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)

May 26, 2016

UPDATE: KRG oil payments sputter on low revenue

DNO, Genel and Gulf Keystone confirm partial April payment, but delays threaten to undermine a new policy that had sparked some investor optimism.

May 26, 2016

Basra security reinforced amidst unrest near oil sites

New security leadership and armored reinforcements come to Iraq's oil capital, as protests over jobs and conflicts among tribes cause instability near major oil sites.

May 24, 2016

Q&A: Mohammed Sahib al-Daraji, Minister of Industry and Minerals

Using public-private partnerships - such as new petrochemicals projects with IOCs - Daraji hopes to ease the government out of industries where state-owned companies are losing money.

May 18, 2016

New investment revives modest hopes for KRG oil sector

After two years of non-payments and security concerns, Kurdistan-focused oil companies are gingerly starting to reinvest.

May 17, 2016

Faced with dominant rival, competing Kurdish parties reunite

Sulaimaniya’s PUK and Gorran parties have agreed to electioneer and vote together, hoping to clip the wings of acting President Massoud Barzani’s KDP.

May 9, 2016

New Dhi Qar oil firm gets $42 million kick-start

Finance Ministry "loan" to the new provincial oil company does not require repayment, as former assets of the South Oil Company are handed over.

May 4, 2016

Saboteurs bomb Khabbaz oil field again

At least two wells are burning and production has stopped at an oil field in Kirkuk after saboteurs exploited security gaps for the second time in a month.

May 3, 2016

Exports and revenue rebound in April

Initial data show record exports and bounce in oil price, garnering five-month high in revenues.

Apr 29, 2016

South oil workers moonlighting as weapon designers

To help militias fighting against IS, South Oil Company engineers have designed smartphone-activated rocket launchers and remote-control robots for defusing explosives.

Apr 28, 2016

KRG-Iran pipeline talks gain momentum

The two sides are developing detailed technical plans for an oil export pipeline, though political approvals are still pending.