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)

Jan 7, 2025

Iraq’s 2024 oil exports recede to 9-year low

OPEC-plus dynamics and the ongoing outage of Iraq's northern export pipeline continue to limit Iraqi oil exports, though revenues were steady year-on-year.

Jan 2, 2025

Iraq-Iran fuel oil barter deal pays down debt backlog

Iraq has been transferring large volumes of high-sulfur fuel oil to Iranian traders in a deal to help resolve energy import debts.

Dec 27, 2024

Iraqi oil output falls again in November

Maintenance operations at Iraq's largest fields are bringing production down as the Oil Ministry continues to cut amidst OPEC-plus pressure.

Dec 21, 2024

Baghdad court rejects Oil Ministry effort to invalidate KRG oil contracts

The Karkh Court of Appeals has denied an Oil Ministry appeal and reversed a series of 2022 rulings that declared several KRG oil contracts void.

Dec 10, 2024

Parliament goes into recess without passing KRG oil amendment

Budget legislation that could have helped restart Iraq’s northern crude exports is delayed until at least January.

Dec 5, 2024

Iraqi oil exports recede as OPEC-plus extends cuts

Iraq's oil sales continued a slow decline in November as the OPEC-plus coalition decided quotas will stay lower for longer.

Nov 26, 2024

Iranian pipeline outage underscores urgency of Iraq’s domestic gas projects

Iraqi gas imports have fallen by about 70 percent after Iran scheduled a temporary pipeline maintenance period to prioritize its own energy supply.

Nov 21, 2024

CORRECTED: Iraq deepens production cuts

The Oil Ministry made major cuts at state-operated fields in October in a bid to answer OPEC-plus concerns over quota compliance.

Nov 19, 2024

Mansuriya gas field contract signed despite security, political challenges

China's Jereh and the local firm PetroIraq clinch a deal that could give a badly needed boost to Iraq's domestic energy supply.

Nov 12, 2024

Q&A: Jassim Kamel Marzouq, director of the Khor al-Zubair port

As Iraq’s fuel trade increases, a central hub for fuel exports and imports is expanding.