Top Energy Stories

Kamal Atroshi, the official head of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) oil and gas industry, has resigned. In recent months, more than a dozen industry, government, and political officials in Kurdistan have told Iraq Oil Report that Atroshi had been threatening to step down over tensions with KRG Prime Minister Masrur Barzani's team, which has managed the energy portfolio largely through loyalists appointed to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) — a situation that was complicated by health problems that frequently required Atroshi to travel abroad for treatment. A statement Thursday from Barzani's office said Atroshi's unspecified health issues were the reason behind his resignation, as upcoming treatments are expected to increase his time out of the country. The statement characterized his decision as "voluntary." Read the full story on Iraq Oil Report.

International oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are gearing up for increased upstream activity after reporting solid first-quarter earnings on the back of a surge in global oil prices. After two years of stagnating crude oil production levels — and despite Atroshi's resignation — new investment is set to provide a modest increase in capacity in 2022. Increased gas supplies are also expected from the expansion of the Khor Mor field, which is moving forward on schedule. Increments due to come online later in the year include a substantial boost from the Sarsang block, operated by HKN, with further small additions to come from the DNO-operated Bashiqa block, and from the Shaikan block, operated by Gulf Keystone of the U.S. But Kurdistan's oil sector is also facing an array of legal, political, and commercial risks. Read the full story on Iraq Oil Report.

Iraq is suffering from an unusually large wave of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a tick-born virus with a fatality rate of up to 40 percent. Case numbers are significantly higher than in previous years, health officials say. Iraq has now confirmed a total of 98 infections and 18 deaths since the beginning of 2022 — with almost half of this year's cases and one-third of the deaths recorded within the past two weeks, suggesting an escalating pace of spread. “Infections are rising, and rising dangerously, in all honesty,” said Health Ministry spokesperson Saif al-Badr. Read the full story on Iraq Oil Report.

More Iraq News

Akbar Shahid Ahmed for Huffington Post: Biden's top Middle East advisor "torched the house and showed up with a firehose"

Perhaps no one better reflects the national security establishment than the architect of Biden’s approach: Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.

As one of the few Washington operators who can boast of serving four successive presidents — both Republicans and Democrats — the 49-year-old McGurk is now more powerful than ever. And his personality, views and relationships are guiding American policy in a region where the U.S. has often made deadly, destabilizing mistakes, particularly over the almost 20 years during which McGurk has climbed up the ranks of government.

McGurk’s emphasis is on stability: He believes the U.S. should shore up local regimes, warts and all, as partners against threats like militancy, Iran’s nuclear capabilities and disruptions to global trade.

That view has largely guided America’s approach for decades. But today, many experienced analysts — including Biden’s own advisers — are questioning that tired strategy. They say it can convince Middle Eastern dictators they have unconditional support from Washington, and can blind the U.S. to the costs and the shakiness of authoritarian rule.

Reuters: Iraq makes it illegal to attempt normalising ties with Israel

Iraq's parliament approved a law on Thursday that will ban normalizing relations with Israel, at a time when several Arab countries have established formal ties.

The Iraqi parliament has been unable to convene on any other issue including electing a new president and forming its own government, prolonging a political standoff.

Iraq has never recognised the state of Israel since its establishment in 1948 and Iraqi citizens and companies cannot visit Israel, but the new law goes further, specifically criminalising any attempts to normalise relations with Israel.

Azhar Al-Rubaie for Al Jazeera: Climate change ravages Iraq as palm trees make way for desert

Southern Iraq was once known as the “black land” – the vast swaths of palm trees blocking out everything else, and providing food, shelter, and shade.

But the palm trees, as well as fruit trees and vegetable farms, have now mostly disappeared in and around the southern port city of Basra. Instead, real estate projects have taken over, as well as deserts.

The effect of climate change on agricultural land in Iraq, including rising water salinity and higher temperatures, has forced many farmers to turn to building and selling houses – but while that can lead to profits and cash in the short term, it is also deepening Basrawis’ vulnerability to climate disasters.

Reporters Without Borders: Two European journalists researching Yazidis held for a month in Iraq

German journalist Marlene Förster and Slovenian journalist Matej Kavčič were finally released last week, one month after their arrest in northern Iraq’s Sinjar region (Shengal in Kurdish), the location of the main Yazidi Kurdish settlement, where they spent several months researching the conditions of the Yazidis since the Islamic State pogroms in 2014.

Förster and Kavčič were returning from Yazidi New Year (Çarşema Sor) celebrations when they were arrested at an Iraqi army post on 20 April. After being interrogated for several hours, they were transferred to Mosul, and from there to Baghdad two days later.

After conducting an investigation, the Iraqi authorities concluded that they were indeed journalists and had no links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or any other armed group operating in the region. Although no official statement was issued, the Iraqi authorities cited “security measures and the expiry of their visas” as their grounds for holding them.

Sign up

Sign up here to receive This Week in Iraq in your inbox.