Energy

January oil production inches higher despite Rumaila dip

Nationwide crude production increased by just over 50,000 bpd as state-operated Basra fields ramped up to compensate for a temporary decline at Rumaila.

Deputy Oil Minister Bassim Mohammed Khudair (center) and Basra Oil Company Director General Bassim Abdul Karim (right) tour part of the Ratawi project led by TotalEnergies in February 2026. (Photo credit: Oil Ministry)

Oct 7, 2022

Backup plans emerge for Iraqi gas as TotalEnergies faces delays

Political hurdles and unresolved commercial negotiations have set back Iraq's most ambitious plans for associated gas. Smaller projects could start to fill the vacuum.

Sep 28, 2022

Q&A: Dhia Shaker al-Luaibi, director of Majnoon oil field

One of Iraq's largest oil fields is nearly doubling its capacity next year — and, with new seismic work, likely increasing reserves beyond its current 47 billion barrels.

Sep 27, 2022

Q&A: Haidar Fakher Nasser, director of Khor al-Zubair port

Iraq could soon gain a new option for exporting crude with the ongoing expansion of Khor al-Zubair port.

Sep 22, 2022

Iraq’s highest court strikes down INOC

The Federal Supreme Court appeared to end Oil Minister Ihsan Ismaael's fledgling efforts to create an Iraqi National Oil Company, ruling its legal foundations "invalid."

Sep 20, 2022

Court again delays case against Kurdistan IOCs

Gazprom Neft sends lawyer to court, bucking trend of companies ignoring Oil Ministry lawsuits seeking to invalidate KRG oil contracts.

Sep 19, 2022

Weatherford pledges to obey Baghdad’s blacklist and exit Kurdistan

The U.S. company joins a growing list of blue-chip oil services firms bowing to the Oil Ministry's pressure campaign against the KRG energy sector.

Sep 16, 2022

UPDATE: Partial restart at major export terminal as details of damage emerge

Iraq’s Al-Basra Oil Terminal has restarted at reduced capacity after it went offline early Friday due to leaks.

Sep 14, 2022

August production edges higher

Nationwide production topped 4.7 million bpd for the second straight month — the highest output since 2019.

Sep 12, 2022

IOCs double down on Kurdistan despite legal threats

Foreign companies are putting more money into Kurdistan oil fields — and projecting increased production — despite Baghdad's legal campaign against the KRG oil sector.

Sep 8, 2022

Iraq’s oil exports decline as northern sales slump

Exports fell for the second straight month despite elevated OPEC-plus output targets.