Energy

Iraq, BP advance in Kirkuk contract talks

A long-sought deal is getting high-level political attention, and some officials expect to clinch an initial contract in January.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdulghani (center) leads a meeting with senior Oil Ministry officials and BP executives in Baghdad on Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo credit: Oil Ministry)

Apr 20, 2022

Q&A: Haidar Fakher Nasser, director of Khor al-Zubair port

The head of Iraq's main hub for fuel imports and exports discusses the capacity of the port and ongoing projects to rehabilitate and expand the facility.

Apr 18, 2022

Iraq’s March crude output edges higher

Iraqi production is rising as two southern fields return from temporary outages and OPEC-plus quotas continue to loosen.

Apr 18, 2022

Q&A: Ibrahim Abdul-Zahra, deputy director of the South Refineries Company

Iraq’s refineries cannot meet domestic demand for fuel and the poor quality of crude feedstock is compounding the problem.

Apr 15, 2022

Fuel smuggling causes shortages and spiking prices

Smugglers are exploiting a growing margin between government-subsidized fuel and market prices in an illicit trade that is squeezing Iraq's fuel supply and costing the government billions.

Apr 14, 2022

Q&A: Ali Jassim Hammoud, Director General of the Missan Oil Company

The second largest state oil firm is targeting an increase in oil production to 1 million bpd through expansion of existing facilities and developing new fields in Missan province.

Apr 12, 2022

Attack hits near Kurdistan’s export pipeline

An explosion Sunday night in the vicinity of a pumping station highlights potential vulnerabilities of key energy infrastructure.

Apr 7, 2022

Rocket attack misses Kurdistan refinery complex but raises security concerns

Just three weeks after Iranian ballistic missiles destroyed the house of the head of KAR Group, a rocket attack appeared to target the company's refinery complex.

Apr 7, 2022

Q&A: Rafeeq Hashem al-Salihi, MP from Basra and member of the Fatah Alliance

A politician, tribal sheikh, and paramilitary leader, Salihi says Basra deserves a larger portion of federal oil revenue and increased support for its agriculture sector.

Apr 5, 2022

Record oil revenues near $11 billion in March

Revenues surged due to spiking global prices, but exports dipped as infrastructure delays threaten to constrain oil sales going forward.

Apr 1, 2022

Q&A: Ihsan Ismaael, Oil Minister and President of INOC

Iraq's top oil leader discusses implementation of a mega-deal with TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil's exit, and the aftermath of a landmark court ruling on Kurdistan's oil sector.