Energy

Iran reversal on Strait of Hormuz threatens Iraq’s nascent export restart

Iranian forces blocked a tanker carrying Iraqi crude, dampening hopes for a durable resumption of Iraq's southern exports.

The Agios Fanourios I tanker prepares to dock at a single point mooring buoy in the Basra Gulf in April 2026 for the first loading of crude from Iraq's southern export outlets in more than a month. (Photo credit: Ministry of Transportation)

Dec 10, 2025

Northern exports flow under promising but fragile oil and budget agreement

Baghdad, Erbil, and oil companies appear to be implementing some key terms of a three-way oil export and budget deal, but ongoing success is hardly assured.

Dec 2, 2025

Kurdistan refinery protests spark deadly violence

At least one person is dead and several injured after security forces cracked down on unemployed truck drivers demanding work at the Lanaz refinery near Erbil.

Nov 29, 2025

Khor Mor rocket strike underscores unresolved security problems

Most of Kurdistan's power generation is offline after yet another attack on a key gas field, highlighting the Iraqi government’s failure to enforce the rule of law on powerful militant groups.

Nov 19, 2025

Iraqi oil production continues edging higher in October

Nationwide crude output has risen steadily since May as the OPEC-plus group has relaxed quotas.

Nov 19, 2025

Rosneft partially divests from Kurdistan’s export pipeline

In an apparent attempt to avoid exposure to U.S. sanctions, the company that operates Kurdistan's export pipeline has reduced Rosneft to a 49 percent share.

Nov 11, 2025

U.S. sanctions on Lukoil threaten Iraq oil production drop

There is no backup plan for operating the 480,000 bpd West Qurna-2 field, with some Iraqi officials worrying production might need to be cut within weeks.

Nov 5, 2025

October exports jump as northern pipeline resumes

Exports via Turkey boosted Iraqi oil sales while a deadly oil depot fire had only limited impact on southern volumes.

Oct 30, 2025

September oil production edges higher

Iraq's nationwide output rises slightly as OPEC-plus continues loosening quotas.

Oct 27, 2025

Khor Mor expansion highlights pipeline squeeze and potential Baghdad sales

Kurdistan's gas pipeline network isn't ready for all of the new capacity now coming online, raising the prospect of sales to federal Iraq.

Oct 26, 2025

UPDATE: Depot fire temporarily cuts Iraqi crude exports

An explosion at the Zubair-1 depot has taken up to 1.5 million bpd of Basra Medium crude exports offline, as Iraq scrambles to divert production to storage and implement workarounds to recover export volumes.