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Welcome to This Week in Iraq, your one-stop source for all of the most important Iraq news, curated by the editors of Iraq Oil Report. To sign up and receive this free newsletter in your inbox every week click here.
Top stories
Iraq’s main Shia Islamist political coalition has nominated Ali Falih Kadhim al-Zaidi to become the country's next prime minister, breaking weeks of internal deadlock between Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The nomination came one day after the expiration of a 15-day constitutional timer that was initiated by the election of a new Iraqi President, Nizar Amedi, in what was widely seen as a gambit by Sudani to create momentum toward winning a second term. Instead, however, the deadline pressure appeared to deepen a political rift with Maliki, whose staunch opposition forced the coalition to seek a compromise candidate. The prime minister designate now has 30 days under Article 76 of the Iraqi Constitution to assemble a Cabinet capable of winning parliamentary approval. Read the full story on Iraq Oil Report.
Southern exports remain severely disrupted by U.S.-Iran hostilities, with no clear indication of when the situation will ease. The arrival of an empty tanker to load from Iraq's single point mooring (SPM) system in the Basra Gulf raised hopes that shipping traffic might pick up and enable at least a partial unwinding of wartime production cuts. But then Iran blocked an Indian-flagged tanker carrying Iraqi crude from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, sending a clear signal that Iraq and its crude buyers cannot yet count on any reliable freedom of navigation. In an interview with Iraq Oil Report, Deputy Oil Minister Bassim Mohammed Khudair confirmed that southern production is likely to remain severely reduced until southern export loadings can resume with greater consistency.
Energy & Economy
Turkey’s state pipeline company BOTAŞ plans to expand oil-storage capacity at Ceyhan to 45 million barrels, Asharq Business reports. The announcement comes as regional producers look for ways to reduce exposure to any future Strait of Hormuz disruptions. Turkey is positioning itself as a potentially larger outlet for Iraqi crude if Baghdad advances pipeline options toward Turkey, alongside other proposed routes through Syria and Jordan.
Iraq is trying to advance the Basra-Haditha oil pipeline project, Al-Ghad Press reports. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered the formation of a special body to follow implementation of the project, which could improve strategic flexibility to move crude within Iraq and could eventually become the first leg of a future pipeline network enabling exports from Basra to Jordan, Turkey, and/or Syria.
Brazil overtook Iraq as a supplier of crude to China, as trade patterns shift during the Hormuz disruption, Shafaq News reports. Economist Manar al-Obaidi told Shafaq that Brazil and Angola increased their share of China’s crude imports in the first quarter at the expense of Iraq and Gulf producers. The shift reflects not only disruption tied to Hormuz but also structural disadvantages for Iraq, including less flexible supply conditions and stronger competition from producers seen as more reliable or more attractive to refiners, raising the risk that Iraq could lose market share even after the resolution of wartime disruptions.
Iraq’s electricity ministry says its LNG platform is due in early June, but the first cargo is likely delayed. The Electricity Ministry told the Iraqi News Agency that work on Iraq’s LNG import platform is moving quickly and that the government has set June 1 as the target date for completion, with expected capacity of 500 million to 750 million cubic feet per day. However, Attaqa reports that Iraq is unlikely to import its first LNG cargo before early August, with the delay linked to the Hormuz closure, lost oil revenues, budget problems, and delays affecting the Khor al-Zubair platform.
Security
Foreign missions remain slow to return to Baghdad even after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a temporary ceasefire. Several foreign and Arab diplomatic missions that left Iraq during the war have not fully returned, Al-Mada reports.
Washington is offering up to $10 million for information on three Iran-aligned Iraqi militia leaders. The U.S. Justice Department's Rewards for Justice office announced tipster awards for information on Haider al-Gharawi, leader of Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, accusing the group of attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities and military personnel in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria; Abu Alaa al-Walae, the leader of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, whose group it accused of attacks on U.S. diplomatic and military targets in Iraq and Syria; and Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the leader of Kataib Hezbollah.
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