Energy

Iraq begins nationwide production shutdowns

With exports halted by war, Iraq has limited options to keep fields operating and has begun taking millions of barrels of daily production offline.

Oil Minister Hayyan Abdulghani (center) meets with his deputies to plan for production cuts in anticipation of a shutdown in southern oil exports on March 2, 2026. (Photo credit: Oil Ministry)

Jun 28, 2023

Cabinet suspends approval of major oil export expansion

Political scrutiny of a contract is delaying a subsea pipeline project with the potential to lift export capacity by 500,000 bpd in a year.

Jun 23, 2023

Iraq-Turkey talks begin over pipeline, but no signs of progress

Ankara sent a technical delegation to Baghdad but the two sides seem far from the top-level political agreement needed to restart oil flows.

Jun 19, 2023

May production rises by 100,000 bpd, but KRG oil still mostly offline

Northern pipeline outage gives Baghdad leeway for southern output increases despite tightened OPEC-plus quotas.

Jun 18, 2023

Iraq announces 6th bid round, offering 11 gas blocks

Another new contracting round builds on recent momentum to attract investors and raise domestic gas supplies.

Jun 15, 2023

Q&A: Ammar al-Anbagi, director general of SOMO

Iraq's oil marketing chief discusses Russia-related oil market dynamics, the restart of Qayarah crude exports, and recent steps to activate the TotalEnergies mega-deal.

Jun 13, 2023

Parliament passes budget after gutting KRG revenue guarantees

New budget law appears to represent a rejection of the recent Baghdad-Erbil political deals that had sought to balance oil and financial authorities.

Jun 8, 2023

Protesting refinery workers block fuel supplies in southern Iraq

Upset about provisions in Iraq's draft budget law, refinery employees are shutting down tanker traffic and threatening a crippling fuel shortage.

Jun 8, 2023

Exports edge upward, but northern pipeline remains offline

Baghdad has compensated for lost exports via Turkey with increased southern oil sales, but KRG exports remain entirely offline.

Jun 6, 2023

Iraq’s electricity investment dilemma: who takes the risk?

Politicians are bristling at contractual terms that many investors demand to help protect them from the dysfunction of Iraq’s investment climate.

Jun 2, 2023

Cabinet approves oil export expansion funding

A subsea pipeline project could lift export capacity by 500,000 bpd in just over a year, but the funds can't be released until Iraq passes a new budget.