pipeline between Kurdistan and Turkey will be completed within 12 months, through which Kurdistan can export its gas to Europe and stabilize its role and foothold in the international energy arena. The natural gas currently produced in the Region is used for domestic needs to generate more than 1000 megawatts of electricity. The ministry's strategic plan indicates that in the coming years it will increase this production rate to more than 5000 megawatts through utilization of natural gas supplies.

Kurdistan's natural gas needs to take a longer route to reach the world's markets, but this is not the case for its oil.

Kurdistan currently has an oil production capacity of 250,000 bpd, which according to Minister Hawrami will reach 300,000 bpd by the end of 2012.

However, this is far from it capacity and according to Hawrami the region will boost production to 1 million bpd by 2015.

"By 2019, Kurdistan Region will have a capacity of producing 2 million bpd," stated Minister Hawrami in the energy conference in Erbil on May 19th.

This is near the current production rate of Iraq. If this goal is achieved and in 2019 the price of a barrel of oil is sold at US$100, the region's revenues may easily reach US$76 billion, more than six times the budget it currently receives from Baghdad.

In the short-term, reaching this goal is not easy and straightforward. The federal government has not paid the fees to the oil companies in the Kurdistan Region for several months. According to Hawrami, this non-payment coincides with the fact that the revenues from Region's oil exports goes to the central government.

Erbil and Baghdad officials have met several times for negotiations to resolve this issue, but after failing to reach an agreement the KRG was finally forced to stop its oil exports.

Crucially, no national hydrocarbon law exists in Iraq years after the new Iraq was established. Although a draft has been prepared since 2007, the political parties failed to find common agreement over the terms of the draft and hence it has remained idle on the archives of parliament.

Pointing to its constitutional rights to explore and produce oil, the Kurdistan Region has drafted and approved its regional oil and gas law in parliament, and has based its oil and gas contracts on this law.
The differentiating characteristic of Kurdish and Iraqi contracts is that Baghdad tenders service contracts to oil companies whereas Erbil signs production-sharing contracts, something which has made KRG contracts more attractive to investors as they promise more profit.

In addition to the difference in the contracts, there is a different in views over the management of energy. The chairman of the previous Iraqi Parliament's Oil and Gas Committee, Dr. Hussein Balo, argues that Baghdad wants to control the oil and gas resources of the whole country centrally, "while the constitution has given the Region the right to manage its own resources."

In a survey done by the Oil and Gas Year Magazine to compare Kurdistan Region's contracts against those of elsewhere in the country, 65% of the participants argue that Kurdish contracts are more attractive, while 13% believe that they are better than the level of other international contracts.

In the same magazine, Frank Farkas, from the Hungarian oil company MOL, talks about his experience in the Kurdistan Region, which has proved the success of the style of contracts issued. He wishes that the system will remain stable and sustainable.

In the current unstable political situation in Iraq, the possibility of solving the oil disputes is seen difficult, but Hawrami reiterates "we do not compromise on our constitutional rights and will continue to develop the region's energy sector."

The Kurdish Globe

[alan131210]

31/05/2012 16:14

ERBIL, May 31 (AKnews) - Iraq has put pressure on Western oil companies not to make deals with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) without assent from the central government.

Iraq's government has restricted foreign investors' ability to sign contracts with the KRG, saying the Oil Ministry inserted a clause in oil lease auction papers that gave ministers the authority to cancel any contracts signed between foreign oil companies and the region without prior approval.

Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, the head of the ministry's petroleum contract and licensing directorate, told Dow Jones: "We decided to include an obligation on the side of the companies... not to work in any area of Iraq - not just the Kurdistan Region - without the approval of the federal government."

Exxon Mobil signed six contracts last year with the KRG. The contracts led to strong opposition from Baghdad, which deems Kurdistan is not authorized to sign such contracts.

The Iraqi government said in April US-based Exxon Mobil is not allowed to bid in Iraq's May energy auction because of its oil deals with the Kurdistan Region.

AKnews

[kirkuk1]

It's amazing how many oil fields are found in Kurdistan so far and it will even increase as explorations are still ongoing . growing up in Kirkuk the talk about oil was only of Baba Gur Gur oil and we use to sigh about it that we Kurds could not use the oil to serve our nation but look how things have changed now ! this is why i am a strong believer in god and i say "Xwa haya" .

[alan131210]

June 1, 2012

With last week's headlines dominated by Egypt's presidential elections, negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, and fresh atrocities in Syria, it would have been easy to miss a major development out of Iraq that in time could have equally momentous consequences for the future of the Middle East. I'm referring to the announcement that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Turkey have agreed -- in principle at least -- to build a series of pipelines that will allow the Kurds to export oil and gas directly to Turkey and, from there, onward to the rest of the world. The U.S. should be paying close attention.

Until now, the KRG's ability to develop its substantial energy riches has been held hostage to its dependence on export pipelines controlled by the central government in Baghdad. To get any oil to international markets -- and, in turn, to get its fair share of revenue from those sales -- the KRG has largely been at Baghdad's mercies.

Iraq's oil ministry has sought to exploit its position of strength to coerce concessions from the KRG on a long-stalled national hydrocarbons law. In particular, Baghdad has demanded veto power over exploration and development contracts that the Kurds are negotiating with international oil companies. At least 40 such contracts have already been signed over the central government's vociferous objections -- including a breakthrough agreement late last year with the global energy giant, Exxon Mobil.

Baghdad has struck back on multiple fronts. Companies signing contracts in Kurdistan have been black-balled from competing for concessions in the mega-fields of southern Iraq. Kurdistan's access to Iraq's pipelines has been restricted. And as often as not, the central government has simply withheld payments that foreign operators are owed under their Kurdish deals. The latest row over compensation led the KRG in April to suspend exports altogether, which were scheduled to be as high as 175,000 barrels per day in 2012.

The oil dispute, of course, is at the center of a much larger argument, still unresolved, about the very nature of the new Iraqi state. The Kurds, scarred by a brutal history of subjugation at the hands of Arab rulers in Baghdad, are determined that their survival -- political, economic, and, yes, physical -- will never again be subject to the central government's diktats. Yearning in their hearts for independence, the Kurds since 2003 have reluctantly bowed to geo-political realities and agreed to work toward a unified Iraq -- but only on the condition that the country evolve toward a truly federal state, with Baghdad's authority strictly limited by constitutional guarantee and the Kurdistan region's autonomy assured. Having primary say over the fate of its energy resources, and a reliable, equitable claim on Iraq's revenue stream, are for the KRG essential elements of any durable national compact.

Baghdad, needless to say, has had a much different view. Under Prime Minister Maliki, the inclination has clearly been to revert to the modern Middle Eastern norm of a strong, centralizing state, where all political, economic, and security issues of consequence are directed by the national government. From this perspective, full-blown federalism is no recipe for stability, but rather a prescription for weakness, chaos, and fragmentation. Lebanon at best; the former Yugoslavia at worst. The KRG's oil contracts are perceived as a dagger aimed at the heart of the Iraqi state: disrupting policy with respect to the nation's most important resource; undermining the authority of the central government; and ultimately intended to underwrite a future Kurdish dash for independence that would rip the country asunder.

It's not hard to see how these conflicting visions, left unmediated, could trigger an unvirtuous action-reaction cycle. And the dynamic has only been exacerbated in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq last December, as Maliki's bent for concentrating power is increasingly viewed -- by Kurds, for sure, but by many other Iraqis as well -- as veering dangerously in the direction of a new authoritarianism. Political opponents have been targeted for arrest, including Iraq's Sunni vice president. More than 18 months into his second term, Maliki -- in contravention of a power-sharing agreement -- has yet to yield personal control over the defense, interior, and intelligence ministries. He has further been accused of politicizing Iraq's judiciary and central bank, while subverting the army's chain of command and turning its best equipped, best trained units into his own praetorian guard. And the list goes on.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com

[burnsss]

Lets hope Turkey doesnt betray us on this project. Its in our interest that Turkey have an bad relations with al-tikriti, bashar and khamenei. That will make the turks rely on us for energy and as an export market.

[alan131210]

[alan131210]

05/06/2012 16:06

ERBIL, June 5 (AKnews) - Kurdistan's Minister of Natural Resources said that the Kurdistan Regional Government expects its oil boom to reach two million barrels per day by 2019.

Ashti Hawrami added during the World Economic Forum in Turkey: "Kurdistan seeks to enhance the export capacity of oil from 300,000-350,000 barrels per day currently to one million barrels per day by 2015."

The Kurdistan Region has 45bn barrels of oil reserves and in 2003 the government began to offer the oil fields to foreign investors. The region began exporting oil officially in 2009.

The World Economic Forum began in Istanbul today to addresses issues such as the financial challenges in Europe, the Arab spring and the Russian winter.

AKnews

[alan131210]

(Reuters) - Kurdistan aims to increase lift oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2019 and wants companies to build pipelines so the fuel can reach foreign markets, Energy Minister Ashti Hawrami said on Tuesday.

The semi-autonomous region expects output to reach 1 million bpd by 2015, Hawrami told a panel at a World Economic Forum meeting in Istanbul, but did not say which companies or projects would help it achieve those targets.

Output in Kurdistan has fallen sharply to an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 bpd after exports were halted in March amid a dispute with the central government in Baghad over oil-revenue sharing.

"We think we can go to 2 million by 2019," Hawrami said.

Another 1 million bpd from neighbouring Iraqi provinces could also flow through Kurdistan to export markets, he said.

The Kurdistan region, which has its own government and armed forces, has already clashed with Iraq's central government over autonomy and oil rights, and halted its crude exports in April after accusing Baghdad of not making due payments.

The dispute is part of a broader political crisis in Iraq, where a fragile government composed of Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs is struggling to overcome deep splits over power-sharing.

"If Iraq is serious about reaching 8 million bpd of exports, at least 3 million of it will come from the north," Hawrami said. "Within a couple of years there will be additional infrastructure to get the isolated crude of Kurdistan to market."

The existing pipeline from Kirkuk's oilfields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan has maximum capacity of about 1.5 million bpd, though only about a third of that flows through the aging link, often the target of attacks by insurgents in Iraq and Turkey.

Hawrami said his administration wants the private sector to build a new pipeline link that would solely carry the heavy crude extracted from Kurdish fields within two years.

"This is not an alternative to Kirkuk-Ceyhan, but additional capacity, and it is not really a pipeline to bypass current infrastructure," he said.

Kurdistan aims to double export capacity by next year from the current 300,000 bpd or so and then lift it to 1 million bpd, he said.

Exports by the end of 2012 are seen at 175,000 bpd, the Kurdistan Regional Government has said.

As for natural gas, the Kurdish region will be ready to export it within two years, Hawrami said.

Turkey will be the primary destination, and excess gas will be shipped on in whatever facilities exist, he said.

[alan131210]

Thank you so much KRG , keep the help coming bcoz Kerkuk is heart and Quds of Kurdistan .




Kurdistan government announced, on Wednesday, that 500 million Dollars from its annual budget were dedicated to provide oil derivatives and electricity to Kirkuk Province and disputed regions criticizing Iraqi central government for failing to pay the petrodollar project revenues that are due to Kurdistan.

“Kurdistan Prime Minister Neshervan Barazani highlighted his government’s efforts to provide electricity and oil derivatives to Kirkuk and other disputed regions,” read a statement issued after Kurdistan Cabinet meeting.

“Kurdistan government will dedicate 500 million Dollars from its annual budget to provide electricity and oil derivatives to Kirkuk and other disputed regions,” he added.

“Iraq central government was supposed to pay the petrodollar project revenues to Kurdistan,” the statement reported indicating that no sum was paid so far.

The relationship between Kurdistan regional government and Baghdad government was subject to tension due to old pending issues. The tension increased lately when Kurdistan Natural Resources Ministry reported that the central government stopped providing Kurdistan with its part of oil derivatives while Oil Ministry in Baghdad keeps refusing such claims.

Kirkuknow

[alan131210]

09/06/2012

KIRKUK, June 9 (AKnews)- Two oil pipelines in Sargaran parish of Kirkuk province exploded today, an official said.

The explosion of two improvised explosive devices (IED), which were placed directly under the pipelines, led to the explosion of the pipelines, said Brig Sarhad Qader police chief for Kirkuk districts.

Brig. Qader said the guards at the site were not harmed.

Six other devices exploded today in Sargaran, 44km north of Kirkuk city, three of them exploded on the road to the parish.

The explosions did not cause any causality, according to the police official.

AKnews

[alan131210]

[alan131210]

OSLO, June 11 2012

(Reuters) - Norwegian oil group DNO International has discovered oil in a drilling operation at its Peshkabir field, the company said on Monday.

"The latest results from testing of the Peshkabir-1 well in the Kurdistan region confirms the presence of movable oil in the Jurassic interval. Testing is ongoing to acquire additional data," DNO said. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik)

[burnsss]

Barzani said that Kurdistan will be trading crude for refined oil with Turkey. Yet another pressure card from Sharistani the iranian agent will be useless.

[KaniRashi]

How many percent of Kurdish areas have been explored in the search for oil (including the disputed areas!)?