Oil Provinces Offer High Stakes in Iraqi Poll

30 January 2009 Iraqis go to the polls on Saturday to choose their local council representatives for the next four years, in the second such elections held in postwar Iraq. The outcome will reflect the balance of power between the major political parties across 14 of the country’s 18 provinces and give an indication of the shape of things to come as Iraq prepares for its next parliamentary elections, most…

Shell Inks Iraqi Gas Deal in Baghdad

23  September 2008 Royal Dutch Shell and Iraq on Monday inked a heads of agreement (HOA) to establish a joint venture to gather, process and market associated natural gas from southern Iraq, and plan to sign a definitive multibillion-dollar deal within a year, Iraqi and industry sources said. Officials from Shell’s gas and power division, headed by Executive Director Linda Cook, traveled to Baghdad on Monday for the signing ceremony,…

Iraq OKs Preliminary Gas Deal With Shell

9 September 2008 The Iraqi cabinet on Sunday approved a preliminary gas deal between Royal Dutch and South Gas Co. (SGC), giving the green light for detailed negotiations on a final deal expected next year, Iraqi and industry sources said. The deal is a nonbinding heads of agreement (HOA) to establish a joint venture to gather and process associated gas now being flared from Basrah region oil fields in the…

Iraq Gets Down to Work on Refineries

21 July 2008 Iraq’s Daura refinery should commission a new 70,000 barrel per day crude distillation unit at the end of the year, raising capacity to 160,000 b/d, Midland Refineries Director-General Dathar al-Khashab told International Oil Daily last week. It will be the first addition to the refinery, near Baghdad, since the US-led invasion in 2003. A contract for a second crude distillation unit, awarded like the first one to…