Energy

Nationwide refining capacity surges as Baiji ramps up

Iraq can now process over 1.5 million bpd of crude, as the country's largest refinery completes a decade-long comeback.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center) visits the Baiji refinery in August 2023 to announce projects to rehabilitate and expand the facility. (Photo credit: Prime Minister's Office)

Feb 21, 2023

Iraq signs 5th round contracts, previews potential 6th round

Iraq has finally inked deals first awarded in 2018, raising hopes for the Oil Ministry's efforts to prepare a sixth contract licensing round.

Feb 17, 2023

TotalEnergies extends deadline to conclude $27bn Iraq deal

After negotiations nearly fell apart two weeks ago, the French firm gave until Feb. 15 to finalize a deal — a deadline now extended by one month.

Feb 16, 2023

Mansuriya deal collapsing after Sinopec requests contract overhaul

The Oil Ministry is considering a backup plan of offering the gas field in a new contract licensing round.

Feb 14, 2023

Q&A: Habib Abdul-Ameer Aoda, Deputy Manager of the FCC Project at Shuaiba Refinery

A long-delayed upgrade of Iraq's largest refinery is now moving forward, promising to boost high-octane fuel production and reduce dependence on imports.

Feb 14, 2023

KRG misses deadline to end gas flaring

Payment delays to oil companies and bureaucratic disarray have kept the KRG from meeting its own ambitious target for ending the wasteful and polluting practice at several fields.

Feb 9, 2023

Talks advance for Exxon to exit West Qurna 1

ExxonMobil is aiming to sell its stake to two buyers, Pertamina and Iraq’s state-run BOC, leaving PetroChina to take over as operator.

Feb 8, 2023

January oil exports dip as Iraq begins year of OPEC constraints

Both federal and KRG oil sales fell slightly as OPEC-plus gave no sign of lifting production caps.

Feb 8, 2023

Cabinet gives momentum to 5th bid round deals and Nibras project

The Sudani administration appears to be pushing forward long-delayed plans to develop Iraq’s upstream and downstream gas sector.

Feb 7, 2023

Northern crude exports resume after earthquake outage

More than 400,000 bpd of crude exports are back online after Turkish authorities determined there was no major damage to the pipeline to Ceyhan.

Feb 7, 2023

Northern oil export pipeline offline after massive earthquake

Precautionary outage is expected to be temporary as Turkish authorities work to confirm pipelines, pumping stations, and export infrastructure were not damaged.