Thread: Iraq/Dinar News to April 19, 2007 10PM CST

Originally Posted by Lunar

Shell ready to return to Iraq after 35 years
This Is Money - [13/04/2007]

Shell is set to become the first oil major to return to war-torn Iraq since the nationalisation of the country's oil industry 35 years ago.

The Anglo-Dutch group is close to announcing a partnership with the Turkish state oil business TPAO to build a gas export pipeline and reopen gas extraction in the northern republic of Kurdistan.
The pipeline is believed to run alongside an existing one which connects the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan with the giant Iraqi oilfield in Kirkuk. A Shell spokesman said the company has yet to sign any contracts but admitted it had been in talks about re-entering Iraq.

Shell was one of the biggest players in Iraq from the 1920s right up until nationalisation of the oil industry by Saddam Hussein in 1972.

The US administration has been running the country's oil industry since the invasion in 2003 but the Iraq government is poised to pass new legislation designed to encourage international oil and gas companiesto resume exploration and production in the country.

Last month Shell's Matthias Bichsel, a senior exploration executive, confirmed that the company had met Iraqi officials in Oman, where Shell has a large gas project, to discuss plans for rebuilding Iraq's gas industry. The company has also reportedly held talks over carrying out oilfield development in Kirkuk in the north and in the Maysan oilfield in the south.

Kurdistan oil minister Ashti Harwani has said he hopes to grant up to ten exploration and production licences for the region by the end of this year.

Shell said its re-entry to Iraq had always been conditional on free elections, ratification of oil and gas legislation and the security of its people.

A spokesman said neither the second nor third conditions had yet been met. He said: 'Shell is exploring various opportunities to monetise Iraq's gas through exports to gas markets around the world. We are also committed to creating a domestic energy infrastructure alongside that to support Iraq's domestic power generation.'

Kurdistan remains one of the least-explored regions in the oilrich Middle East. Analysts estimate it has anything from 12bn to 45bn barrels of oil and up to 100 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The region is seen by most Western companies as one of the safest parts of Iraq and probably the best way back into the war-torn country.

BG, BP, Exxon, Chevron and Total are said to be interested in taking stakes in the Iraqi industry.

I thought, that this was announced last summer, that the major companies were interested in partaking in this adventure? Is this article more of a commitment?
Leann

Dose anyone know why they are selling barrols of oil for 3 or 5 dollars?

Originally Posted by goldraker

Dose anyone know why they are selling barrols of oil for 3 or 5 dollars?

Thats a really good question.
Leann

Originally Posted by bambiebdgrl

I thought, that this was announced last summer, that the major companies were interested in partaking in this adventure? Is this article more of a commitment?
Leann

"Shell is set to become the first oil major to return to war-torn Iraq since the nationalisation of the country's oil industry 35 years ago." but they are still technically waiting on the HCL and security issues before they proceed.

Iraqi oil exports flowing normally

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13 April 2007 (Iraq Directory)

Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Thursday that oil exports are flowing normally, denying the rumors about supply disruption from southern Iraq as a result of a grenade attack.
A spokesman for the ministry said, "That is not true. All pipelines are functioning well and exports are fine".

He added that the explosion of a bomb planted on the side of the road on Wednesday threw a fragment on a pipeline carrying oil from the southern field of Al-Rumaila to the storage tanks at Zubayr. He said "the flow of oil was not affected."

Iraq Targets 3 Million Bpd 2007 Oil Production -Oilmin

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SEOUL, 13 April 2007 (Reuters)

Iraq hopes to raise oil production by nearly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, achieving its long-held target of 3 million bpd by restoring northern exports, its oil minister said on Thursday.
Iraq has struggled to overcome the sabotage and outdated infrastructure that has hobbled its production since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, largely due to unrelenting attacks on a key pipeline that runs north through Turkey.

It has regularly fallen short of production and export targets aimed at restoring pre-war levels.

"Iraq wishes to exceed producing 3 million barrels a day in 2007 -- this is achievable by repairing the northern pipeline that connects to the Mediterranean," Hussain al Shahristani told Reuters after a meeting with South Korean energy officials.
Iraq produced 1.97 million bpd in March, up from 1.89 million bpd in February, a Reuters survey shows, but Shahristani said last December that 2006 production averaged 2.3 million bpd.
Despite the weak production figures, exports climbed last month to 1.62 million bpd, the highest since last September, on increased shipments from the southern Basra oil terminal, shipping sources said.

Shahristani said the country was targeting oil production of more than 4 million bpd in 2011.Shahristani was in Seoul to sign a cooperation deal with South Korea's energy minister Kim Young-joo on broadening opportunities for South Koreans to secure oilfields in Iraq, anxious to inject new investment into the ailing industry.

In 1997, state-owned Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) and Iraq's oil ministry under Saddam Hussein signed a preliminary deal to develop the Halfaya oilfield, estimated to hold up to 3.8 billion barrels of reserves and produce 250,000 bpd.

The South Korean energy ministry said the deal was never followed through due to United Nations financial sanctions against Iraq. But Iraq will "positively consider" involving South Korea in the field once oil legislation is in place, according a memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides on Thursday.

Iraq issued invitations for 15 Arab, Asian and American firms to drill 100 oil wells in the country's south as part of efforts to boost production, the oil ministry said earlier this month.The OPEC member has the world's third-largest proven oil reserves and needs billions of dollars to revive its oil sector, which is crucial for rebuilding its shattered economy.

In February Iraq's cabinet endorsed a draft oil law regulating how wealth from the country's vast oil reserves will be shared by its ethnic and sectarian groups.

The oil law, which is awaiting parliament's ratification, has given the regions the right to negotiate with international firms on developing oilfields.

"It is achievable to pass the law within two months since all political parties are in favor," Shahristani said.
The law will also restructure the Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) as an independent holding firm and establish a Federal Council as a forum for national oil policy.

The world's top oil companies have been maneuvering for years to win a stake in Iraq's prized oilfields such as Bin Umar, Majnoon, Nassiriyah, West Qurna and Ratawi, all located in the south of the country.

$115 million shares on the Bourse in 2006

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13 April 2007 (Iraq Directory)

An Iraqi official in Amman said yesterday that the Iraq market for securities held 93 sessions during which 58 billion shares were circulated at a value of 146 billion Iraqi dinar (115 million dollars) in 2006.
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Iraqi market for securities, Talib Al-Tabatabae, said on the sidelines of a conference on banking work in Iraq held in Amman that the market, which includes 100 company, had carried out 93 circulation sessions last year by two meetings a week; he also announced that the Iraqi Stock Exchange will shift, after four months, from the paper circulation to the electronic one, saying that not all companies will be included at once because it is a new practice and deserves caution for fear of falling into error.
According to Al-Tabatabae, the Iraqi market for securities was established after the war on Iraq in 2003 but the deteriorating security situation affected the market situation and the circulation activity. The conference which was concluded last Thursday in Amman, and was organized by the Iraqi government in collaboration with the American Agency for International Development, discussed the banking work in Iraq and the challenges of the twenty-first century. The Conference was also attended by Iraqis and American government, as well as banks’ officials in Iraq and a number of representatives of Arab countries, the IMF and the World Bank.

On April 8 the Iraqi dinar was at ID1272; last week's rate was ID1273 per dollar. The amount sold at auction price increased from last week's auction.

U.S. dollar total sales at last week's auction totaled $42,400,000; this week's auction saw a total of $49,825,000

FuelNation announced on March 21 that the company has secured a $300 million credit facility to finance crude oil, product purchases and supply. The credit facility will provide additional financing of FuelNation contracts with the Iraqi Ministry Of Oil and State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) for fuel oil purchases and gasoline supply.

Currently, the Iraqi government is subsidizing approximately $8 billion annually in gasoline and diesel supply for internal consumption, due to the lack of refining capacity, according to FuelNation. Revenues from the contracts are expected to be reported during the second quarter of 2006 upon completion of FuelNation's audit and the filing of the company's financial statements.

In addition to financing their supply and purchase with the Iraqi Ministry Of Oil and SOMO, FuelNation will leverage a large portion of the credit facility with their wholly owned subsidiary, Leman Energy Trading, Inc., in order to increase their credit line for crude oil and gas oil purchases which the company is finalizing with Gazprom in Russia.

"The approval of this $300 million credit facility is further validation of our business model, which is focused on providing best-in-class fuel resell services to governments, refiners and suppliers looking to mitigate risk and source long term product supply," FuelNation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chris Salmonson said.

Iraq leaders call for unity
Web posted at: 4/14/2007 8:2:26
Source ::: Reuters
Iraq’s Shi’ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi (right) speaks during a special parliament session in Baghdad, yesterday. Leaders from across Iraq’s bitter sectarian divide pleaded for unity at a special session of parliament yesterday. (REUTERS)
Baghdad

• Leaders from across Iraq’s sectarian divide pleaded for unity at a special session of parliament yesterday, gathering under high security to condemn a suicide bombing that tore through the building the day before.

A senior government source said authorities had intelligence that militants were planning an attack on parliament before Thursday’s bombing, which killed a member of parliament and wounded two dozen other people in the building’s restaurant.

An Al Qaeda-backed group claimed responsibility in a Web statement for the worst breach of security in Baghdad’s most secure area — the Green Zone that also houses government offices and embassies.

Three workers in the cafe had been detained, a top lawmaker from the ruling Shi’ite Alliance bloc said. The Interior Ministry said it would not give details of the investigation.

“We had prior intelligence that there would be an attack on the parliament,” the government source told Reuters, without giving specific details of when the information had been received or what the nature of the threat was.

Security was heavy yesterday as parliament met. Vehicles and their drivers were thoroughly searched and mobile checkpoints were set up. Police raided houses inside the sprawling compound.

The bombing came two months into a crackdown in Baghdad that US officials hope will give the government breathing space to pull Iraq back from the brink of civil war between majority Shi’ites and once dominant minority Sunni Arabs.

Scores of lawmakers turned up for the session, including some of those wounded in the attack. Their feet crunched on broken glass littered through the building as they walked to the chamber. One female MP wore a neck brace.

“Whether we are in or out of the government and the political process, we have to find a solution to national reconciliation,” Shi’ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, who survived an assassination attempt in February, told parliament.

Previous calls for unity by Iraq’s leaders have mostly fallen on deaf ears as sectarian violence has spiralled.

“This is undeniably a difficult blow, but it should unify us to confront the evil of terrorism and it proves that terrorism is indiscriminate — Sunnis, Shi’ites, Kurds and Arabs were maimed in this attack,” Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, a Kurd, said, a message he repeated in parliament.

Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani, a Sunni, opened the special session by asking MPs to read verses of the Koran to mourn the death of Mohammed Awdh, a member of the National Front for Iraqi Dialogue, a small Sunni party.