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South Kurdistan oil & gas development
Topic Started: Nov 17 12, 1:25 (649,136 Views)
ALAN
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KRG OIL EXPORTS REACH OVER 600,000 BPD IN SEPTEMBER

SULAIMANI – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) released its September report on Thursday, stating the region’s exports reached an average of 600,463 barrels per day (bpd).

Total exports for the month were listed at 18,614,798 barrels of crude oil, of which 13,898,548 barrels came from fields operated by the KRG.

The statement further said fields operated by the North Oil Company (NOC) supplied the remaining 4,715,794 barrels.

“Due to circumstances beyond the KRG’s control, during September there were 2 days of downtime for the export pipeline, caused mainly by attempts at sabotage and theft,” the statement read.

On September 24, the MNR said oil flow from the Kurdistan Region to Ceyhan via pipeline was halted following theft from the export pipeline in Turkey.

“Persistent theft from the Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipeline in the southeast of Turkey continues to damage the welfare of the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq at a critical time for their security and stability,” the ministry added.

The ministry also said the KRG continued to increase independent oil sales in Ceyhan to “compensate the region for the budget shortfalls from the federal government in Baghdad.”

http://www.nrttv.com/EN/Details.aspx?Jimare=3730
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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Hungary Increases Kurdistan Region Oil Imports

Russia losing out in global energy battle

BUDAPEST – Sources have told Reuters that Hungary is increasing oil imports from the Kurdistan Region at the expense of Russia.

Hungarian oil company MOL is active in the Kurdistan Region, and is thought to be the first large scale purchaser of KRG Kurdish oil supplied through the Ceyhan pipeline, against the December 2014 agreement between Hewlêr and Baghdad.

The company declined to confirm where the increase in seabourne oil was originating from, but more tankers inevitably mean that Hungary is purchasing less from Russia.

Although the source declined to give specific volumes, they did say that the imports made up about 40% of requirements at the country’s main Szazhalombatta refinery. The oil arrives at the Omisalj port in Croatia, and delivered via the JANAF pipeline.

A trader claims that the pipeline “is filled completely with Kirkuk”, taking one or two shipments per month.

Baghdad says that the KRG’s exports are illegal, and continues to threaten to take the Hewlêr administration to court. The KRG, on the other hand, claims that the reduction in the amount of the federal budget it receives has given it no choice other than to bypass the State Organisation for Marketing Oil, and sell to unspecified buyers independently – usually through an opaque network of dealers.

http://www.basnews.com/en/economy/2015/10/08/hungary-increases-kurdistan-region-oil-imports/
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Very scary article about KRG oil and how political parties use this sector to secure their permenant future and survival and how it has divided KRG into 2 regions one been pro USA the other pro Russia

http://pasewan.com/sorani/?p=1397
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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ALAN
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JBnO2yvc1B0
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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KRG Publishes the Monthly Export Report for September 2015

Hewlêr, Kurdistan Region, Iraq - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) exported 18,614,798 barrels of crude oil (an average of 620,478 barrels per day (bpd)) in the month of September through the Kurdistan pipeline network to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey.

Of this amount, fields operated by the KRG contributed 13,898,548 barrels (463,285 bpd on average), while fields operated by the North Oil Company (NOC) contributed 4,715,794 barrels (an average of 168,904 bpd).

Due to circumstances beyond the KRG’s control, during September there were 2 days of downtime for the export pipeline, caused mainly by attempts at sabotage and theft.

In September, the KRG continued to increase its direct oil sales in Ceyhan to compensate the Region for the budget shortfalls from the federal government in Baghdad.

The KRG will continue to work with its counterparts in the federal government to reach a resolution on all the outstanding issues of oil and gas and in this regard it sees an opportunity for solid progress in the forthcoming discussions over the 2016 federal budget.

http://mnr.krg.org/index.php/en/press-releases/493-krg-publishes-the-monthly-export-report-for-september-2015

Click attachment for the full report.
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Attachments: Full_report.pdf (510.6 KB)
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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Why oil companies find South Kurdistan so hard to resist, despite looming threats

http://ekurd.net/kurdistan-oil-hard-to-resist-2015-10-20
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1bJYtXa6Ao
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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The ‘influential’ adviser to South Kurdistan energy minister, behind oil growth

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Editorial Staff in 1 Top News, Oil & Gas

LONDON,— Few regions lamented the collapse in oil prices this year like South Kurdistan, where dwindling investment and irregular crude sales undermined long-held ambitions for independence from Baghdad and a do-or-die fight against Isis along its borders.

But over the past 18 months the fledgling state has emerged as a major oil exporter, propelled by the sale of hundreds of millions of barrels outside official channels using a shadowy network of fixers and businessmen to help fulfil the government’s regional ambitions.

Helping to orchestrate these oil sales stands Pakistani oil broker Murtaza Lakhani, a one-time Glencore agent in Iraq, who has become the go-to fixer for the Kurdistan Regional Government that controls the semi-autonomous enclave in the country’s north.

From arranging pipeline shipments into Turkey to liaising with international traders seeking to bypass Baghdad’s attempts to block sales of Kurdish oil, Mr Lakhani’s involvement has been vital in transforming piecemeal deliveries into an international enterprise.

“I get my hands dirty,” the 53-year-old said in London, where he splits his time with Hewlêr and Vancouver.

“I’ve been in the Iraq region for 16 years and in Kurdistan long before anyone else. I’m keeping the KRG’s oil sales business operationally running.”

Mr Lakhani’s contacts were cemented years before South Kurdistan began exporting almost 500,000 barrels a day, up from almost zero at the start of last year. After setting up base in the regional capital of Hewlêr just months following the 2003 US-led invasion, Mr Lakhani established himself as a one-stop-shop for those looking to exploit one of the world’s last great untapped reserves of easy-to-access oil.

“Whatever you wanted, Murtaza was your man,” said one government adviser.

Parties at Mr Lakhani’s Hewlêr home were champagne-drenched affairs for those eager to get a foothold in the industry. Guests were served seafood flown in from Dubai and could view his Salvador Dalí artwork.

Softly spoken and dressed in a two-toned shirt and sockless loafers, he described his upbringing.

Born in Karachi, he was raised in London before a change in fortune took him to Vancouver. “I made something out of myself from nothing. I started out cleaning the sulphur docks of Canada,” he said.

Mr Lakhani’s family was close to the powerful Bhutto clan in Pakistan and Marc Rich, the swashbuckling oil trader who founded the company that ultimately became Glencore.

As Glencore’s “man in Baghdad” in the early 2000s, Mr Lakhani was involved in the complex scheme to acquire Iraqi oil by gaming restrictions imposed by the UN’s oil-for-food programme after the first Gulf war. But neither he nor Glencore were charged with any violations.

Designed to allow Baghdad to acquire food and medicine at a time of international sanctions, Iraq began generating hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit income by requiring buyers of crude to pay “surcharges”.

Mr Lakhani disclosed to the Independent Inquiry Committee investigating the programme, that he received healthy commissions for payments on behalf of the trader. Glencore said the investigation was closed “due to no evidence of wrongdoing on Glencore’s side”.

Since May 2014, when the KRG started moving large-scale oil shipments via pipelines through Turkey, Mr Lakhani has had a contract with the Ministry of Natural Resources to help run its logistics operations.

This mostly involves managing the crude oil-loading schedule from the Turkish port of Ceyhan, monitoring storage tanks and liaising with shipowners, inspectors, the ministry and Turkey’s state pipeline and trading company. He is described by corporate investigators as an influential adviser to Ashti Hawrami, the head of the Natural Resources ministry.

Amid the budget crisis in Hewlêr, Mr Lakhani claims his annual fee of $1m has been reduced to $250,000 for a job he jokingly describes as “a glorified port agent”. Like many companies operating in the region, Mr Lakhani said he is awaiting payment.

But as the KRG faces a budget crisis and political fissures intensify, the ruling Kurdistan Democratic party has been criticised by rival politicians and energy sector executives for the opacity around oil revenues. This has brought scrutiny upon Mr Lakhani’s role.

“There are speculations of Murtaza’s involvement with these [oil] deals, and he is known to have business links to the leadership of the [ruling] KDP,” said Ali Hama Salih, an opposition member of parliament who sits on the oil and gas committee. “We are adamant to work for better transparency.”

The KDP has alleged Mr Salih has sought personal gains from his oil industry connections, a charge that he denies.

Although Mr Lakhani says he has in the past represented the ministry in a joint venture with foreign companies, he has no current business links with the ruling KDP. Since 2006 he has had a company that provides equipment storage facilities for international majors operating in the region, which is his priority, he says.

“I have a lot of money and time invested in my business. This is why I’m advising the government,” he said.

KRG officials say they can account for every oil dollar received and say individuals such as Mr Lakhani are necessary when trying to quickly establish an international business.

A breakdown in relations with Baghdad, which deems the KRG’s oil sales illegal and has threatened legal action against buyers, explains the lack of transparency, KRG officials say.

Last year, Baghdad withheld funds from the national budget after the dispute over oil export rights, leaving the KRG reliant on crude revenues to fund civil servant salaries and its Peshmerga army.

“We are fighting a war with IS while enduring an economic war against Kurdistan Region started by Baghdad,” said one KRG official. “Our priority is to get oil out and generate revenues to pay our people and fight terror.”

Mr Lakhani said he has met with the big international oil traders, including Vitol and Trafigura who are assisting the KRG with the sales, directly or through brokers. But he said all contract negotiations are handled by the resources ministry.

“How these guys get paid, what price is set for the oil, this is not up to me,” he said. “I get the copy of the contract and then get asked by the [ministry]: ‘Is this [logistically] possible?’”

Mr Lakhani maintains he “has no particular influence” over Mr Hawrami, but says he interacts daily with the ministry’s trade counsellor and has vetoed deals in the past.

“I’m vital to this operation today, but things change,” said Mr Lakhani, who prefers the term “consultant” to middleman. “In six to seven months the KRG will not need me any more, once things stabilise and they build their own logistics department.”

He added: “I’m trying to get to Iran next.”

http://ekurd.net/adviser-to-kurdistan-minister-2015-10-29
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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:cheers:

US COURT DISMISSES IRAQI LAWSUIT OVER KRG OIL EXPORT

SULAIMANI – A U.S. district court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Iraqi government after a ship carrying Kurdish oil exports entered US maritime waters off the coast of Texas last year.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) welcomed the decision in a statement released by the Ministry of Natural Resources on Thursday.

“The Kurdistan Regional Government is pleased that the United States district court in Texas has today dismissed the groundless lawsuit filed by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil,” the statement said.

The statement further said, “There remains no legal obstacle in the United States or elsewhere to the KRG’s exercise of its right under the Iraqi Constitution to market and sell oil around the world.”

However, US District Court Judge Gray Miller dismissed the case as there was no actual cargo, a Reuters report said.

The oil shipment never made it to shore and remained in the tanker anchored in the Gulf of Mexico for months.

http://www.nrttv.com/EN/Details.aspx?Jimare=3974
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0fbXjlL3G0
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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ALAN
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6Zo4a00I0c
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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KRG exported nearly 600,000 bpd in October

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Hewlêr, Kurdsitan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) exported an average of 595,528 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the month of October, the government announced Wednesday.

In a statement, the KRG said a total number of 18,461, 357 barrels was transferred through the Kurdistan pipeline network to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey.

Of this amount, the KRG said that its fields contributed 13,611,252 barrels (439,073 bpd on average), while fields operated by the North Oil Company (NOC) contributed 4,850,105 barrels (an average of 156,455 bpd).

The current price of oil is $40.70, according to energy markets, meaning the value of the month's export would be more than $750 million.

"Due to circumstances beyond the KRG’s control, during October there were three days of downtime for the export pipeline, caused mainly by attempts at sabotage and theft," the statement read.

The KRG added that it has continued to increase its direct oil sales in Ceyhan to compensate the region for the budget shortfalls from the federal government in Baghdad.

"The KRG will continue to work with its counterparts in the federal government to reach a resolution on all the outstanding issues of oil and gas and in this regard it sees an opportunity for solid progress in the forthcoming discussions over the 2016 federal budget," the monthly statement concluded.

Source: http://rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/11112015
Jet fuel can't melt steel beams

"If Turkey allows itself interfere in the matter of Kerkûk because of a few thousand Turkmen, we will do the same with regard to Diyarbakir (Amed) and other Kurdistani cities in Turkey because of 30 million Kurds." - President Masoud Barzanî
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The oil price definitely affected KRG budget but it can still pay its civil employees.... Why it hasn't been able to only PDK knows.
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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How Kurdistan bypassed Iraq’s central govt and sold oil on global market

LONDON,— Iraq’s semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan has for the first time detailed its secretive oil exports operations and said it plans to sell more, whether Baghdad likes it or not, as it needs money to survive and fight Islamic State.

The region’s minister for natural resources, Ashti Hawrami, said that to avoid detection oil was often funneled through Israel, transferred directly between ships off the coast of Malta, and decoy ships used to make it harder for Baghdad to track.

Kurdistan says it had been forced to bypass Baghdad and begin exporting oil directly because the latter refused to respect budgets in 2014 and 2015. The current and former Iraqi central governments have both said the Kurds have failed to respect deals to transfer agreed volumes of oil to Baghdad.

Kurdistan is entitled to 17 percent of Iraqi’s overall budget, and argued it needed stable revenues to pay its bills, support over a million of refugees fleeing the war in Syria and Iraq finance its Peshmerga army fighting against Islamist militants.

Kurdistan is exporting over 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil – or every seventh barrel of OPEC’s second largest exporter – and believes that Baghdad has now accepted, at least in part, direct Kurdish exports going to as many as 10 countries.

“Effectively, we have been financially discriminated against for a long time. By early 2014, when we did not receive the budget, we decided we need to start thinking about independent oil sales,” Hawrami told Reuters.

With new pipelines completed, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) still needed to find buyers for its oil, effectively one large tanker every two days.

Most customers were scared of touching it with Baghdad threatening to sue any buyer. Large oil companies – including Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and BP (BP.L) – have billions of dollars worth of joint projects with Baghdad.

“The scale was huge. And it was a totally new game for us. Buyers wanted the KRG to lease its own crude cargo ships. We knew nothing about the shipping or sea transportation industry,” said Hawrami.

The KRG engaged a veteran oil trader, Murtaza Lakhani, who worked for Glencore in Iraq in the 2000s, to assist finding ships.

“He knew exactly who would and who wouldn’t deal with us. He opened the doors to us and identified willing shipping companies to work with us,” said Hawrami.

Hawrami says it is premature to disclose the names of traders, shippers and buyers of Kurdish oil. Lakhani also declined to comment on the names of buyers and shippers.

Iraq has filed a lawsuit against Greek shipping company Marine Management Services for its role in Kurdish exports. Market sources have said several trading houses including Trafigura and Vitol have dealt with Kurdish oil. Both Trafigura and Vitol declined to comment on their role in oil sales.

Some buyers took tankers to Ashkelon, Israel, where it was loaded into storage facilities to be resold later to buyers in Europe. Kurdish oil was also sold offshore Malta via ship-to-ship transfers helping disguise the final buyers and thus protect them from threats from Iraqi state firm SOMO.

It was a high stakes game. A ship would dock off Malta waiting for another to arrive to take a cargo to a final destination. Sometimes two ships would be sent – one sailing off empty and another full – to complicate cargo tracking.

“Everyone suddenly became a ship tracking expert. So we had to raise our game too … But one thing was proven correct – when oil is out, it flows,” said Hawrami.

The region plans to increase exports to as much as 1 million barrels and wants also to become a significant gas exporter, which would put it firmly on the global energy map.

BUDGET DISPUTE

Disputes over budget have been at the center of developments of the past two years.

“We simply cannot afford returning to the old arrangements with Baghdad and widening the financial gap again,” Hawrami said.

“We would accept a real budget that Baghdad can commit to without conditions, but we don’t want to be part of a theoretical budget which isn’t worth the paper it is written on,” he added.

Hawrami says the 2014 Iraqi state budget required Kurdistan to export 400,000 bpd of oil – which was simply technically non-feasible at the time due to a lack of export routes and pipelines.

Kurdistan received $500 million in state budget allocations in January 2014 instead of $1.0 billion-$1.2 billion foreseen by the state budget and then from February budget transfers were cut further and then stopped by March 2014.

“Baghdad demanded oil we didn’t have. Our delegation led by prime minister Nechervan Barzani went to Baghdad to try to find out what was going on. But they were not interested in hearing our arguments and continued with their decision to cut our budget,” he said.

“So we had to get our act together and speed up the completion of pipelines. By May 2014 the basic infrastructure was completed and we were ready for independent sales.”

By the time the new pipeline from Kurdistan to the Turkish Mediterranean coast, replacing the old Saddam-era link, was ready, the region was effectively broke.

It had limited cash, it was falling behind with salary payments to state employees including the army – just when Islamic State seized large parts of central Iraq and of Kurdistan itself.

The region was hundreds of millions of dollars in arrears to companies such as Genel (GENL.L) and DNO (DNO.OL), which have been developing fields in Kurdistan.

Gradually, buyers and traders started using their own ships for Kurdish oil but Baghdad filed a court case in the United States threatening to sue anyone who touched it.

A cargo was stuck in the United States for several months before sailing back to Europe and being resold there. Since then no Kurdistan oil has crossed the Atlantic.

Another cargo was stranded in Morocco. SOMO also sent warnings to all major clients in Europe and Asia.

“Looking back, the whole of 2014 was a huge success as we only had two ships in difficulty – one in the U.S. and one in Morocco … We managed to finish the year (2014) with only one month of salaries behind,” said Hawrami.

“That was a pretty extraordinary achievement as we had ISIS attacking our soil, over a million of Syrian refugees and displaced Iraqis. All of that burden came and we hadn’t seen a cent from Baghdad”.

Independent oil sales in 2014 allowed Kurdistan to borrow about $3 billion including from Turkey and trading houses.

“We had a remarkable change in relations with Turkey. It has been very strategic and they have been incredibly supportive,” Hawrami said.

“ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE”

Hopes of better ties emerged at the end of last year after a new government led by Haider al-Abadi came to power in Baghdad instead of Nouri al-Maliki.

“It was a new atmosphere. We hoped it would allow us to put our differences behind us,” said Hawrami.

In December 2014, Baghdad and Hewlêr signed a deal under which Kurdistan would transfer some average 550,000 bpd to Iraqi state oil firm SOMO over the course of 2015 while receiving 17 percent of Iraqi budget or over $1.1 billion a month.

The deal began to unravel almost immediately. Baghdad said Hewlêr was not transferring the agreed volumes and sent only $200 million in January instead of $1.1 billion. Between January and by June it transferred around $2 billion in total to Hewlêr – less than 40 percent of what the Kurds had expected.

“In February 2015, we went again to Baghdad only to discover that they have thrown their budget out of the window and were simply working with cash in hand. We told them that our state salaries constitute some $750 million – half of this to security and Peshmerga – so how could we live on just a third of our budget?”

“But they told us – cash in hand is all we have because of the collapse in oil prices and inability to fill the deficit in the budget. By March, we came to a conclusion that we had no option but to start independent oil sales again”.

Baghdad is firm in asserting it is abiding by the constitution.

“The party that did not abide by the text of the agreement is the regional government and not the federal government,” said Saad al Hadithi, spokesman for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

“We had hoped the agreement that was made a year ago was the beginning of a new stage of cooperation and coordination, but unfortunately what happened is that the regional government did not export the agreed upon amount to SOMO,” Hadithi said.

Hawrami says as of November 2015 the number of countries taking Kurdish barrels has risen to around 10, declining to name them. Reuters has reported Kurdish oil making it to countries such as Israel and Hungary.

Independent sales have been allowing the KRG to generate some $800 million-$850 million a month from July to enable it to pay salaries and ongoing costs to oil companies like Genel.

However, the crash in oil prices since 2014 meant the gap in finances was much more difficult to close.

As of November, the country is still three months behind with salary payments but Hawrami says he is hoping to close the gap by pushing production up in 2016 while also looking to sell some assets and infrastructure to raise liquidity.

As of today, the KRG still owes $3 billion to its 2014 lenders but Hawrami says he hopes it could be paid back or at least significantly reduced over the course of 2016.

Another task would be a meaningful cut of state spending such as fuel subsidies in 2016 and an attempt to increase non oil revenues. Hawrami says he is seeing early signs that Baghdad is gradually removing its opposition to independent oil sales.

SOMO is still threatening to sue buyers of Kurdistan oil, but appears compliant with Hewlêr’s handling of the Kirkuk oilfield, which is not under the authority of the KRG, but whose exports of 150,000 bpd have been handled for months by the Kurds via Turkish ports.

“If you ask any Kurd, they will always tell you that their main dream is independence,” Hawrami said. “But at the government level, the main policy focus has been economic independence. We are aspiring to solve our own problems and we have enough resources to do it.”

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Read more about Israel-Kurdistan Relations

By Dmitry Zhdannikov
Copyright ©, respective author or news agency, Reuters
http://ekurd.net/kurdistan-sold-oil-bypassed-iraq-2015-11-17
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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KRG Approves Sarsang Oil Block Development Plan

Luke Coleman

Hewlêr – HKN Energy has announced that the Kurdistan Regional Government has approved it's Sarsang development plans, which could see an extra 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) flowing from the block in which it has a 42% stake.

Russell Freeman, CEO of HKN told investors, “We are pleased with the approval of our Development Plan and eager to proceed with the next phase of our program.

"The recent commercial discovery on the East Swara Tika Prospect is exciting and representative of the tremendous potential of the Sarsang Block. We appreciate the support from the KRG as we continue to grow our operations", he added

Extensive testing on the East Swara Tika-1 well resulted in flow rates around 8,000 bpd, and Freeman announced that the well is now commercial.

Since June 2014 HKN has sold around 1.5 million barrels to the local market from its interest in Sarsang.

Partners Marathon Oil have a 20% stake, Maersk Oil 18% and the remaining 20% is held by the KRG.

http://basnews.com/index.php/en/economy/kurdistan/244038
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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Kurdistan could be major oil exporter, says oil exec

ISTANBUL, Turkey— Chief Executive of Genel Energy Tony Hayward said the Kurdistan region of Iraq could effectively start exporting its gas to Turkey by 2019.

The British businessman said Kurdish gas could be supplied to several countries and sufficiently meet their demand.

“Kurdistan region is believed to have an estimated 200 trillion cubic meters of natural gas and could become a major exporter in the market,” said Hayward, who was chief executive of British Petroleum before leaving the company in 2010.

Speaking at the Atlantic Council energy and economic summit in Istanbul on Thursday, Hayward also said Kurdistan was steadily increasing its oil export despite the ongoing crisis in Iraq.

Kurdish Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami, also at the summit, said Kurdistan could increase its gas export to 20 billion cubic meters a day in four years.

“We have been increasing our gas production for the past nine months and will work with Turkish companies to export it to Turkey,” Hawrami said.

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KRG natural minister’s debt over 10 billion dollars: Gorran deputy

A parliament lawmaker from Change Movement (Gorran) has stated that the natural ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) owes more than 10 billion dollars.

Despite claims by the minister of the Natural Resources, Ashti Hewrami, the ministry’s debt is 10 billion dollars not the 3 billion dollars he has stated, the deputy Ali Muhammad Salih said, adding that the debt should be paid through oil incomes.

He added that there are many buyers for the region’s oil and is exported through borders.

Salih further asked for the abolition of the oil and gas commission in the parliament as he says it is not a useful commission.

http://www.kurdpress.com/En/NSite/FullStory/News/?Id=11911
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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KRG plans export gas to Turkey in two years

Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) plans to export 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Turkey over the next two years, KRG Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami has stated.

“Over the next two years, we plan to export around 10 bcm gas to Turkey, but this target may be extended to 2019,” Hawrami said on Nov. 20, as quoted by Reuters.

Speaking at the Atlantic Council Energy & Economic Summit in Istanbul, he also said he did not have any concerns about how this gas will be imported by Turkey, as the country has the required infrastructure, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Meanwhile, Genel Energy, a major oil producer in the KRG, plans to establish a joint company with the KRG government to develop gas fields, its chairman Tony Hayward said at the same conference.

Pointing out that General Energy has two natural gas fields in the KRG, Miran and Bina Bawi, which have gas reserves of around 300-400 bcm, Hayward said these fields would become fully operative by the end of 2016 and exports to Turkey were planned to start within the next two to three years. “We’ll start our gas projects before 2016 ends and we will have the opportunity to start the gas flow in two to three years. By increasing production to 10 bcm, we’ll realize the first phase of a deal with Turkey,” Hayward said, as quoted by Reuters.

The KRG has an estimated 5 trillion cubic meters of gas in its territory, the Genel Energy chair said, adding that the region could reach gas exports of up to 20 bcm to Turkey and to Europe through Turkey with the entrance of other companies to the KRG market before the end of the 2020s.

http://www.kurdpress.com/En/NSite/FullStory/News/?Id=11894
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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Dana Gas says court ruling orders KRG to pay it $1.98 billion

SULAIMANI – A UK court has ordered the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to pay over $1.98 billion to a consortium including UAE-listed Dana Gas, according to a statement released by the company Sunday.

The statement said a tribunal of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) ordered the KRG to pay the companies the sum within 28 days.

“This Award is final, binding and internationally enforceable, and does not depend upon any further hearings or claims and counter-claims by the parties to the arbitration,” the statement read.

Dana Gas also said the companies’ further substantial damage claims for wrongfully delayed development of the fields will be heard in 2016, along the remaining counter-claims of the KRG.

Last week, Dana Gas said a High Court of England ruled the KRG has two weeks to pay its consortium $100 million.

Dana further said the consortium hopes “contractual commitments … will now be adhered to so that these world class hydrocarbon resources can be further properly developed for the benefit of the people of the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq.”

The KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), however, dismissed the ruling in a statement it issued Sunday.

“The arbitral tribunal has neither heard nor decided the KRG’s counterclaims, which, as the tribunal noted, have been partially and provisionally quantified by the KRG’s experts at more than US$ 3 billion,” the MNR said.

KRG counterclaims are almost double the amount of the payment claims which are the subject of the partial award, MNR said. If they uphold, they would eclipse those claims and result in the Claimants owing significant amounts to the KRG.

It added that the KRG’s counter-claims will be heard in the next phase of the arbitration.

“The Claimants remain obliged, under the terms of the accounting procedure in their contract with the KRG, to refund to the KRG the balance of any revenue after recovering their invested petroleum costs and a contractual remuneration fee,” the MNR statement said.

The KRG said according to the claimants’ own accounts they would have to pay back the KRG a significant portion of the amount awarded.

“Even according to the Claimants’ own accounts (which are not accepted by the KRG), the amounts awarded in the partial award far exceed the amounts the Claimants would be entitled to retain under the contract. This means that, even based on the Claimants’ own (disputed) figures, the Claimants would have to pay back to the KRG a significant portion of the amount awarded.”

The KRG said the companies’ continuing attempts to escalate their disputes are “unreasonable and unconstructive.”

In circumstances where the claimants have “singularly failed to meet their own commitments to the KRG, and yet are aggressively pursuing the KRG in legal proceedings,” the KRG will continue “vigorously to pursue its own counterclaims and to defend its position.”

http://www.nrttv.com/EN/Details.aspx?Jimare=4248
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV4D6FyTo9g
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeQOmnbL35w
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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KRG natural gas enough to meet Turkish, European needs, says official

SULAIMANI – The Kurdistan Region’s natural gas resources are enough to meet Turkish and European needs, a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) official said Sunday.

Speaking to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, head of the Kurdistan Parliament’s Committee of Industry and Natural Resources Sherko Jawdat said Hewlêr and Ankara have reached an export agreement for 2017.

"Kurdish gas will reach Europe via Turkey. The Kurdish region can fill the gap created by Russia's gas cut-off to Europe," Jawdat said to Anadolu.

Moscow threatened to cut gas flow to Turkey on Thursday as part of its economic response to Turkey's military shooting down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border on Nov. 23.

Up to 70 percent of Turkey's gas is supplied by Russia's Gazprom.

According to the Anadolu report, the KRG’s current reserves are estimated at more than 5.7 trillion cubic feet and are expected to rise to eight trillion if Kirkuk is inculded.

Speaking at the Atlantic Council Energy & Economic Summit in Istanbul earlier this month, KRG Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami said Hewlêr plans to export 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey over the next two years.

“Over the next two years, we plan to export around 10 bcm of gas to Turkey, but this target may be extended to 2019,” Hawrami said.

Meanwhile, Genel Energy Board Chairman Tony Hayward predicted that the KRG’s natural gas would be exported to Turkey within three years.

“We’ll start our gas projects before 2016 ends and we will have the opportunity to start the gas flow in two to three years,” Hayward said. “By increasing production to 10 bcm, we’ll realize the first phase of a deal with Turkey.”

http://www.nrttv.com/EN/Details.aspx?Jimare=4257
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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South Kurdistan government may cut fuel, power subsidies

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Editorial Staff in Economy, Oil & Gas

LONDON,— Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said on Tuesday it is exploring ways to cut spending, particularly on subsidies to the power sector, as low oil prices strain its finances and bills to a number of international oil companies remain unpaid.

“Reform options are under consideration, and some are underway to reduce the subsidies of petroleum products and electricity,” Qubad Talabani, KRG deputy prime minister, told a conference.

“Our people have become accustomed to generous government salaries and other payments funded by oil revenues. But what was feasible at $100 (a barrel) is not sustainable at $40,” he said.

Talabani said major reforms were needed to balance the region’s finances, which have been eroded by its fight against Islamic State insurgents.

He said the region provided diesel and natural gas free to independent power producers, bringing total subsidies to the electricity sector by the KRG to $3 billion a year.

South Kurdistan has an ongoing dispute with central government in Baghdad, which slashed funds to the region last year, rendering it unable to pay its own employees’ salaries, let alone oil company dues.

International oil producers such as London-listed Genel Energy are owed millions in unpaid bills, but there are signs the cash is starting to flow.

The KRG authorised the release of payments to oil exporting companies for November in line with payments made in the past two months, an official close to the minister of natural resources said on Monday.

Still, foreign operators warned they may have to curtail their investment in the region, if payment is not forthcoming.
Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani, executive chairman of Norway’s DNO ASA, which operates in Kurdistan reiterated the Iraqi Kurdish government owes his company more than $1 billion.

“Without payments we cannot invest more than what is required to maintain safety and integrity of our ongoing operations. Our production so far this year has dropped by about 50,000 bpd from its peak last spring, as a lack of investment and from natural field decline,” Mossavar-Rahmani told the conference.

Copyright ©, respective author or news agency, Reuters

http://ekurd.net/kurdistan-may-cut-fuel-power-2015-12-02
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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South Kurdistan made $3.29 bn from direct oil sales

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Editorial Staff in 1 Top News, Economy, Oil & Gas

HEWLÊR-Erbil, Kurdistan region — Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region said Tuesday it has made more than $3.29 billion in revenues since June from direct oil export sales that the country’s federal government considers illegal.

Baghdad — which announced a rise in exports on Tuesday — insists all oil sales must go through the federal government, while the three-province region argues that lacking federal funding justifies independent action.

Both sides are facing financial crises due to low oil prices and the costly war against the Islamic State jihadist group, which overran large parts of Iraq in 2014.

South Kurdistan said in a report that it averaged $682 million per month in revenue from direct sales from June through mid-November, up from an average of $347 million it had received from Baghdad in earlier months.

The federal oil ministry meanwhile announced Tuesday that it exported an average of 3.36 million barrels of oil per day in November, a level “not realised for decades”.

But the increase in exports appeared to be at least partially due to reserves of oil not exported in October due to bad weather at the southern port of Basra, and was also dampened by a price per barrel of $36.

Baghdad and Kurdistan reached a deal on oil exports and funds at the end of 2014, under which the region was to export 250,000 barrels of oil per day and another 300,000 bpd from the disputed province of Kirkuk.

In exchange, the federal government would release the region’s share of the national budget.

Kurdistan says its exports were initially lower than expected but later surpassed the required level, while an oil ministry official said this was not the case.

The region said it began direct export sales in June “due to shortfalls caused by the Iraqi federal government in sending less than 40 percent of (its) budget entitlement,” but the oil ministry official said the practice started long before that.

“Any amounts leaving Iraq without the approval of the federal government and the oil ministry is considered smuggling,” the official said, restating Baghdad’s long-held stance.

A swathe of northern territory claimed by both Baghdad and Kurdistan, including oil-rich Kirkuk, ties in with the dispute between the two sides over resources.

Kurdish forces gained or solidified control over many disputed areas, including large parts of Kirkuk, after federal troops fled the Islamic State group’s June 2014 offensive.

Baghdad is currently ill-positioned to force either the territory or oil issues, with its troops tied down battling IS and Kurdish forces, which have strong international backing, also playing a major role in the anti-jihadist fight.

Copyright ©, respective author or news agency, AFP

http://ekurd.net/iraqi-kurdistan-made-3bn-oil-sale-2015-12-02
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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Gulf Keystone Petroleum confirms $15 mln South Kurdistan payment

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Editorial Staff in Oil & Gas

LONDON,— Gulf Keystone Petroleum has confirmed on Wednesday the receipt of a US$15mln gross payment from Iraq’s Kurdistan authorities, the company said on its website.

Gulf Keystone Petroleum, a leading independent operator and producer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, is pleased to confirm that, further to the recent statement by the Kurdistan Regional Government (“KRG”) regarding the November payment to the exporting international oil companies (“IOCs”) in the region, a gross payment of US$15 million (US$12 million net to Gulf Keystone) has been received by the Company.

This payment satisfies the Company’s invoice for the month of November 2015 which, at the request of the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources, was submitted on 19 November 2015. Following the payment, the Company’s current cash position will be US$54.6 million.

Since December 2014, when the first payment to the exporting IOCs in the region was authorised by the KRG, the Company has received payments, totalling US$86 million gross for Shaikan crude oil export sales, including three consecutive payments for September, October and November. These payments allowed the Company to meet its debt payment obligations in April and October.

In line with a number of public statements made by the KRG this year, Gulf Keystone expects that these payments will continue in a regular manner and also that all amounts owed in arrears, which as of 30 September 2015, and subject to audit, totalled US$298.4 million net to the Company, will be considered for payment in 2016.

The previously announced full year production guidance for the Shaikan field of 30,000-34,000 barrels of oil per day remains unchanged, while the Company continues to exercise a prudent approach to all expenditure, cutting the costs across the organisation.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Jón Ferrier, CEO, said:

“We continue to drive the Company forward with three principal strategic objectives: safe and reliable operations, commercial sustainability of the business achieved through regular monthly payments and addressing of the arrears, and constructive relationships with our host government, shareholders and bondholders. We have made substantial progress on a number of fronts during 2015, including the 114% increase in the Company’s 2P reserves, and maintained stable production levels throughout the year.”

Copyright ©, respective author or news agency, gulfkeystone.com | Ekurd.net

http://ekurd.net/keystone-received-kurdistan-payment-2015-12-02
Russian Girenak Joseph, who visited Kirkuk in Kurdistan as a part of his tour throu the 1870 - 1873 AD, who published the results of his trip & his studies later in 1879, in the 4th volume in the Bulletin of the Caucasus department of the Royal Geographical Russian Society estimated Kirkuk's population as many as 12-50,000 people, & he emphasized that except 40 Christian families, the rest of the population were Kurds. As for The Turkmen & Arabs, they have not been already existed at the time.
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