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 8, 2023

January oil exports dip as Iraq begins year of OPEC constraints

Both federal and KRG oil sales fell slightly as OPEC-plus gave no sign of lifting production caps.

Feb 8, 2023

Cabinet gives momentum to 5th bid round deals and Nibras project

The Sudani administration appears to be pushing forward long-delayed plans to develop Iraq’s upstream and downstream gas sector.

Feb 7, 2023

Northern crude exports resume after earthquake outage

More than 400,000 bpd of crude exports are back online after Turkish authorities determined there was no major damage to the pipeline to Ceyhan.

Feb 7, 2023

Northern oil export pipeline offline after massive earthquake

Precautionary outage is expected to be temporary as Turkish authorities work to confirm pipelines, pumping stations, and export infrastructure were not damaged.

Feb 4, 2023

TotalEnergies reverses Iraq exit decision, reviving hope for mega-deal

"Goodwill gesture" keeps the door open to further negotiations ahead of a Feb. 15 deadline, but key points of contention still appear unresolved.

Feb 1, 2023

TotalEnergies starts Iraq exit as negotiations falter

The death of the $27 billion deal would represent a multi-year setback in Iraq’s efforts to boost production of oil, gas, and electricity.

Jan 31, 2023

Iraq-Turkey arbitration moves one step closer to final ruling

A draft ruling is pending approval by the International Court of Arbitration, with Kurdistan's oil independence potentially hanging in the balance.

Jan 29, 2023

Oil minister appoints new deputies and removes several DGs

Hayyan Abdulghani's leadership team is taking shape, with some high-profile promotions and departures.

Jan 26, 2023

Iraqi court strikes down Kurdistan budget transfers

Iraq's highest court ruled against stop-gap financial transfers seen as key confidence-building measures in a sputtering rapprochement between Baghdad and Erbil.

Jan 19, 2023

Iraqi oil production rebounds in 2022, but faces headwinds in 2023

Output recovered to nearly pre-pandemic levels, but OPEC-plus policy and infrastructure constraints could keep Iraq from making further production gains in the new year.