Monday 11 May 2009

Ambiguity still there...

Norway's DNO International ASA and Canada's Addax Petroleum along with its Turkish partner Genel Enerj have become the first western oil companies to be granted crude export permits from Iraq's central government.

The companies' Monday statements, which announced the formal notifications they received from Kurdistan Regional Government to launch export next month, didn't mention anything about how the terms of their controversial production-sharing contracts, which are rejected by the central government, will be implemented.

Only Addax Pterolum threw a paragraph in its statement in which it prepares the audience for something in the horizon, I guess.

"The crude oil will be marketed by the State Oil Marketing Organization ("SOMO") and revenues will be directed to Addax Petroleum and Genel Energy through the coordination of the KRG on terms to be agreed under the framework of the production sharing contract," it said without elaborating.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Kassakhoon,

Which contracts are the Iraq Oil Ministery having in mind in this statement today?

Quoto:
"The Iraqi Oil Ministry still considers contracts signed by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with foreign oil companies illegal"

This can't be the contracts which just have been approved export from 1 June 2009.

In same articel:

Quote:
"News that oil from Kurdistan's Tawke and Taq Taq fields could finally be sold outside Iraq was seen as a possible sign that the Iraqi government in Baghdad, which has long opposed the Kurdish contracts, had changed course."

As far as I see the statement from Iraq today DOES NOT change anything with regards to the Tawke and Taq Taq fields that ave been approved export-license.

What do you think about it.

Ref. the link:

http://kurdsat.tv/E_Zyatir.aspx?CoriHewal=Kurdistani&Rizbendi=2810

kassakhoon said...

Dear anonymous,

There is a huge space of ambiguity with both sides' statements, I mean Hawrami and al-Shahristani.

Until now both of them are deliberately avoiding the talk about fate of these contracts or whether there will be any modifications.

I heard from some sources close to Baghdad and Erbil that this issue (how the companies will be paid) is still pending and the two sides are still discussing it.

In addition to what Addax put in its statement, my guess says that there will be something in this regard.

Anonymous said...

But is the Iraq Oil minister specific referring to the Tawke and Tac Tac-contracts as the illegal?

I do not believe so.

One - Iraq/KRG have just agreed to export from those fields.

When the oil minister is saying "illegal", I suppose he is reffering to the 25 other contracts that have not got acceptance for export.

As far as I see both contracts for Tawke and Taq Taq is LEGAL and therefore Iraq and KRG have agreed to the export for those two fields.

The statement from Iraq Oil Minister today IS NOT about Tawke and Taq Taq as I see it.

How do you think?

Kind regards,

Kassakhoon said...

Dear anonymous,

It could be why not.Iraqi central government could recognize only those deals signed before Feb. 2007 which Tawke and Taq Taq part of them...who knows.

Joel Wing said...

Here's a rundown of the previous Baghdad-Kurdistan oil deal that fell through last year and a list of which contracts Baghdad feels are legal because they were signed before the Kurds passed their own oil, and which are considered illegal.

http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2008/12/baghdad-tries-to-cut-deal-with-kurds-to.html

Kassakhoon said...

Dear motown67,

Thanks a lot for this.

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