Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 01/01/08 - 14/04/08

Pumping Kirkuk oil to Turkey's Ceyhan resumed

Pumping oil from the northern fields in Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan resumed on Friday night after two-day of suspension, a source from the North Oil company said.

"The resumption came with a production capacity ranges between 250,000-350,000 barrels per day," the source, requested anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

Pumping activities stopped since Wednesday morning due to the fact that Ceyhan's oil reservoirs are totally full with Iraqi crude oil.

Kirkuk is located 250 km northeast of Baghdad.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraqi Foreign Minister Verifies Turkish Troops Pullout in Kurdistan Region

As the news agencies reported the Turkish troops pullout in Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Iraqi foreign affairs minister Hoshiyar Zebari verified the Turkish troops pullout in Kurdistan region in a statement to CNNTurk news agency.

While the Turkish General Staff website is expected to post a statement today regarding the withdrawal of the Turkish troops in Kurdistan region.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraqi Foreign Minister Verifies Turkish Troops Pullout in Kurdistan Region

This is a rather long article - but is fascinating reading - I have just picked out a small section - follow the link to read it in it's entirety

Iraq has ‘more Crude Oil’ than Saudi Arabia

...................

Chalabi, a former senior Iraqi oil ministry official, believes the country has huge undiscovered reserves on the grounds but no major development projects have been undertaken for more than two decades.

The proven reserves were officially put at 112 billion barrels in 2007 but Chalabi believes the final figure could exceed 300 billion barrels. “Iraq could have this figure, there is no exaggeration in this,” he said.

His view is supported by a Western oil analyst who goes even further by saying Iraq’s real oil potential could surpass that of Saudi Arabia, which controls nearly a quarter of the world’s proven oil deposits.

Colin Lothian, a senior analyst at United Kingdom-based energy consultants Wood Mackenzie, says Iraq has many giant oilfields that have remained undeveloped.

“Iraq’s remaining reserves, particularly in the south, are of considerable scale, high quality and most are at a relatively immature stage in their respective development cycles,” said Lothian.

“There are many fields that each contain billions of barrels of oil.

“On the whole their depletion rate is very low and in several cases these fields have never been in production. If you add to that the possible results of exploration in the Western Desert and in established areas, the potential is enormous. As for whether Iraq’s reserves are larger than those in Saudi Arabia, I would certainly not rule out that possibility.

”The new book, written in English, was prepared by a number of oil experts from Iraq and other countries.

The principal author and chief editor is Thamir Uqaili, a senior petroleum engineer with 40 years of experience in exploration and technical management in the Iraqi National Oil Company and at the Iraqi Ministry of Oil (MOO). The study was supervised by Chalbi, a former assistant secretary-general of Opec.

A spokesman for the publishers said: “The importance of this new study on Iraq is that it provides a huge volume of hands-on oilfield and operational information, together with detailed analysis of the country’s present status and business and export policies.

“While most other studies on Iraq emphasise its exploration geology and the oil and gas potential of the country, this one covers many other upstream disciplines such as petroleum engineering, drilling, natural gas and exports, in addition to exploration.

“It contains well-by-well and field-by-field data that provides a wealth of information for those contemplating operating in Iraq.

The study is therefore extremely valuable to all service companies, equipment manufacturers, providers of field facilities, investors, suppliers, engineers and other operators.

“This includes all companies aspiring to have a future market presence in Iraq, those that are seriously considering entering Iraq and those that are planning to expand their existing activities in the country.”

The book is based on direct knowledge of the Iraqi upstream oil industry gained through the use of original data, through fieldwork and numerous visits to oilfields during the past four years.

“In our view the risks taken by the team leader have made it possible to prepare a study that has special features. The grouping of the fields and prospects and the discussions concerning them are based on the exploration and production provinces, taking into consideration the status of the Kurdistan region and the other regions likely to be formed according to the new Iraqi constitution.”

.............................



Iraq has ?more crude oil? than Saudi Arabia ->Emirates Business 24|7

Originally Posted by Seaview

This is a rather long article - but is fascinating reading - I have just picked out a small section - follow the link to read it in it's entirety

Iraq has ‘more Crude Oil’ than Saudi Arabia

...................

Chalabi, a former senior Iraqi oil ministry official, believes the country has huge undiscovered reserves on the grounds but no major development projects have been undertaken for more than two decades.

The proven reserves were officially put at 112 billion barrels in 2007 but Chalabi believes the final figure could exceed 300 billion barrels. “Iraq could have this figure, there is no exaggeration in this,” he said.

His view is supported by a Western oil analyst who goes even further by saying Iraq’s real oil potential could surpass that of Saudi Arabia, which controls nearly a quarter of the world’s proven oil deposits.

Colin Lothian, a senior analyst at United Kingdom-based energy consultants Wood Mackenzie, says Iraq has many giant oilfields that have remained undeveloped.

“Iraq’s remaining reserves, particularly in the south, are of considerable scale, high quality and most are at a relatively immature stage in their respective development cycles,” said Lothian.

“There are many fields that each contain billions of barrels of oil.

“On the whole their depletion rate is very low and in several cases these fields have never been in production. If you add to that the possible results of exploration in the Western Desert and in established areas, the potential is enormous. As for whether Iraq’s reserves are larger than those in Saudi Arabia, I would certainly not rule out that possibility.

”The new book, written in English, was prepared by a number of oil experts from Iraq and other countries.

The principal author and chief editor is Thamir Uqaili, a senior petroleum engineer with 40 years of experience in exploration and technical management in the Iraqi National Oil Company and at the Iraqi Ministry of Oil (MOO). The study was supervised by Chalbi, a former assistant secretary-general of Opec.

A spokesman for the publishers said: “The importance of this new study on Iraq is that it provides a huge volume of hands-on oilfield and operational information, together with detailed analysis of the country’s present status and business and export policies.

“While most other studies on Iraq emphasise its exploration geology and the oil and gas potential of the country, this one covers many other upstream disciplines such as petroleum engineering, drilling, natural gas and exports, in addition to exploration.

“It contains well-by-well and field-by-field data that provides a wealth of information for those contemplating operating in Iraq.

The study is therefore extremely valuable to all service companies, equipment manufacturers, providers of field facilities, investors, suppliers, engineers and other operators.

“This includes all companies aspiring to have a future market presence in Iraq, those that are seriously considering entering Iraq and those that are planning to expand their existing activities in the country.”

The book is based on direct knowledge of the Iraqi upstream oil industry gained through the use of original data, through fieldwork and numerous visits to oilfields during the past four years.

“In our view the risks taken by the team leader have made it possible to prepare a study that has special features. The grouping of the fields and prospects and the discussions concerning them are based on the exploration and production provinces, taking into consideration the status of the Kurdistan region and the other regions likely to be formed according to the new Iraqi constitution.”

.............................



Iraq has ?more crude oil? than Saudi Arabia ->Emirates Business 24|7

Agreed,

I have been saying this for years, but until recently, only insiders knew of these vast reserves which have not been made public. It is just a matter of time and the world will know just how much oil Iraq really has, and when it is public, watch the economy explode even more than it has.

Good luck to all, Mike

That's true Mike... it is nothing new to jump on and be all excited at this stage as it has been "whispered" and talked about within Saudi's circles that went as far back as early 2006 however, too much Mid East distraction around that time helped simmer the fears on barrel production and prices for the Saudi Camp and everything went on as business as usual... but, don't be fooled with Iraqi reserves... its just that its getting to be on many other person lips related to Oil that just can't keep silent anymore on it....

Fossil fuel is far from exhaustion....

Slight rise in demand on dollar in daily auction

Demand on the dollar saw a slight increase in this week's Iraqi Central Bank auction on Sunday, registering a total demand of 33.160 million compared to 30.225 million during last Thursday's session.

"The demand hit $2.580 million in cash and $30.580 million in money transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at a rate of 1,210 Iraqi dinars per dollar, stable for the 17th session in a row," according to the central bank's daily bulletin received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

Speaking to VOI, Ali al-Yasseri, a trader, said that the low number of banks attending Sunday's session was due to the cutting off of most roads in Baghdad, which had an impact on the volume of trading.

The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraq, Iran ink trade deal

Iraqi and Iranian chambers of commerce on Sunday signed an agreement to facilitate land transportation between the two countries and grant special visas for businessmen from both sides.

"The agreement aims to improve trade relations between Iraqi and Iranian companies as well as businessmen," Jaafar al-Hamdani, the head of the Iraqi Chamber of Commerce, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The accord lays the groundwork for bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the fields of land transportation, banks, insurance, and entry visas for businessmen from both sides," said Hamdani.

"The agreement envisages holding fairs, conferences, and training programs, and encourages investments and participation in tenders and major projects in both countries," he said.

The Iranian trade delegation had arrived in Baghdad on Sunday, accompanying the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on a landmark visit to Iraq.

Aswat Aliraq

Baghdad to host large trade fair

Iraq's trade ministry said on Sunday that it would arrange a five-day trade exhibition on the Baghdad International Fair (BIF) exhibition ground with participation of more than 100 Iraqi public and private companies.

"The fair, which starts on April 14, is a first step toward arranging larger specialized fairs in Baghdad, and offers an opportunity of further coordination with private and public sector companies," Sabti Jomaa, Director General of Iraqi Fairs Company, said in a ministry release received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

"The National Trade & Industry Fair will include different companies in the rehabilitation and industry fields; in addition to exhibiting national products of the Iraqi private sector," the release said.

Arab and foreign companies had requested to participate in the fair, a major economic activity in Baghdad.

Aswat Aliraq

ISX index rises by 1.606%

The Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX) index was up by 1.606% on Sunday compared to the previous session, closing at 36.680 points.

Traded shares in Sunday's session exceeded 397 million at a total value of 770 million Iraqi dinars (1 U.S. dollar equals 1,210 Iraqi dinars) by implementing out 213 contracts. Non-Iraqi investors participated with over 32 million shares, totaling more than 91 million Iraqi dinars by implementing seven contracts in the banking sector only.

According to the daily analysis of the capital market, the banking sector's index, in which 12 companies traded, closed at 38.100 points; while the industrial sector, in which eight companies traded, ended at 11.2 points.

Meanwhile, the hotel sector, in which only four companies traded, closed at 13.933 points.

The statement concluded that 29 companies were traded during Sunday's session out of 94 companies registered in the ISX, of which 16 indexes went up, two dropped, and 11 maintained their previous price.

Aswat Aliraq

Measures tightened, main roads closed as Ahmadinejad arrives in Baghdad

Security measures were tightened in the Iraqi capital on Sunday as the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made his historic visit to Baghdad.

Baghdad main roads have been closed and seen intensive deployment of security forces.

The closure of the roads leading to the fortified Green Zone, central Baghdad, were closed and people were unable to reach their job places as these roads were also leading to main bridges that link the two sides of Baghdad.

On Sunday, the Iranian president arrived in Baghdad on a two-day-visit. Ahmadinejad is expected to meet his Iraqi counterpart Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Aswat Aliraq