Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 15/04/08 - 26/08/08

Shell strikes deal to extract Iraqi gas
TPAO, the Turkish state oil company, will work with the Anglo-Dutch group to extract gas from the Kurdistan region

Shell is poised to become the first oil major to step back into Iraq after reports that it had signed a deal to extract natural gas in the Kurdish northern region.

A Turkish news agency claimed that the Anglo-Dutch giant would work in partnership with TPAO, the Turkish state oil company.

The alliance is also expected to cover the construction of a gas export pipeline that would run alongside an existing pipeline connecting the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan and the massive Iraqi oil field in Kirkuk.

A spokesman for the Turkish Energy Ministry said: "An agreement has been reached which has to be ratified by the administration in Baghdad."

A Shell spokesman insisted that the company had not yet signed the contract but acknowledged that the company was in talks about entering Iraq.

He said: “Shell is exploring various opportunities to monetise Iraq’s gas through exports to gas markets around the world.

"We are also exploring ways to support the development of the necessary gas infrastructure to support Iraq’s domestic power generation.

“Discussions undertaken with the Iraqi authorities or other third parties are regarded as confidential.”

The move comes only weeks after Ashti Harwani, the oil minister for the Kurdish region of Iraq, revealed that he wanted to grant up to ten exploration and production contracts in Kurdistan this year.

It followed the ratification of the long-awaited Iraqi petroleum law.
The vastly underexplored region is thought to hold between 12 billion to 45 billion barrels of oil and 100 trillion cubic feet of gas.

With a far better security situation than the rest of Iraq, Kurdistan is regarded by Western companies as the first way back into the war-torn country.

Shell and its peers are desperate to find new oil and gas discoveries and boost production, as older fields in areas such as the North Sea mature.

At present only five minnows, including Genel Enerji, of Turkey, and DNO, of Norway, are exploring in Kurdistan.

But Statoil and BG Group have expressed an interest in joining the black gold rush.

Paul Mullarkey, the chief business developer of BG, told The Times last month: “We are considering our position, as we do with any region around the world. But it’s far too early to say how the situation will progress.”

Shell strikes deal to extract Iraqi gas - Times Online

DNO shares surge on Iraq oil export deal rumours

Shares in Norwegian oil and gas producer DNO International surged as much as 18 percent on Friday on rumours that the company may soon be able to export the oil it is producing in northern Iraq.

At 0713 GMT, DNO stock was up 15.8 percent at 12.18 crowns.

DNO has said it could quickly ramp-up production in Kurdistan once it wins an export licence, which is the subject of negotiations between regional Kurdish authorities and the central Iraqi government in Baghdad.

DNO shares surge on Iraq oil export deal rumours | Markets | Reuters

Follow up........

DNO says no new signals on Iraq oil export timing

Norwegian oil and gas producer DNO International's boss told Reuters on Friday he has no new signals about the timing of its expected Iraq oil export licence.

DNO shares surged on Friday on a rumour about a looming deal between the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq, where DNO has oilfields, and the central Iraqi government in Baghdad.

"Timing wise, I am not in any position to make any comment on that," DNO Chief E.x.e.c.utive Helge Eide told Reuters.

"It will be the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi government which will have to (make this decision). So I cannot give any indication whether there will be a report today or tomorrow, or in a week, or a month. I don't know."

"Whether positive or negative, we stay away from commenting on such reports," Eide said about speculation that a deal for the export licence was near.

DNO says no new signals on Iraq oil export timing | Markets | Reuters

Financial control over Iraqi oil proceeds 'deficient'

The United Nations representative on the international body monitoring the handling of more than $100 billion in proceeds from sales of Iraqi oil says financial controls are “deficient” although progress has been made in some areas.

Warren Sach, the Secretary-General’s representative on the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) for Iraq, reported to the Security Council today on independent audits that were carried out on the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) in 2007.

Under Security Council Resolution 1483, $106 billion was deposited with DFI from petroleum sales between 2003 and 2007. A further $10.4 billion from the balance of the UN oil-for-food programme was deposited with DFI as well as $1.5 billion from Iraq’s frozen assets.

“The results of the audits in 2007 indicate that, while many efforts are being made, sometimes at great personal sacrifice, the overall financial system of controls in place in the [Iraqi] spending ministries, the US agencies handling of outstanding commitments using DFI resources and the Iraqi administration of DFI resources remain deficient and financial management reforms need to be pursued further,” Mr. Sach said in his report.

Mr. Sach said that the IAMB aims to ensure that the IDF is used in a transparent manner for the benefit of the Iraqi people and that export sales of petroleum were consistent with international market best practices.

He said that audit reports on DFI have highlighted weaknesses in internal financial controls, including incomplete record keeping at the Iraqi Ministry of Finance, lack of a comprehensive oil metering system, sale of oil and oil products outside of the DFI, incomplete contract information associated with US agencies’ contracts and bartering.

The UN comptroller also reported that fewer than 15 per cent of previous recommendations to Iraqi spending ministries had been implemented. While noting that some progress had been made, “further measures to strengthen the internal control framework are necessary,” Mr. Sach added.

On oil metering, Mr. Sach said it was a key factor to achieve financial transparency and accountability and was in accordance with standard oil industry practices, but he noted that while some metering had been installed at oil terminals, there continued to be no metering in oil fields.

“The IAMB continues to view this matter as urgent, especially in light of the auditor’s report that showed unreconciled differences related to production, export sales and internal consumption,” he said.

Mr. Sach added that the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization continued to use barter transactions, which made it difficult to establish whether fair value had been received for the country’s oil exports, although a barter arrangement with a neighbouring country ceased as of 31 December 2007.

In a related development, the Security Council released a press statement noting “continued political, security and humanitarian challenges facing Iraq,” but also recognizing “the important efforts made by the Iraqi Government to improve security, national reconciliation, budget ****ution, reconstruction, and economic progress, as well as combat terrorism and sectarian violence across Iraq.”

Also today, the UN Special Adviser on Iraq, Ibrahim Gambari, in a briefing to the Council, said “there is indeed new hope that the people and Government of Iraq have started to overcome daunting challenges and to work together at rebuilding their country.”

Mr. Gambari noted that there had been security improvements in many parts of the country and that there had been steady progress in improving the capacity of Iraqi security forces, as well as the curbing of militias and other armed groups.

“The situation still remains fragile,” Mr. Gambari reported. “Ordinary Iraqis continue to face the threat of violence in the form of terrorist attacks, sectarianism or criminal acts and violations of human rights continue to occur.”

However, the Special Adviser said that there had been indications of progress on political dialogue in the country. He cited reports that talks on the return of the leading Sunni bloc, Tawafuq, to the Government were apparently progressing well, and added that Turkoman representatives had ended their 18-month boycott of the Kirkuk Provincial Council.

http://www.mynews.in/fullstory.aspx?storyid=5993

Another update from yesterday.........

DNO to Get Long-awaited Oil Export License from Northern Iraq - Report

DNO International ASA is to be awarded its long-awaited license to export oil from Kurdistan, according to reports from news service UPI.

The international news service says that officials from the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Northern Iraq have agreed a deal with representatives from central government in Baghdad, but that no official agreement has yet been signed.

However, the report says, it now appears that DNO and four other international oil firms will finally receive their export licenses.

'We have said to the KRG that we are willing to receive all the oil produced by DNO and others,' the service quotes Iraq's oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani as saying.

Ashti Hawrami, natural resources minister for the KRG, meanwhile, is quoted as saying that there are still a few technical issues that must be resolved before exports can begin, and that talks are expected to continue next week.

Norway's DNO has been in the position to export oil from Kurdistan for some months now, but a lack of the necessary export license means it has been forced to sell into the domestic market for prices below the international average.

Analysts have already said the granting of an export license to DNO would 'trigger major earnings and price target revisions'.

PUKmedia :: English - DNO to Get Long-awaited Oil Export License from Northern Iraq - Report

Kurdistan Becoming "Economic Development Gateway" to Iraq
Investment Law "providing encouraging ground for investment" in the Region

The generous Investment Law offers incentives to outside investors, making Kurdistan one of the most investor-friendly places in the region.

Investment projects already licensed by the Kurdistan Region Investment Board are valued at $16 billion USD and are all private-sector projects, an official from the Board told the London-based Asharqalawsat newspaper.

Nawroz Mawlud Mohammed Amin, Director General of Legal, Financial, and Administrative Issues at the Board, said that more than 105 investment projects with private capital have been registered at her office since its establishment due to the Regional Investment Law passed by Parliament in the second half of 2006.

The projects are distributed among the three Kurdish provinces of Erbil, Sulaimaniya, and Duhok. However, according to Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi, the distribution is uneven.

"According to the list of licensed investment projects by the Investment Law, projects over the past year valued at $11.5 billion USD began all over the region, 85% of which are only in Erbil Province," Hadi told a local news agency. "Fifty-three projects have been licensed in Erbil with the value of more than $9 billion USD. The remaining projects are in the other two provinces."

Investment projects licensed in the region are from various sectors including tourism, industry, agriculture, finance, education, health care, trade, and housing.

The regional Investment Law has provided an encouraging ground for investment activities in the region by offering incentives to investors. According to the law, investors are not taxed for a period of 10 years; that is, they can have 100% of their earnings. Additionally, the government provides plots of land needed for investment projects free of charge. These and other facilities offered to investors hand in hand with the notable security and stability enjoyed by the region, compared to the other parts of Iraq where instability is the main obstruction to development in inflow of capital, has made the region an economic development gateway to Iraq as a whole.

Amin said that the last investment project licensed in the region is the Tarin Hills project implemented by the UAE Damac Properties. The project, which is developing a tourist compound in an area near the capital city of Erbil and the value of which "exceeds $6 billion USD" is set to start before the end of the current year and is to be implemented in two phases, each with $3 billion USD and five years of time.

According to Amin, the factors behind the success of business in the region is the security and stability, institutionalization of business, and operation according to certain laws and regulations, besides "the Prime Minister's faith in the youths in implementing the plans of the region's administration including the issue of investment, which is vital for the Kurdish economy."

According to Hadi, before the licensing of Damac's Tarin Hills, around 86% of all the investment in the region was owned by local companies, 9.2% by foreign companies, and the remainder were joint ventures between local and foreign companies.

"Now, however, with the Damac project, the share of foreign direct investment has increased sharply," Hadi claimed. "Damac is the largest investment company that has ever entered Kurdistan, a fact that reinforces that stability in the region."

The Investment Law doesn't discriminate between local and foreign investors as an attempt to encourage foreign investors to invest their capital in the region.

The official from the board stated that foreign investor and capital are treated as local investor and capital and the foreign investor is entitled to hold absolute possession of the capital of any project (s)he sets up in the region.

Foreign investor is also entitled to, according to the law, taking all the income and capital of his/her project out of the region at the completion of the project on the condition that it doesn't violate the regulations of the law.

PUKmedia :: English - Kurdistan Becoming "Economic Development Gateway" to Iraq

'Iraq-US Security Treaty not Dead'

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari has said it is too soon to say that talks with the US on a long-term security pact are dead.

“As far as I know, the prime minister and the government are committed to continue these talks to reach a final agreement,” he said in an interview with Reuters on Friday, mentioning the difficulties over delicate legal, technical issue.

“I think it's too early really to judge this agreement that it is dead or there is no way out,” he said after attending a UN Security Council meeting on Iraq.

The main problems were mentioned to be authorization for US operations against insurgents in Iraq, legal immunity sought by Washington for US contractors in the country and issues relating to entry into and exit from Iraq, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, earlier on Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that the negotiations have reached a "dead end" because of US demands that infringed Iraq's sovereignty.

PUKmedia :: English - 'Iraq-US Security Treaty not Dead'

Maliki: Iraq supports reducing oil prices

Iraq Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki said that Iraq backs international efforts aiming at limiting oil prices increase. Maliki told journalists in Jordan that he backs the idea that OPEC and Great Countries shall reconsider oil prices and lower the same.

Maliki said that further efforts shall be exerted in order to create a balance in the market between the producers and the consumers and that in order to ease the burden of poor countries that suffer more than the others because of the high prices.

Maliki: Iraq supports reducing oil prices

Iraq signs pre-contract with Siemens to supply electricity

The Iraqi Minister of Electricity signed a pre-contract with the leading technology company Siemens to supply the country with 3,200 megawatts of electricity and to set up a total of 27 electricity transfer stations.

"Electricity Minister Kareem Waheed signed the pre-contract on the sidelines of his participation in the Turkish-Arab economic forum in Turkey," a spokesman for the ministry, Aziz Sultan, said in a statement to Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI).

Details of the number of generating units have not been specified thus far, Sultan noted.

The spokesman revealed that the company will provide Iraq with 27 electricity transfer stations, including 5 major stations to link Iraqi provinces.

Power supplies in Iraq have been sporadic since the second Gulf war and the U.S. bombing of Iraq's main power generating plants. The shortages across the country became even worse in the aftermath of 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country because of insurgent sabotage, rising demand, fuel shortages and provinces that are unplugging local power stations from the national grid. Outages make life almost unbearable in the summer months, when daily temperatures reach over 50C.

Aswat Aliraq

Maliki begins Gulf tour and European countries in the coming days

A deputy from coalition military uniform Sami to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will begin a Gulf tour and another European in the coming days.

The military said in a press statement issued today, al-Maliki on Saturday that two rounds involving Gulf states including the UAE, will visit the states in Germany and Italy before the end of this month.

He explained that Maliki would discuss strengthening ties of cooperation and friendship with these countries, in addition to clarifying the security dimensions of the Convention to be signed with Washington.

He pointed out that the military government and al-Maliki signed during my visit to Iran, Jordan, a number of economic agreements and letters of understanding security, stressing that the prime minister is seeking to sign protocols with Arab countries in order to restore cohesion and promote joint cooperation, investment and development of security that has been made recently in most provinces.

He visited the UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the capital of Baghdad on the fifth of this month and submitted in a timely invitation of the Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to al-Maliki to visit UAE soon for closer relations between the two countries.

Translated version of http://www.radiodijla.com/cgi-bin/news/news_item.pl?id=2008-06-14%2006:19:30