Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Bombs hit southern Iraq oil pipeline
Three bombs hit an oil pipeline that transports crude from Iraq’s southern oilfields to storage tanks around the oil hub of Basra on Tuesday, an oil police source said.
The impact on oil production or exports was not immediately clear, but firefighters were working to put out the blaze caused by the blast, the source who was at the explosion site said.
“The explosions happened in succession and caused an enormous fire,” he said.
“We cannot go near the explosion site because the fire is still raging ... we fear the fire might extend to other nearby oil pipelines.”
The source said the oil police were checking other pipelines for more bombs.
An oil official in Basra confirmed the blast was caused by a bomb attack. The pipeline was carrying crude to the Zubair 1 storage facility near Basra, the two sources said.
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In early June, militants blew up a storage tank at the Zubair 1 storage facility, despite tight security.
Basra, which handles the bulk of Iraq’s oil exports, has generally seen fewer attacks this year than other cities in the country following an overall decline in levels of violence since the peak of sectarian conflict in Iraq in 2006-07.
In October, two bombs hit pipeline networks transporting crude from Iraq’s Rumaila oilfield, the country’s biggest, cutting output from the field to 530,000 barrels per day from about 1.24 million bpd.
Iraq’s oil police have stepped up patrols to protect installations against a possible surge in al Qaeda attacks as U.S. troops withdraw before Dec. 31, the head of the force said on Tuesday.
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November 27, 2011Iraq signs gas deal with Royal Dutch Shell, Japan Mitsubishi Corp. to tap natural gasBaghdad, Iraq on Sunday signed a multibillion-dollar deal with Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. to tap natural gas in the south, one of the biggest agreements by the OPEC member to develop an energy sector battered by years of neglect and war.
The $17 billion deal forms a joint venture to gather, process and market gas from three oil fields in the oil-rich province of Basra. That gas, pumped in conjunction with crude oil, is currently burned off — or flared — due to lack of infrastructure.
The 25-year joint venture is called Basra Gas Company. Iraq will hold a 51 percent stake, to Royal Dutch Shell’s 44 percent and Mitsubishi’s 5 percent shares. The gas will be used mainly for domestic energy needs, but there is also an option for exports.
Iraq’s Oil Minister, Abdul-Karim Elaibi hailed the signing as “historic turn in Iraq’s oil industry.”
Shell CEO Peter Voser told reporters that Iraq is now a “...substantial part of Royal Dutch Shell’s portfolio in the Middle East.”
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For Iraq, the deal is a key part of its strategy to alleviate power generation woes. Despite billions of dollars spent since the 1990s to rebuild Iraq’s dilapidated electrical grid, Iraqis still suffer through chronic power outages that have led to sometimes violent protests.
The deal is Shell’s third in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and it will bolster the company’s presence in a country which sits atop 143.1 billion barrels of crude oil and 126.7 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.
A memorandum of understanding on the Shell gas deal was signed in September 2008, but the venture has been bogged down ever since. Some lawmakers argued that the deal should have been approved by parliament and officials in Basra wanted more benefits for their province.
Iraq burns off almost half of the 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of gas that it produces. The deal will help the country capture more than 700 million cubic feet per day of gas from three fields.
They are the 17.8 billion-barrel Rumaila field being developed by a BP-CNPC consortium, the 4.1 billion barrel Zubair field, handled by an Eni-led consortium and partners Occidental Petroleum Corp. and KOGAS, as well as the 8.6 billion barrel West Qurna Stage 1, which is being developed by ExxonMobil-Shell consortium.
ExxonMobil has recently been embroiled in controversy after it became known that the company had signed a contract with the Kurdish regional government — and not the Oil Ministry in Baghdad — to develop oil fields in northern Iraq.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has clashed with Baghdad over who has the right to sign deals with international oil companies to develop Iraq’s vast energy resources.
The Kurds, who control three provinces in northern Iraq, want to be able to sign contracts with international oil companies to develop their own fields, while Baghdad maintains it has final authority.
On Sunday the oil minister said the ministry sent letters to ExxonMobil asking for an explanation of the reports that they signed these deals, but has not yet heard a response. He declined to comment on what penalties the Texas-based company might face.
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Monday, November 28, 2011
Iraq signs deal with Shell, Mitsubishi
Iraq has signed a multi-billion-dollar deal with Royal Dutch Shell and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp to tap natural gas in the south, one of the biggest agreements by the OPEC member to develop an energy sector battered by years of neglect and war.
The $US17 billion ($A17.53 billion) deal forms a joint venture to gather, process and market gas from three oil fields in the oil-rich province of Basra. That gas, pumped in conjunction with crude oil, is currently burned off, or flared, due to lack of infrastructure.
The 25-year joint venture is called Basra Gas Company. Iraq will hold a 51 per cent stake, to Royal Dutch Shell's 44 per cent and Mitsubishi's five per cent shares. The gas will be used mainly for domestic energy needs, but there is also an option for exports.
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Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Karim Elaibi hailed the signing on Sunday as "historic turn in Iraq's oil industry".
Shell CEO Peter Voser told reporters that Iraq is now a "... substantial part of Royal Dutch Shell's portfolio in the Middle East".
For Iraq, the deal is a key part of its strategy to alleviate power generation woes. Despite billions of dollars spent since the 1990s to rebuild Iraq's dilapidated electrical grid, Iraqis still suffer through chronic power outages that have led to sometimes violent protests.
The deal is Shell's third in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion, and it will bolster the company's presence in a country which sits atop 143.1 billion barrels of crude oil and 126.7 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.
A memorandum of understanding on the Shell gas deal was signed in September 2008, but the venture has been bogged down ever since. Some lawmakers argued that the deal should have been approved by parliament and officials in Basra wanted more benefits for their province.
They are the 17.8 billion-barrel Rumaila field being developed by a BP-CNPC consortium, the 4.1 billion barrel Zubair field, handled by an Eni-led consortium and partners Occidental Petroleum Corp and KOGAS, as well as the 8.6 billion barrel West Qurna Stage 1, which is being developed by ExxonMobil-Shell consortium.
ExxonMobil has recently been embroiled in controversy after it became known that the company had signed a contract with the Kurdish regional government, and not the Oil Ministry in Baghdad, to develop oil fields in northern Iraq.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has clashed with Baghdad over who has the right to sign deals with international oil companies to develop Iraq's vast energy resources.
The Kurds, who control three provinces in northern Iraq, want to be able to sign contracts with international oil companies to develop their own fields, while Baghdad maintains it has final authority.
On Sunday the oil minister said the ministry sent letters to ExxonMobil asking for an explanation of the reports that they signed these deals, but has not yet heard a response. He declined to comment on what penalties the Texas-based company might face. link
28/11/2011
Competition shown by the sharp leading companies to invest oil and gas sectors
Basra city of black gold embraces an international exhibition of
Basra - Hussein Tgb Tamimi
embraces Gallery Basra international land port stronghold produce 425 global company specializing in the field of oil industry, came to present the latest production in the production sector, transport and distribution of oil, as well as detailed service which is complementary and important in the performance of oil companies, in the meantime confirmed the delegates that they rarely meet with some of this number of major companies specialized in the field of energy, arguing that the exhibition of Basra to the oil and gas move with positive aspects of participating companies in terms of job search, and view the latest technologies in this area and discuss with the leaders of investment business of Iraq, to the benefit of Iraq, and investment companies.
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the potential quality of the Chairman of the provincial council in Basra morning Albzona said that the presence of this number of international companies that knew its potential quality art to the city of Basra, and declaring its willingness to work in Basra and the general areas of Iraq is message to the world that Iraq has become an attractive environment for foreign investment, which will carry the possibility of advancement of the Iraqi economy, and
noted that the province of Basra is an opportunity work great because of its energies and resources to enable them to communicate with the world, pointing out that the effort continued to provide blankets legal to work together with investment companies that implement various projects to be the final outcome of maintaining the common interests between both sides and serve the local economy.
'investment plans
Sadeq Hussain Sultan, general manager of exhibitions and trade services of Iraq stressed that this exhibition represents the largest event in the Middle East, because of the presence of major international to the largest international companies in the oil and gas, represented by the participation of (425) company belongs to (36) Arab and foreign countries, noting that Iraq is a country characterized by abundant natural wealth, including oil, natural gas and here highlights the role of specialized exhibitions in incentives to attract and attract these investment companies sober to work in Iraq service of economic development and investment, in Iraq at the moment.
Sadeq said: This event coincided with the investment plans offered by the current government which has undertaken and the rebuilding of damaged infrastructure and it will be this exhibition a great opportunity for companies to see the needs of the government sector and the private sector Special deals and processing contracts to investors, and that such activities have a significant impact in highlighting the interface the country's economic and open another window to the world the fact that exhibitions are an important means of means keep pace with progress in various fields and an important vehicle for promotion, it took Iraq compete with many countries in the establishment of these exhibitions, events and important activities that increasingly important with the increasing need to enter the Iraqi market, which has become all the international companies consider it with great interest.
examine the mechanisms and the head of the company Beramides International Organization of the exhibition Mohammad Sharif that the administration of the exhibition and in conjunction with exhibitions and business services was keen to call the largest international companies in the energy field, pointing out that all companies have the desire to go to Iraq and work in this field, as Iraq has extensive deposits and is one of the world's largest Baanaatih oil, and pointed out that the organization of exhibitions carries a lot of positives on the Iraqi economy, where we found a great desire of the Iraqi side, and delegations of companies in the study the mechanisms of cooperation and access to formulas exchange of knowledge and extensive economic cooperation. positive steps marketing manager for Cutter PLR Sinan confirmed that our companies offer great services complement the work of oil companies in the field, pointing out that the exhibition provides opportunities for all local companies to develop their potential and capabilities of professional manufacturing by building bridges of cooperation between the two sides, especially we have seen a clear desire by the companies present at a participant in Iraq, and the first positive steps that have earned sector of the Iraqi economy, pointing out that the interaction in the economic relations leads to care and participate in future sessions of the exhibitions organized within the country, adding that the company's office in Iraq was spent on the posts of Foreign Affairs in international exhibitions amounts Mlah great, but today Vtm provide these amounts.
the investment market as indicated Ala Zebra Group President Abdul Salman investment to that Iraq today has become a kiss for all Crkert world, and when we find major international companies specialized in the manufacture of energy present in this exhibition, it is clear evidence of the importance of the investment market in the country, and that the presence of the departments of companies came in the sections referring to the sincere desire to work to examine the mechanisms of cooperation with the Iraqi side, he said, that the technologies developed offered by international companies have great potential to develop oil and gas sectors in the country, especially as our economy is losing large amounts of gas, which burns without any benefit that can be invested to return billions of dollars into the state treasury, and here must be working towards an investment of this exhibition in achieving economic growth and large scale. post the first representative of the Hermes World Mark Mrzint said: This partnership is the first company in the exhibition, where we found the major companies operating in the field of global energy capital of the corridors of the exhibition, and this led us to consider mechanisms for cooperation with these companies in various acts both inside and outside Iraq, noting that the company has cooperation contracts with oil companies operating in Iraq, including the "bp" and British "you Oil" and other international companies, Arabic, emphasizing the desire to cooperate with the oil companies other, and the public sector Iraqi competent affairs of the oil and to engage in investment partnerships to serve the two sides.
Murad Ghariani Director of the Office of the Iraq and Kuwait to company Antrtak oil services company said that the company's delegation in the exhibition did not imagine the volume of participation in terms of number and quantity of international companies specialized in the field of oil, and in all cases provide a great service to all of these giant companies, which do not meet in one place only rarely, and pointed out that it entered into discussions with many international and local companies to get to the positive results that serve both parties.
link
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
