Energy

Oil Ministry slashes upstream spending for 2026

Urgent austerity plan aims to cut $1.4 billion from oil field budgets nationwide in 2026 without affecting production — a warning sign of fiscal trouble for Iraq.

Oil Minister Hayyan Abdulghani (center left) and Deputy Oil Minister for Upstream Bassim Mohammed Khdair (center right) meet with Zaid Elyaseri (far left), the president of BP Iraq, in Baghdad on Jan. 26, 2026, to discuss the company's upstream plans and project expenses. (Photo credit: Oil Ministry)

Feb 2, 2024

Q&A: Montaser Kadhim Haloub, director of the Southern Oil Projects Commission

Iraq's state-run Oil Projects Company has helped drive recent progress at Rumaila and the Shuaiba refinery, but key export expansion projects are still far from completion.

Jan 31, 2024

Iraq delivers steady oil production in 2023 despite turbulence

Oil Ministry aims for capacity increases in 2024 despite tighter OPEC-plus quota and infrastructure bottlenecks.

Jan 27, 2024

Drone strike hits Khor Mor, causing temporary power cuts

Thursday's attack on the gas field — the seventh in two years — caused a fire and forced a shutdown in gas production critical for power supplies in both Kurdistan and federal Iraq.

Jan 24, 2024

Q&A: Hossam Hussein Wali, director general of the South Refineries Company

Iraq's largest refinery has expanded its capacity by 70,000 bpd after long delays related to an unresolved dispute with a contractor.

Jan 16, 2024

Progress on Kurdistan budget deal, but obstacles remain

Baghdad approves temporary funding deal but unresolved oil issues hang over a potential budget law amendment to unlock more reliable financial transfers.

Jan 13, 2024

Q&A: Farhan Muhssin al-Fartousi, head of the General Company for Ports of Iraq

Recent progress in the long-delayed Grand Fao Port project is raising Iraq's hopes of becoming a major international commerce hub.

Jan 11, 2024

Iraqi exports finish down year with a December surge

Nationwide oil sales dropped in 2023 due to the northern pipeline outage, but federal exports hit a four-year high in December.

Jan 9, 2024

PetroChina takes over as West Qurna 1 operator

Iraq's second-largest oil field has a new operator as ExxonMobil moves forward with an agreement to exit the project.

Dec 15, 2023

Q&A: Marfaa Kadhim al-Asadi, deputy director of Basra Gas Company

Iraq's marquee initiative to reduce gas flaring is expanding, though uncertainties remain around gas supply.

Dec 7, 2023

Oil exports and revenues slump in November

Export volumes are expected to slide further as Iraq makes new OPEC-plus commitment to support prices with reduced output.