Energy StoriesAn American investment firm named Twelve Seas and the UK's Wood Group are partnering with U.S. oil services giant Halliburton to bid for ExxonMobil's stake in West Qurna 1. Representatives of the companies made two presentations over the summer to leaders of the Iraqi state-run Basra Oil Company (BOC), which oversees West Qurna 1 as part of its portfolio, and another presentation to the Oil Ministry's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate, according to an official familiar with the talks. West Qurna 1 accounts for about one-tenth of Iraq's oil production, but the future of the project has been clouded by uncertainty ever since Exxon announced its intentions to sell its 32.7 percent operating stake to two Chinese firms. For more details on the Halliburton bid for Exxon's stake, read the full story on Iraq Oil Report. Iraq's monthly oil revenues hit a three-year high in October. Nationwide exports fell slightly, to 3.523 million barrels per day (bpd), largely due to a decline in oil sales from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The federal government earned $7.680 billion from oil exports in October, the highest since October 2018, while the KRG's independent oil sales generated an estimated $897 million. Federal Iraq's production has increased steadily since June as the OPEC-plus group continues to unwind output cuts. For more details on Iraq's October exports, read the full story on Iraq Oil Report. And for a detailed look at the underlying data — including exports, pricing, field-by-field production, and more — check out the Iraq Oil and Financial Dataset. 
In-person with Ihsan Ismaael, Salem Chalabi and moreA message from the Iraq Britain Business Council: The IBBC Autumn Conference Nov. 22 in Dubai is a must-attend return to in-person events. Tickets are limited to meet Iraq Minister for Oil Ihsan Ismaael, CEO of the Trade Bank of Iraq Salem Chalabi, BP Iraq President Zaid Alyaseri, and Total Managing Director for Iraq Dunia Chalabi. Attendees will:
- Meet the main stakeholders in Iraq's energy, and finance, and industrial sectors in Iraq.
- Discuss the country’s energy transition.
- Learn how new investments and opportunities in oil, gas, and solar will make Iraq more sustainable and impact your business decisions.
- Network with IOCs, Financiers and top industry leaders to build your business connections and opportunities.
Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, at The Address Hotel, Dubai Marina, UAE. For more details and tickets, click here.
Climate ChangeIraq has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions as world leaders meet in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit. There are overwhelming economic incentives for Iraq to do so. The country produces huge volumes of associated gas along with crude oil, but captures only a fraction of the value. Much of the gas is simply burned in a wasteful and environmentally disastrous practice known as flaring. By processing that gas and sending it to power plants, Iraq could deliver more electricity to citizens, reduce feedstock costs, increase funding for other budget priorities, and help the world achieve urgent climate goals. But implementing climate-related reforms is likely to be a challenge, according to Lizzie Porter, writing for the New Statesman. A major problem is Iraq’s fractured system of governance, which mixes armed groups, tribes, political parties and sectarian and ethnic groups. Even when there is a well-intentioned plan for climate-oriented reform, officials cannot or will not act, observers say. “Iraq is a hybrid regime where power is not constrained within the state apparatus only, but also with centres of power outside of the state – states within the state – and resources from the rentier economy have helped fund many of the operations of these groups,” said Zeinab Shuker, a professor of sociology at Sam Houston State University in Texas. “As a result, even if there is a state capacity that can tackle something as complicated as climate change and economic diversification, there is no political will to do so.”
Iraqis are on the front lines of the world's impending climate crisis. Farm land is turning to desert, water ways are drying up, and residents of rural areas are migrating to cities. Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim report for the Washington Post: Iraq’s average temperature has risen by 4.1 degrees Fahrenheit since the end of the 19th century, according to Berkeley Earth, double the speed of the Earth as a whole. Climate scientists warn that the extreme temperatures facing places like southern Iraq are a small taste of what will follow elsewhere. Iraq’s climate woes have exacerbated shortages of everything from food to electricity generation. Fisheries have been depleted. In the country’s north, wheat production is expected to decline by 70 percent, aid groups say. In provinces without access to rivers, families are spending ever-larger portions of their monthly income on drinking water. The result, increasingly, is migration. According to the International Organization of Migration, more than 20,000 Iraqis were displaced by lack of access to clean water in 2019, most of them in the country’s south. But as they flee to towns and cities, they’re further straining services already hollowed out by widespread corruption and weak job markets where unemployment is high.
Climate change presents a serious challenge for Iraqi Kurdistan's agriculture sector, causing drought, financial crises, and strained relationships with neighboring countries. As the leader of the KRG Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, Begard Talabani is responsible for managing these issues and helping to solve problems. She spoke with Iraq Oil Report about her efforts to address these interlocking crises — read a full transcript here. More National NewsAn attack blamed on the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) militant group triggered deadly sectarian reprisal violence near the Mansuriya gas field in Diyala province. Hundreds of families have fled their villages in Muqdadiya district after IS militants armed with semi-automatic rifles killed 11 people in and around the predominantly Shia village of Rashad. Additional civilians were killed and wounded in retaliatory attacks in Sunni majority Nahir Imam village nearby. Brig. Nihad Abbadi, the spokesman of the Diyala Police Department, called it "a critical and destabilized situation." Read the full story on Iraq Oil Report. |
