Energy

New SOMO director named as Iraq reshuffles oil sector leadership

Ali Nazar al-Shatari will be Iraq's new head of oil marketing as the Sudani government makes changes across several top oil posts.

SOMO Deputy Director General and Head of Crude Ali Nazar al-Shatari (right), at the Nov. 30, 2016, OPEC meeting in Vienna with then-Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Ali al-Luiebi (center), and then-SOMO Director General Falah Alamri (left). (Source: OPEC Media Office)

Mar 13, 2017

Q&A: Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luiebi

Iraq's Oil Minister is bullish on the country's production targets setting another record this year.

Mar 10, 2017

Oil Ministry confirms February export decline

Newly released official data for January and February show reduced federal oil sales – more evidence of Iraq's efforts to comply with an OPEC quota agreement.

Mar 10, 2017

Kirkuk oil crisis subsides as PUK faction withdraws

"Black Force" special police left key energy sites in Kirkuk, but the political tensions that produced the dramatic showdown remain unresolved.

Mar 7, 2017

Oil Ministry releases new Basra refinery details

The prospective 300,000 bpd facility, located in the Fao area, would produce fuels for export - a proposition that could pique investor interest.

Mar 7, 2017

PUK faction seizes more Kirkuk energy infrastructure

"Black Force" special police took over the North Gas Company headquarters Sunday, and continue to occupy the IT-1 station, as tensions over Kirkuk energy resources escalate.

Mar 2, 2017

UPDATE: Armed political faction interrupts Kirkuk exports

The "Black Force" special police unit of the PUK party briefly took over Kirkuk's IT-1 facility - a sign of deteriorating intra-Kurdish political rivalries.

Mar 1, 2017

February exports fall sharply

Oil sales are down by about 5 percent since January, as Iraq cuts production to comply with an OPEC agreement and diverts some crude flows to domestic refineries.

Feb 28, 2017

Inside the black heart of IS’s oil sector

On the Mosul outskirts, the IS group's Iraqi oil refining hub – recently seized by Iraqi forces – shows how the militants used savvy management to fuel their killing machine.

Feb 23, 2017

Oil Police expose potential Basra refinery threat

At a checkpoint outside one of Iraq's largest refineries, canine units catch suspected IS operatives driving a tanker truck.

Feb 21, 2017

Rosneft signs landmark deal to buy KRG crude

In a sign that Kurdistan's oil sector is shedding some of its legal and political risk, KRG crude will now supply the refineries of Russia's largest oil company.