Iraqi Government News

When the United States and 11 allies published a joint statement last week calling for an end to Houthi attacks from Yemen on Red Sea shipping, they hoped the implicit threat of force might at least reduce the intensity of fire on foreign vessels.Instead, Wednesday saw the largest single attack yet on foreign vessels, according to Western defence officials, launched seven days after the joint statement. It appeared a clear attempt to call the West's bluff, just as other tensions across the Middle East appear to be on the rise.In Iraq and Syria, U.S.

International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) formally opened the first phase of its new greenfield terminal development at its Basra Gateway Terminal in the North Port, Umm Qasr, Iraq. The official inauguration of the new facility marks the implementation of the first entirely foreign financed development of new port infrastructure in Iraq. The Hon. Minister of Transport for Iraq, Kadhem Finjan al-Hamami was in attendance as Enrique K. Razon Jr, ICTSI Chairman and President, formally cut the ribbon, symbolizing the opening of the terminal after which the first container was lifted by one of the two new ship-to-shore cranes installed at the terminal. Also present at the ceremony were Dr. Majid M.

Even though the coup attempt in Turkey  failed and the transportation situation normalized quickly thereafter, Poten & Partners take a look at the importance of Turkey to the tanker market. Turkey is not a large oil or gas producer; according to JODI its crude oil production amounts to about 48 thousand barrels per day (Kb/d) of crude oil and almost 400 million m3 of natural gas in 2015. The country’s oil consumption averaged about 927 Kb/d in 2015, about 1% of the global consumption. Neither of these statistics would make the country an important energy market player. However, the importance of Turkey to the energy market is related to its geographical location; the country is a major transfer hub for oil and gas.

Iraq said it filed a lawsuit against Greek shipping company Marine Management Services (MMS) for its role in the export of crude from the Kurdistan region, which Baghdad says is illegal. The case is the latest move by Baghdad to deter customers and thwart independent exports of crude from the autonomous Kurdistan region. The federal government claims sole authority to manage sales of all the oil in Iraq. The Iraqi oil ministry said on Thursday that MMS operated five vessels that had transported oil on behalf of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) from a Turkish port.

The Iraqi oil ministry said on Thursday it would challenge a U.S. court decision that stopped U.S. Marshals from seizing some one million barrels of disputed Kurdish oil docked near Texas. On Monday, a U.S. district court ruled in favour of a request by Iraq's Kurdish region that a demand by the Iraqi government for U.S. authorities to seize the Kurdish oil shipment be scrapped. However, the court gave Baghdad 10 days to resubmit its case. "The ministry of oil is emphasising that it is preparing the amended request and will forward it in the required period," the oil ministry said in a statement. "The decision of the court is only to lift the seizure of the shipment while at sea. Therefore they referred to American maritime law.

Brent crude held near $115 a barrel on Friday, close to a nine-month high, and was headed for its second weekly gain on increased risks of disruption to supply from Iraq. Iraqi government forces battled Sunni militants for control of the country's biggest refinery on Thursday. If the 300,000 barrels per day refinery stays closed, Baghdad will need to import more oil products to meet its own domestic consumption, further tightening oil markets. Fields south of Baghdad, where most of Iraq's 3.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil is produced, as well as exports remain unaffected. But heavy fighting north of the capital and foreign oil firms beginning to pull out staff pose a risk to supplies from OPEC's number two producer.

Crude oil prices rose to new nine-month highs on Friday as concerns persisted that an insurgency in Iraq could disrupt oil exports from the second-largest OPEC producer. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the highest religious authority for Shi'ites, on Friday urged his followers to take up arms against Sunni militants advancing south toward Baghdad, raising the prospect of further violence. The surge in both Brent and U.S. crude prices, up about $4 this week, lost some momentum on Friday as the market waited to see if the conflict in Iraq would threaten oil refineries south of Baghdad. "Right now the market is looking for a comfort zone," said James Williams, an energy economist at WTRG Economics in London, Arkansas.

Italy sees possible Iraqi legal action over Kurdish oil; Kurds, Baghdad battle over sales from autonomous region. Tanker of Kurdish oil currently floating off Morocco. Italy has warned oil traders they face potential legal action from Baghdad if they buy disputed exports of crude from Iraqi Kurdistan, in the latest setback for the autonomous region in its struggle with the central government over oil sales. The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) loaded its first pipeline shipment of Kurdish oil onto the United Leadership tanker at the Turkish port of Ceyhan two weeks ago, in a move it said was designed to show Baghdad it controls its own oil sales.

Iraqi Kurdistan's bid to sell its first tanker of crude oil appeared to suffer its second setback in as many weeks on Thursday after the ship left a port in Morocco without a sale which the central Iraqi government opposes. The United Leadership tanker, a symbol of a long-running feud between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government over oil sale rights, loaded one million barrels of Kurdish crude on May 22 and has changed course twice abruptly without discharging oil. KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said last week the tanker was designed to show Baghdad that the Kurds controlled their own oil sales. But Iraq's central government in Baghdad, which has deemed any exports of oil not under its control illegal, so far appears to have been successful in warding off potential buyers.

A crude oil tanker at the centre of a dispute between Iraqi Kurdistan and Baghdad has reversed course from its route towards the United States, ship-tracking data showed on Friday, indicating that the shipper may not have a buyer. The United Leadership oil tanker has become a symbol of a wider conflict between Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan over oil sales from the autonomous northern enclave, as it contains the first crude to come out of the region's newly built pipeline into Turkey. Since loading at the Turkish port of Ceyhan last week, the United Leadership set course for the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to ship-tracking and market sources. The U.S.

Move likely to infuriate Iraqi government in Baghdad; first 1 million barrel cargo being loaded at Ceyhan, Turkey. Tanker scheduled to sail later on Thursday, buyer not identified. Iraqi Kurdistan started loading oil from its new pipeline for shipment from a Turkish port on Thursday, defying the Baghdad government, which claims sole authority over Iraqi crude and declares any independently sold oil as 'smuggled'. The cargo of 1 million barrels of crude oil was being loaded on a tanker in the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told Reuters on Thursday. "Loading will be completed today," Yildiz said, declining to name the buyer.

ICTSI’s announcement earlier this month that it is investing over $130m in a long term deal with Iraq’s Port Authority to operate and enhance container handling capacity at Umm Qasr illustrates the opportunities ahead for ocean carriers, says Drewry's 'Container Insight Weekly'. Investment by major terminal operators in Umm Qasr shows growing confidence in Iraq’s container growth potential, whilst sanctions continue to bite in neighbouring Iran. Iraq’s sole container port already saw volumes jump by more than 65% in 2013, up to 570,000 teu. Admittedly this is from a relatively low base but it remains impressive growth and suggests that the country’s cargo base is expanding from military cargoes and construction materials to consumer goods and manufactured items.

Sterling Global Operations (SGO) has been chosen to provide surface - supplied divers for unexploded ordnance search and removal and salvage operations for the sunken 82,000-ton Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Amuriyah, an Iraqi tanker sunk near Bubiyan Island off the coast of Kuwait in Jan. 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. Special Diving Services (SDS) Holland hired SGO for this project. "For years SGO has conducted major demining and unexploded ordnance clearance projects in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries around the world," said Matt Hulsey, SGO vice president of programs.

John Demers will be joining the staff at the Port of Hueneme as the Port’s new Chief Operations Officer. Port CEO & Director Kristin Decas said: “John comes to us with a strong background in operations and logistics in his over 20 years of service with the United States Navy. Demers, who is retiring from the Navy, will begin his post with the Port on Tuesday July 23, 2013. John’s home base is Santa Paula, CA where he lives with his wife Rachel and their youngest son. A graduate of the U.S. Army War College with a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies Demers is a desert storm veteran and served as a military liaison officer to the Iraqi Government during operation Iraqi Freedom.

Foreign Demand For U.S. Military And Commercial Vessels Is Brisk; For Now. In the heavy shadow of possible sequestration-induced federal budget cuts, some U.S. companies are busy supplying vessels to overseas customers under the Navy’s Foreign Military Sales program and through private contracts to foreign government and firms. Demand for offshore oil vessels is strong. A big chunk of overseas business now is under the U.S. FMS, transferring defense equipment, services and training to other nations. Countries approved for the FMS pay for vessels themselves and/or with U.S. government help.

The first event series focused specifically on providing market entry and access to potential business partners is coming to Iraq. Following the success of the Iraq Oil & Gas Summit, New-fields is pleased to announce the USOGD and Catalogue Expo will be held in Baghdad, Iraq on April 23-28, 2011. This unique, hands-on delegation and expo is designed for U.S. oil and gas equipment and services exporters to provide a cost-effective way to promote their products & technologies, to generate new business opportunities from Senior Iraqi Officials from Iraqi Air…

Genoa Design International Ltd. has won a contract to provide production design and lofting for two196.8 ft Offshore Support Vessels for the Iraqi Navy. The ships, which will play a central role in rebuilding Iraq’s maritime security capability, will support and defend the country’s offshore oil terminals. Two U.S. based companies are leading the project: RiverHawk Fast Sea Frames in Florida, as primary contractor and Gulf Island Marine Fabricators, L.L.C. in Louisiana, as construction sub-contractor. The project falls under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, with Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., as contracting entity for the Iraqi Government. Vessel completion is expected by December 2011.Genoa Design International Ltd.

Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4 arrived to oil terminals located off the coast of Aug. 23 to work on living conditions and improve platform access. Few Seabees have had the opportunity of working on oil terminals, which are huge suppliers of the exported oil. Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT) and Al Basrah Oil Terminal (ABOT) are located in the northern . "It's kind of cool knowing that we are working on something that is so important to the world's economy," said Utilitiesman 2nd Class (SCW) Jason Grubbs. and coalition maritime forces provide assistance to the Iraqi Navy defending 's major oil platforms. These terminals are significant sources of Iraqi government revenue and contribute approximately 80 percent of 's gross domestic product.

Thomas H. Wakeman III, who currently oversees The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s $2 billion port dredging program, has been appointed by the U.S. Department of Defense to assist Iraq in rebuilding its national port system. Wakeman, a White Plains, N.Y., resident, will serve as the Principal Maritime Advisor to the Iraq Ministry of Transportation for up to 18 months beginning on March 1. While in Iraq, Mr. Wakeman will be on a leave of absence from his Port Authority job as General Manager of Waterways Development in the Port Commerce Department. He will report to Ambassador Darrell Trent, the Coalition Provisional Authority’s senior advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation. Ambassador Trent reports to Ambassador L.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is to decide in 2007 whether to invest in Iran's Persian LNG project, its chief executive said on May 4. Speaking at a press conference, Jeroen van der Veer said "we are aware of the short-term developments," referring to international tensions surrounding the country's nuclear program. But he added "we intend to make a decision in the year 2007." In 2004, the National Iranian Oil Co. signed a framework deal in 2004 with Shell and Repsol YPF SA to form the Persian LNG production company, linked to the development of phase 13 of South Pars and valued at $1.5b. But no final investment has been made so far. Regarding Shell's plans in neighboring Iraq, van der Veer said the company would need a legal framework on petroleum in place in the country before investing.

As the sun-sets over the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT), another day passes safely under the watchful eye of masters-at-arms assigned to Mobile Security Detachment Two Five (MSD-25). MSD-25 members are currently training the Iraqi military on proper watch standing and security procedures during their six-month deployment to the Iraqi oil terminals. Mobile Security Detachment Two Five is combining efforts with coalition forces under the flag of Commander Task Force Five Eight (CTF-58) in support of maritime security operations (MSO) by standing security watches on KAAOT and Al Basrah Oil Terminal (ABOT). U.S. From U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Two U.S.

Rear Adm. Garry E. Hall relieved Royal Navy Commodore Nick Lambert as commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 158 and Capt. Paul Severs relieved Royal Navy Capt. Bob Sanguinetti as commander of Combined Task Group (CTG) 158.1 on July 17 aboard Ocean 6, an afloat forward operating barge in the north Persian Gulf. Command of CTF 158 typically rotates among coalition partners Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States. CTF 158 is comprised of coalition ships and its primary mission in the Gulf is maintaining security in and around both the Al Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminals -- ABOT and KAAOT, respectively -- in support of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1723.

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Josh Cassatt, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet and Royal Australian Navy Commodore Allan du Toit, commander, Combined Task Force (CTF) 158, visited Iraq's Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT) Nov. 16, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the implementation of facility upgrades. The most significant improvement on KAAOT was the installation of the Tactical Operations Center (TOC), which will serve as a permanent centralized command and control location to enhance Coalition coordination.