Page 13 - MEOG Week 18

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Iraq cuts federal budget from KRG, Kurds defy it
Adel Abdul Mahdi’s Iraqi caretaker government in Baghdad April 16 has ordered its Finance Ministry in an official document to cut federal budget contributions to the semi- autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil, pushing the KRG toward bankruptcy and cutting off the payment of salaries to its civil servants.
Abdul Mahdi’s government said the step was taken due to the international oil decline that has hit Iraq hard as well as Erbil’s failure to submit 250,000 barrels of oil per day to Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) in return for public funding under Iraq’s 2019 budget law. Iraq continuously
sent federal budget appropriations to Erbil throughout 2019, although the KRG has
not delivered a single barrel of oil to SOMO. The document also calls for there to be a settlement on long-standing financial issues between Baghdad and Erbil that date to 2004. Erbil says Baghdad’s decision is illegal and a political measure against Kurds.
More than 90% of Iraq’s budget depends on oil revenues; these monies are used to pay millions of public sector employees. But the country is facing unprecedented financial, political, and social crises due to the dramatic decline of Brent crude oil to around $27 a barrel, growing coronavirus mortalities, political conflicts on forming a new government, a resurgent Islamic State insurgency and rampant administrative corruption.
KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, in
a statement following his meeting with UN special representative to Iraq Jeanine Hennis- Plasschaert, said cutting the KRG’s share from the Iraqi budget was “political pressure against
the people of the Kurdistan Region.” The president of the Kurdistan region, Nechirvan Barzani, described Baghdad’s decision as “unconstitutional and unlawful,” saying
the KRG budget and salaries must not be “politicized.”
The KRG and the Iraqi federal government reached an agreement in December on the region’s oil sales in which the region agreed to provide 250,000 barrels of oil daily to SOMO, with the federal government allocating $900 million to pay KRG employees’ salaries.
aL monItor
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ADNOC’s digital command centre generates value
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, today announced its Panorama Digital Command Centre, Panorama, has generated over $1 billion (AED3.67 billion) in business value since its inception three years ago.
Panorama is a key part of ADNOC’s ongoing strategic investments in digitisation and artificial intelligence, AI, to enable the company to drive greater efficiencies, optimise performance, and respond to complex
market dynamics with agility and speed, as it continues to deliver on its 2030 smart growth strategy.
Panorama aggregates real-time information across ADNOC’s 14 specialist subsidiary and joint venture companies and uses smart analytical models, AI, and big data to generate operational insights and recommendations.
In addition to the business value Panorama has enabled, it has also proven to be a valuable asset in navigating the current COvID-19 situation. The access to real-time data and
analysis provided by Panorama enables simulations and scenario planning, and plays an important role in ADNOC’s business continuity.
Abdul Nasser Al Mughairbi, Senior vice President, Digital at ADNOC, said, “The importance of embedding digital technology in businesses has never been greater and ADNOC’s continuous investment in digital transformation over the last three years allows us to be more resilient, agile and responsive
in navigating today’s market landscape. Our Panorama Digital Command Centre acts as our ‘eyes on the ground’ and enables speed, accessibility, and integration across our operations – key attributes that are required to make smart business decisions.”
“We believe in being forward-thinking in our digital investments at ADNOC, and are committed to leading the way with our digital transformation efforts to drive further value. We continue to responsibly advance projects for the next phase of our digital journey, including expanding our AI solutions,
rolling out new blockchain applications, and enhancing our digital modelling capabilities.”
Managed by the ADNOC Group Digital team, Panorama is currently being accessed through secure remote work settings.
In addition to its digital transformation journey, ADNOC is also leveraging technology to strengthen its health, safety, and environmental, HSE, performance. An HSE information system is currently being built into Panorama, enabling real-time readings across multiple environmental key performance indicators.
Panorama is just one of many digital transformation initiatives by ADNOC. Other digital initiatives include its smart data analytics Thamama Subsurface Collaboration Centre; its use of AI-assisted value chain modelling, rock image pattern recognition, and predictive maintenance technologies; and blockchain-based hydrocarbon accounting, to name a few.
Wam
oIL
Dubai crude contango
narrows on tighter supply
outlook
The price structure of Mideast Gulf benchmark Dubai crude has firmed on the prospect of a tighter supply outlook and recovering demand.
The Dubai intermonth contango, with
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