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Checkpoint Kurdistan


17841 cyber 31/8 2009 01:51
Oversigt

I forsøg på at style sig som en selvstændig stat, er der fyret op ved grænsekontrollerne i Kurdistan.

Som iraker må man vente et par timer, før der gives lov til passage, og man må pænt aflevere dit pas, som kan hentes igen når landet forlades, ikke noget med at blive længere end aftalt.

Irakerne er utilfredse med at de behandles som fremmede i Kurdistan, føler at Kurdistan er en stat i staten.

Siden Kurdistan kom under vestlig beskyttelse efter golfkrigen i 1991, er landet blomstret op. Ambitiøse storcentre, cafeer og skinnende boligkomplekser er skudt op. Landet bærer ikke præg af krigen i Irak.

Fra de fleste bygninger flages der kurdisk, og de fleste unge taler kurdisk og ikke arabisk.

Kurdistan er i Iraks forfatning anerkendt som en føderal enhed, og den delvist selvstyrende region er blevet stadigt mere selvhævdende de sidste år, og det at regionen uafhængigt har underskrevet olieaftaler, har ophidset irakiske embedsmænd.

Kurdistan har alt hvad der kræves af en selvstændig stat:

Egen grundlov, eget parlament, eget flag, egen hær, egen grænsepatruljering, egen nationalsang, eget uddannelsessystem, egen international lufthavn, endog eget passtempel.

Kurdistan er meget engageret i diplomatiske forbindelser med verdenssamfundet, og står stærkere og stærkere som selvstændig region i Irak, hvor det slet skjulte mål helt er, at løsrive sig fra Irak.

Mit spørgsmål vil være: Vil tingene flaske sig hurtigt for lille DNO, eller skal vi igennem flere års tovtrækkerier, før der til sidst kommer en uafhængigheds erklæring fra kurdisk side med en efterfølgende international anerkendelse?



31/8 2009 09:08 017845



Hej Cyber,

Det forekommer mig mere og mere tydeligt at det olieslagsmål over kontrakter er indlejret i en større politisk strid, som sikkert springer ud i fuld flor når amerikanerne forlader landet. Jeg vil tro at det står klart for alle irakiske politikere at netop oliepengene både hvis de kommer eller ikke komme vil være med til at fremskynde kurdisk selvstændighed, på den ene eller den anden måde. Men det med pengene må de da få afklaret rimeligt stærkt uanset.



31/8 2009 10:31 cyber 017851



DNO vil få deres betaling, men jeg er bange for at det sker uden accept fra Baghdad, og så trækkes linierne endnu kraftigere op, men det kan også være ønsket fra kurdisk side. Mere og mere tyder på, at det internationale samfund bakker op om Kurdistan som selvstændig stat.
Olien fra Tawke-feltet løber gennem rørledninger til Tyrkiet, så Baghdad er sat skatmat i den forbindelse.



31/8 2009 14:28 cyber 017887



Kurdistan fortsætter på egen hånd

Foreign company signs oil deal with Kurdish government.

OIL Search Ltd has signed a seismic option agreement with Kurdistan regional government (KRG) over block K42 in Iraq, the National reported.

http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/67472/



4/9 2009 22:55 cyber 018166



Irakisk Kurdistan sidder på omkring 45 billion barrels of reserves, og endnu et olieselskab, canadiske Bayou Bend Petroleum, har underskrevet aftaler om efterforskning og udvikling med KRG.

Vi er meget glade for at have opnået tre første klasses aktiver i, hvad der uden tvivl er et af de mest attraktive udforskning områder på kloden, sagde BBP President og Chief Executive Officer Keith Hill.

http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2009/9/investkurdistan485.htm



31/8 2009 23:35 JCBN 017942



http://www.zawya.com/printstory.cfm?storyid=v52n35-1TS02&l=123500090831

Politics Shaping Iraqi Oil Development Program

Iraq’s second upstream bidding round is taking place against the background of an increasingly bitter campaign for parliamentary elections, scheduled for end-January. The shine has come off Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s reputation as the restorer of security, with a series of recent bombings culminating with one in Baghdad on 19 August, which killed around 100 people and wounded another 500. Improved export flows and revenues are likely to provide a welcome tonic for Mr Maliki (see table), but more is needed.

The second upstream round, which could succeed in awarding large amounts of acreage without appearing to be too accommodating to foreign oil interests, could provide just the electoral lifeline Mr Maliki requires. His United Iraqi Alliance allies, the Shi'ite Islamic Supreme Council in Iraq (ISCI), have decided not to run with him in January. While ISCI’s standing was somewhat damaged by its poor showing in local elections in January, Mr Maliki still needs to find support from both Sunnis and Kurds for a second term of office.

The Kurdish question is perhaps the most interesting in terms of its implications for oil policy. It is far too early to say with any confidence, but the need to forge an alliance with the politicians in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) could have implications for Baghdad’s long-standing dispute over KRG oil contracts. In Istanbul on 25 August, Minister of Oil Husain al-Shahristani reiterated his opposition to companies dealing directly with the KRG and threatened to disqualify China’s Sinopec, which last month bought Addax’s KRG assets. “We sent a letter and are waiting for an official response,” he said. “The position of the Iraqi government is that any company that does not respect Iraqi laws will not be allowed to work in Iraq and be qualified for the bidding round. We are investigating.” But it remains to be seen if this position is sustainable given new and rapidly evolving Iraqi political realities.

Baghdad Moves On All Fronts

Coincidence or not, Baghdad is currently implementing its most ambitious project schedule since the 2003 US-led invasion. In addition to the bidding round, the ministry has its own plans for expanding production. “We have formulated an urgent plan to deal with falling production,” 'Abd al-Karim al-Laibi, Iraq’s deputy minister for the upstream told reporters in Istanbul on 24 August. “We have implemented part of that plan. Over the past three months there has been an increase in exports of more than 200,000 b/d,” he said. As well as a large program of well rehabilitation work, the plan involves more than 150 new wells. Iraq is now producing over 2.5mn b/d, Mr Laibi said. Crude from the KRG, which began exporting in June, is only contributing 34,000 b/d of this, he said. Initial export volumes were to have been at around 90,000 b/d (MEES , 8 June).

Meanwhile, a wide-ranging drilling agreement with UK firm Mesopotamia Petroleum appears to be dead (MEES , 2 March). “They had a four month period to provide the specified funds and they were unable to do that,” says Mr Laibi. “We are not attaching much importance to this agreement,” he adds. “We now have better and more offers from many companies that are well-known internationally. The barrier to the entry of well-known companies to Iraq has been removed.”

The Ministry of Oil is in talks to finalize a deal with Shell over the company’s plans for gas development in southern Iraq. Mitsubishi formally signed on 24 August to take a 5% stake in the project. And the ministry has launched a series of bilaterally negotiated field developments. The furthest advanced is the Nasiriyah field development, for which a Nippon-led consortium is the hot favorite. “We had a problem with how payments would be made, Mr Laibi said. “There was a meeting [with Nippon] in Baghdad about a month ago. And today there was a meeting. We made a proposal and today they gave their final agreement to that,” he continued, adding that there remained some details to be worked out. Kyodo news agency on 24 August reported that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) had been agreed between Nippon and the ministry.

The ministry has also met Japex to discuss development of the southern portion of the East Baghdad field. Unlike other projects, it is not being competitively bid in an effort to fast track the project. “It was their idea. They carried out the study,” said Mr Laibi. Crude from the project will feed expansion at the Daura refinery (MEES , 6 July). And Baghdad is also interested in similar deals on the 1.35bn barrels Tuba and the 800mn barrels Abu 'Amoud (previously called Rafidain) fields. “More than four companies are interested in Tuba, and three in Abu 'Amoud,” said Mr Laibi. India’s ONGC and its partner Sonatrach had a provisional Saddam-era agreement for a 180,000 b/d development at Tuba. Now Japan’s Arabian Oil is among those which have expressed an interest, MEES understands. Meanwhile Russia’s Soyuzneftegaz continues to pursue its Saddam-era interest in Abu 'Amoud (MEES , 22 June).

The priority for Baghdad is to finalize its first bidding round award to BP for a 1.85mn b/d capacity boost to Rumaila. Ominously for Baghdad’s hopes for a quick processing of Round 2 awards, Rumaila is already running behind schedule. In addition to cleaning up the legal language in the contract, Baghdad has requested a higher baseline than the 956,000 b/d envisaged when the deal was awarded. “We have discussed with BP to reconsider the starting point of production in line with the current production,” said Mr Laibi. “Now we are doing more than 1.05mn b/d. It is not possible to accept less.” But defining exactly what production stands at is a challenge he concedes. “In practice there is no accurate metering equipment in the fields.”

Misan Moving

State-owned Misan Oil Company (MOC) is working hard to boost capacity and resolve the issue of its border fields with Iran, which has hampered development in the province, MOC Director General Ali Mi'raj tells MEES . Around 90,000 b/d is produced from the Buzorgan, Fawqa and Abu Ghirab fields. And a 20-well contract with oil service firm Weatherford should add another 20,000 b/d next year, says Mr Mi'raj. The Fawqa and Abu Ghirab structures extend into Iran and a unitization agreement is needed. “We have established a joint technical committee to resolve this,” he says. “I am the head of the Iraqi side. The committee will start work in September.”

In addition to 10,000 b/d from Amara, MOC is also producing 4,000-5,000 b/d from the Nur field, which only started up in May, Mr Mi'raj said. The company is reviewing its options as regards Nur’s development, and the field could go for an EPC contract on the lines of southern East Baghdad, Tuba and Abu 'Amoud, he said. MOC is also in talks for a wide ranging service agreement with contractor Oilserv. “In Sha Allah we will sign in September,” Mr Mi'raj said. The choice of the Kurdish firm, which is linked to the family of KRG President Masoud Barzani, is noteworthy, given tensions between Baghdad and Irbil. Oilserv, which has only been formed in the last couple of years, is run by former Schlumberger employee Amjad Barzinci and has backing from Mr Barzani’s nephew Sirwan Barzani, who heads KRG telecoms firm Korek, MEES understands.



1/9 2009 22:08 cyber 017983



Iraks kurdere indgår olie- og gasaftaler

01. september 2009 kl. 17:10 på P1

Iraks kurdere indgår olie- og gasaftaler (08:14)
Der er fuld tryk på både olie og gashaner i de kurdiske områder af Irak, og pengene ruller ind.
Men områdets fremtidige status i forhold til centralregeringen i Bagdad og hvem der reelt har ret til at bestemme over dets olie- og gasindtægter er fortsat uafklaret.

Udenlandske firmaer står i kø
Kuglepennene gløder i de kurdiske regioner i Nordirak, hvor udenlandske firmaer indgår den ene aftale efter den anden om olieudvinding.

Senest har Oil Search netop tegnet en optionsaftale med Den Kurdiske Regionalregering i Nordirak om at undersøge mulige olieforekomster i området.

I maj og juni indgik de kurdiske områder i Nordirak tre kæmpekontrakter med fem af de 35 uafhængige olieselskaber, der for tiden opererer i regionen.

To af Europas største gasselskaber, østrigske OMV og ungarske MOL, indgik en aftale om at transportere gas fra to store felter i Irakisk Kurdistan til Europa igennem den planlagte Nabucco-rørledning.

I begyndelsen af juni kunne det canadiske olieselskab Heritage fortælle, at de var i færd med at opkøbe endnu et oliefirma i Kurdistan. Denne gang det tyrkiske Genel Enerji.

Det skete som led i en aftale til en værdi af fem milliarder dollar. Opkøbet gør Heritage til den største operatør i Nordirak. Måneden før meddelte samme Heritage at det havde gjort et nyt stort oliefund i oliefeltet Miran Vest.

Indtjeningen deles mellem Bagdad og kurderne
Indtjeningen fra eksporten deles mellem Bagdad, kurderne og de involverede oliefirmaer. Og aftalen giver firmaerne en sikkerhed for at de rent faktisk kan tjene penge på de indgåede kontrakter.

I hvert fald på papiret.

For faktisk har de ikke set skyggen af en indtægt fra olieeksporten endnu.

Det fortæller det norske oliefirma DNO, der var det første firma som begyndte at bore i Irak efter Saddam-styrets fald og som eksporterer omkring 45.000 tønder olie om dagen, til en værdi af op til 100 millioner dollar pr. måned.

Betalingen er strandet i interne skænderier
Betalingen er strandet i skænderier mellem Den Kurdiske Regionalregering og Bagdad om hvor meget hver part skal have.

Parterne har heller ikke endeligt afklaret om Den Kurdiske Regionalregering overhovedet har myndighed til at underskrive bindende kontrakter med udenlandske firmaer uden om centralregerigen eller ej.

Forfatningen er uklar
Den irakiske forfatning er ikke klar i mæglet i det spørgsmål, fordi forskellige artikler i den kan tolkes både til fordel for regionerne og centralregeringen.

Regeringen i Bagdad har truet med at sortliste firmaer der indgår aftaler med kurderne, men i sidste uge valgte den alligevel at godkende at kinesiske Sinopec gennem opkøb af det schweiziske firma Addax Petroleum har skaffet sig ret til at udvinde olie i Nordirak - skriver kinesiske medier.

Iraks produktion er langt fra regeringens mål
Irak producerer 2,3 millioner tønder olie om dagen på nuværende tidspunkt og det er under halvdelen af det produktionsmål på 6 millioner tønder dagligt som regeringen har sat.

Kilder i olieindustrien siger, at yderligere 100 milliarder tønder råolie kan ligge uopdaget hen i Irak, men nedslidning af den irakiske oliesektor og mangel på penge til nye investeringer og jagt på nye oliefelter, samt års sanktioner, krig og konflikter lægger hårdt pres på industrien.

http://www.dr.dk/P1/orientering/indslag/2009/09/01/182046.htm



3/9 2009 13:41 cyber 018073



Erbil,3 September (AKnews) – Oil export in Kurdistan Region will rise to one million barrel per day (bpd) in four years time, head of oil and gas committee in Iraq’s parliament said.

As of now, Kurdistan Region exports 150,000 bpd but would reach one million in the next four years, Ali H. Balo said.

The increase boosts oil and gas sector in the Region where would be impressed by various oil companies and it would no more resort to Iraqi oil refineries, he noted.

The KRG deputy finance minister Rashid Tahir said the increase would soar KRG budget because it increases Iraqi budget, 95 percent of which comes from oil income.

The KRG exported oil for first time on 1 June through Turkish pipelines.

http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/68300/



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