Iraq wants to restore its position in the oil markIraq wants to restore its position in the oil market, despite the dispute over oil and gas law
Posted: September 16, 2011 by THE CURRENCY NEWSHOUND - Just Hopin in Iraqi Dinar/Politics
Friday 16/9/2011 4:36
Iraq wants to restore its role as a major world oil market after three decades of war and international sanctions and the decline of investments in this sector, despite the differences between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan region on the oil and gas law.
The bidding round for the big new licenses for 12 sites A_i_kavia investment of oil and gas in a number of governorates of Iraq, the Ministry of the Iraqi oil conference in Amman, attended by representatives of 46 international companies in the field of energy.
Said Oil Minister Abdul-Karim and coffee in his speech during the opening of the conference promotional licensing round, the fourth”we are with international companies to gain access to the production of three million barrels of crude oil per day later this year and to export more than 2.5 million barrels of crude oil per day next year ‘ ‘.
He pointed out that”is being implemented is unprecedented in the history of Iraq’s oil industry during which doubling of Iraq’s production of oil and gas for more than four times and building infrastructure giant accommodate these increases, in addition to important projects will make Iraq an important source of energy in the world”.
He added that”the oil revenue this year will exceed $ 80 billion, which would guarantee to fill any shortfall in the budget”.
The Minister spoke of the Iraqi projects underway in the oil infrastructure will enable Iraq to increase oil exports,”said a draft of three phases during which extend three tubes freely and five buoys export and link the two ports Altsidirien: al-Amaya and Basra will give us complete flexibility for export, both of our ports current or floats in the energy of the five will exceed five million barrels a day”.
According to the minister,”the first phase of the project will be completed in December (December) the next, which will add us to export energy in the range of one million barrels per day will enable us to export all the oil produced, God willing ‘.
He said”we have built a tube last 105 km along the ground and the card more than a million barrels a warehouse where we link Zubair 1 and 2 (the far south of Iraq) to the port of Faw (far south of Iraq) directly”.
For his part, said Assem Jihad, spokesman for the ministry told AFP”We expect rapid increases in the production of Iraqi oil during the next few years”.
He explained that he”is scheduled by the ministry’s plan to reach production next year to 3.3 million barrels per day and 4.5 million barrels per day in 2013 and 6.5 million barrels per day in 2014”.
Jihad said that”the international oil companies operating in Iraq is well under way, and we began picking the fruits of its work through an increase in the production reached more than 400 thousand barrels per day, and in record time”.
Iraq produces about 2.7 million barrels of oil a day and exports about 2.1 million of them.
The ambition of this country to produce about 12 million barrels a day within six years, compared to 2.7 million now, what would make him second producer in OPEC.
The ministry has signed contracts for this purpose with international companies for the development of ten large fields.
The economy of Iraq, which witnessed the discovery of the first oil field in Kirkuk in 1925, mainly for crude oil, which represent revenues approximately 90 percent of revenues from the country.
Despite the aspirations of the Iraqi officials to cause increases in production have emerged from a new problem to the surface differences between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan region on the oil and gas law.
He said Iraq’s oil minister told AFP on the sidelines of the conference that”the Kurdistan Regional Government yesterday stopped pumping oil from fields in the region of the system of national oil exports without a known cause ‘.
He explained that”this is a loss of the Iraqi economy, and caused great damage to the Kurdish people, especially the Iraqi people in general”.
The source said an Iraqi oil preferred not to be named, said that”exports of the Kurdistan region, which reported rates of 150 thousand barrels of crude oil per day, declined in the past two weeks to about 55 thousand barrels per day.
The Kurdish officials have promised the delivery of oil production in the region to 200 thousand barrels by the end of this year.
And is likely to be caused by stopping the pumping region is a dispute with the central government in Baghdad about oil and gas law.
The region and condemned the government Monday of the draft law of oil and gas, which was approved by the central government in Baghdad, and demanded the withdraw it.
The government of Kurdistan in a statement that”the Iraqi Kurdistan presidency condemns this maneuver, and requests the Council of Ministers to withdraw the project immediately, because it is contrary to the Constitution”.
The statement added,”We call upon the President of the Parliament to reject this project is provided by the Government and to continue the legislative work (the draft law submitted in 2007) by taking into account the amendments to all parties, including the reservations,”the Kurdish Alliance.
The Iraqi government agreed on 28 August, the draft law on oil and gas is intended to regulate the activities of leading supplier in the country after years of disagreements on this subject.
The project, which also needs the approval of Parliament, must be administered by the hydrocarbon sector, and production responsibilities distributed between Baghdad and the provinces.
And delayed the vote on such a law since 2007 because of disagreements between the central government in Baghdad, which hopes to have the upper hand to manage the country’s oil resources, and the authorities in Kurdistan region rich in hydrocarbons, which plans to retain control of its wealth.