Security

Akkas gas field falters despite increasing power needs

Even as wartime supply disruptions push Iraq toward a summertime electricity crisis, the Akkas gas field is producing at a fraction of its potential.

Representatives of the Iraqi Oil Ministry and the U.S. company SLB gather in Baghdad on July 22, 2025, for the signing of a contract for the development of the Akkas gas field. (Photo credit: Oil Ministry)

Oct 18, 2019

Iraq braces for Syria fallout

Refugees are already crossing the border and Iraqi security forces are contingency planning for a revived Islamic State insurgency.

Oct 9, 2019

War-weary provinces quiet during protests

Residents of Anbar and Ninewa feel solidarity with protesters denouncing the Iraqi government's chronic failures, but after years of trauma, they aren't staging demonstrations.

Oct 7, 2019

Protester shootings and political defections turn up heat on Iraqi government

The government of Adil Abd al-Mahdi on Sunday authorized new spending to placate protester demands, but violence in the streets continues.

Oct 3, 2019

Escalating protests target political establishment

A protest movement is taking aim at the country’s entire political class, prompting a heavy-handed government response and raising fears of spiraling violence.

Sep 12, 2019

Despite security efforts, insurgents pose new threats

Remnants of the IS militant group have stepped up the pace and reach of operations throughout northern Iraq, including attacks near energy infrastructure.

Aug 31, 2019

Iraq seeks minority partners to develop massive Mansuriya gas field via state company

After terminating its contract with TPAO, the Oil Ministry is relying on the state-run Midland Oil Company to operate a key gas field — and is seeking private-sector partners.

Jul 26, 2019

As Turkey-PKK conflict escalates, new risks for KRG

Two months into Turkey's new military offensive targeting PKK positions in Iraqi Kurdistan – and following the assassination of a Turkish diplomat in Erbil – a decades-old conflict is entering a volatile new phase.

Jun 19, 2019

Rockets hit multiple Basra oil sites

Katyusha rocket attacks hit facilities housing international oil companies, including Exxon, which had recently ordered foreign staff to return to Basra.

Jun 5, 2019

Basra oil sites draw renewed protests

Small-scale demonstrations at three oil installations raise the specter of last summer's destabilizing protest movement.

Jun 4, 2019

Q&A: Zuhair al-Araji, mayor of Mosul

To recover from a devastating war, Iraq’s second-largest city needs a massive mobilization of resources and coherent planning and organization – but it’s getting neither.