http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article1338280.ece
Steve Marshall , News Wires
24 September 2013 08:37 GMT
The Iraqi government is reportedly demanding that a new oil pipeline linking the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region with Turkey is connected to the existing state-owned network so that crude flows can be monitored.
The 300,000 barrel-per-day route, expected to be completed within the next few weeks, is being built by Kurdistan to gain greater control over its resources amid an ongoing stand-off with the Baghdad regime over resource sovereignty.
Exports from the region via the main Kirkuk-to-Ceyhan pipeline remain blocked as Iraq and Kurdistan have so far failed to reach an agreement on payments owed by the federal government to oil companies working in the region, with talks at a standstill.
"We have asked the KRG to connect [the new pipeline ] to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline before the pumping station so that we can meter exactly how much crude has been pumped," Iraq’s Deputy Prime minister for Energy Affairs Hussain Shahristani was reported as saying by Reuters, adding that Baghdad had not received any response.
Kurdistan's oil production capacity is now at 300,000 bpd and is set to rise rapidly to 400,000 bpd by the end of this year, most of it destined for export, according to the region’s Energy Minister Ashti Hawrami.
With the further construction of new pumping stations, the new pipeline would be able to export more than 1 million bpd by the end of 2015 and 2 million bpd by 2019, he said recently.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has rejected Baghdad’s claims that production sharing and exploration pacts signed with foreign oil companies are illegal, which last week inspired the provincial council of Nineveh to give its governor the power to sign similar deals.
ExxonMobil angered Iraq by signing production sharing contracts with Kurdistan for exploration and development of six blocks in 2011, two of which are in areas where both Nineveh and Kurdistan claim jurisdiction.
Shahristani said ExxonMobil had made a “serious error” in negotiating with the KRG and that the US supermajor had been asked by Baghdad to “scale down” its participation in the West Qurna-1 oilfield in southern Iraq, where it is looking to sell down its operated interest.
State-owned PetroChina and Indonesia’s national oil company Pertamina are reported to be in the frame to acquire stakes of 25% and 15%, respectively, in the $50 billion project, which would cut ExxonMobil’s existing 60% holding to 20%.
The other partners are Shell on 15% and Iraqi state company Midland Oil with 25%.
Exports from the region via the main Kirkuk-to-Ceyhan pipeline remain blocked as Iraq and Kurdistan have so far failed to reach an agreement on payments owed by the federal government to oil companies working in the region, with talks at a standstill.
"We have asked the KRG to connect [the new pipeline ] to the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline before the pumping station so that we can meter exactly how much crude has been pumped," Iraq’s Deputy Prime minister for Energy Affairs Hussain Shahristani was reported as saying by Reuters, adding that Baghdad had not received any response.
Kurdistan's oil production capacity is now at 300,000 bpd and is set to rise rapidly to 400,000 bpd by the end of this year, most of it destined for export, according to the region’s Energy Minister Ashti Hawrami.
With the further construction of new pumping stations, the new pipeline would be able to export more than 1 million bpd by the end of 2015 and 2 million bpd by 2019, he said recently.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has rejected Baghdad’s claims that production sharing and exploration pacts signed with foreign oil companies are illegal, which last week inspired the provincial council of Nineveh to give its governor the power to sign similar deals.
ExxonMobil angered Iraq by signing production sharing contracts with Kurdistan for exploration and development of six blocks in 2011, two of which are in areas where both Nineveh and Kurdistan claim jurisdiction.
Shahristani said ExxonMobil had made a “serious error” in negotiating with the KRG and that the US supermajor had been asked by Baghdad to “scale down” its participation in the West Qurna-1 oilfield in southern Iraq, where it is looking to sell down its operated interest.
State-owned PetroChina and Indonesia’s national oil company Pertamina are reported to be in the frame to acquire stakes of 25% and 15%, respectively, in the $50 billion project, which would cut ExxonMobil’s existing 60% holding to 20%.
The other partners are Shell on 15% and Iraqi state company Midland Oil with 25%.
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