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Politics

Northern exports stalled by Baghdad-Erbil disputes

With southern oil exports choked off by war, Baghdad cannot use its only backup pipeline route because of a fight with the KRG over customs revenue control.
Oil tanks at Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS). (UMIT BEKTAS/Reuters)
Nov 18, 2008

BREAKING: Text of Status Of Forces Agreement

A trusted source passed along what is believed to be the version of the SOFA approved Sunday by Iraq's Cabinet and signed Monday by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. It must still be approved by Iraq's Parliament, no easy task. Iraq Oil Report will have more on this Wednesday. Also […]

Nov 7, 2008

Interview: Iraq Ambassador to U.N. Hamid al-Bayati

The day after Barack Obama was elected to be the next U.S. president, Iraq's Ambassador to the United Nations Hamid al-Bayati called it inspiring. But on the ground in Iraq, Obama really wouldn't be too different from President Bush, he said. In an interview with United Press International’s Ben Lando on the sidelines of an […]

Oct 29, 2008

Iraq Oil Report must read: Q&A with Iraq oil revenue auditor Joe Christoff

Plus: *Barzani and Bush meet in Washington *SOFA update *Alive in Baghdad: How do Iraqi youths spend their free time? *Iraq Press Roundup *Much more Q & A: Joseph Christoff of the U.S. Government Accountability Office talks with the Council on Foreign Relations’ Greg Bruno about Iraq’s oil revenue. The GAO and Christoff’s analytical reports […]

Oct 28, 2008

Oil for Soil: Crisis Group proposes ‘grand bargain’ on Iraq oil land dispute

Plus: *Iraqi Kurd-central government tension escalates *Iraq limits oil companies to one lead role in oil deals *Former SCOP Chief Khawaja’s recommendations *U.S. threatens Iraq aid and other SOFA developments *Basra worker protest *Iraq Press Roundup *Much more Oil for Soil: the International Crisis Group is proposing what its calling a "grand bargain" to head […]

Oct 27, 2008

Maliki, oil and gas committee to meet on Iraq oil law

Draft version received in Parliament Sunday, kicked back to council of ministers for legal clarification Plus: *Japan envoy meets on Iraq oil *Chinese team expected in November *Industry Ministry workers demand pay promise *Reaction to U.S. attack on Syria-Iraq border *KBR accused of sticking U.S. taxpayers, shocking American workers in Iraq *Fallujah sewage project at […]

Oct 23, 2008

Iraq oil not part of OPEC cuts

Iraq not bound by quota; struggling to reverse decline Plus: *Walid Khadduri on the return of Big Oil to Iraq *Iraq presidency council gives oil smuggling law OK *SOFA Update: English text and analysis *Labor Minister target of suicide bomb *Iraqis suffer for lack of basic services *The Mahdi Army bides its time *Much more […]

Sep 19, 2008

State Dept. says Iraq oil trust fund bill could derail revenue sharing and oil laws

Plus: *Oil Minister Shahristani blames KRG oil deals for oil law delay *Top two on Parliament energy committee dispute oil issues *Former South Oil Co. head made official ministry adviser *Parliament sends electricity crisis to special committee *Kurdish MPs want Iraq-U.S. draft deal altered, fearing attack *Elections law debate postponed *Ethnic tensions expanded, explained *Much […]

Sep 17, 2008

U.S. Senators push for Iraq oil trust fund

Plus: *Parliament held up on election law *Voter registration low *Alive in Baghdad: Getting to School in Iraq The Bush administration would press the Iraqi government to adopt an oil trust fund for distributing revenue or risk economic assistance under a bill proposed by Sens. Hillary Clinton and John Ensign, Ben Lando reports for United […]

Aug 24, 2008

Even Obama needs more than Biden to make sense of Iraqi oil deals

Barack Obama’s approach to Iraq is strikingly similar to that of the Bush administration and John McCain. In theory, the addition of Joe Biden to Obama’s ticket could change this, but over the last weeks and months there have been interesting moves by Biden to remove most traces of his "Iraq plans" from the public […]

Aug 5, 2008

Iraq hoarding oil profits?

The soaring price of oil will leave the Iraqi government with a cumulative budget surplus of as much as $79 billion by year’s end an American federal oversight agency has concluded in an analysis released on Tuesday. The unspent windfall, writes James Glanz for The New York Times, from oil sales from 2005 through 2008, […]