APS Diplomat Operations in Oil Diplomacy articles from May 2008

APS Diplomat Operations in Oil Diplomacy archives from May 2008

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 27 - Iraq's Oil Exceeds Saudi Arabia's.
May 26, 2008... Baghdad on May 19 dramatically increased the official size of Iraq proven oil reserves after new data suggested they would exceed Saudi Arabia's and be the largest in the world. Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh told The Times new...

Prospects Improve But Legal Delays Hurt.(Brief article)
May 26, 2008... Saleh said the new estimate of proven oil reserves had been based on recent geological surveys and seismic data compiled by "reputable, international oil companies", adding: "This is a serious figure from credible sources". But the Iraqi...

Baghdad To Limit INOC Power.
May 26, 2008... The new petroleum law will revive the stated-owned Iraq National Oil Co. (INOC). But ministers vow this will be less bureaucratic and its powers are to be significantly curtailed under Baghdad's latest energy policy. Saleh said two senior Iraqi...

Exports To Rise.(Brief article)
May 26, 2008... The State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) aims to sell an extra 125,000 b/d of crude oil from northern Kirkuk fields in June, lifting overall shipments to a post-war record. SOMO Director-General Falah al-'Amri on May 19 said if all went...

The Global Perspective.
May 26, 2008... Talking to reporters at the World Economic Forum for the Middle East held in Egypt's Sinai resort of Sharm el-Shaikh, Minister Shahristani on May 19 said the world's physical crude oil supply was already higher than demand so more crude from...

KRG Continues To Sign EPSAs.
May 26, 2008... Despite repeated warnings by Shahristani and other central government officials to the Kurds in the north and IOCs not to sign deals not in line with Baghdad's E&P approach, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) continues to sign exploration...

Fadhila On Oil Theft.
May 26, 2008... Al-Fadhila al-Islamiya, a leading Shi'ite party in oil-rich Basra, is asking for all post-2004 Iraqi oil ministers to discuss the issue of oil smuggling. It has been accused by Baghdad government officials of being behind smuggling in the...

Pentagon Faults Huge Pay To Contractors.
May 26, 2008... A Pentagon audit of $8.2 bn in US tax-payer money spent by the US Army on contractors in Iraq has found that almost none of the payments followed federal rules and that in some cases, contracts worth millions of dollars, were paid despite...

US Troop Reductions Possible.
May 26, 2008... President George W. Bush's nominees for commander of US forces in the GME and senior commander in Baghdad on May 22 told a Senate hearing that modest troop reductions might be possible this autumn and that the US might not need to strengthen...

JaM & Al-Qaeda Said To Be Defeated.
May 26, 2008... On May 24, senior spokesmen for anti-US and Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr claimed that US-backed Iraqi troops had arrested more than 350 suspected members of Sadr's Jaysh al-Mahdi (JaM) militia in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad on charges of...