Page 8 - MEOG Week 43 2022

MEOG POLICY & SECURITY MEOG

Iraq replaces Oil Minister as

new government approved

IRAQ IRAQI lawmakers this week gave their approval Nadeem of the Karkh Commercial Court invali-
to the formation of a new government, with new dated contracts between the Kurdistan Regional
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani Government (KRG) and Chinese firm Addax
selecting heads for 21 ministries. Most notably, Petroleum, Canada’s ShaMaran Petroleum and
Hayan Abdul Ghani replaced Ihsan Abdul Jab- UK-listed Gulf Keystone. Media reports suggest
bar as Oil Minister, while retaining Fuad Hussein the court is yet to make a ruling on higher pro-
as Foreign Minister and appointing Taif Sami as file contracts held by UAE-based Dana Gas and
Finance Minister. Russia’s Gazprom Neft.
Abdul Ghani is an oil sector veteran, having However, a similar previous ruling has had
previously served as director-general of the state- little practical impact, with Kurdish authorities
run South Oil Co. (SOC) and chairman of Basra denouncing the move and companies maintain-
Gas Co. (BGC). ing and even increasing their operations in the
With the country’s political landscape having Kurdistan Region.
been in stasis for the last year, the government The Lanaz refinery will reach a crude pro-
will enter office with a busy in-tray. A budget was cessing capacity of 79,000 barrels per day (bpd),
never passed for 2022, with that for 2021 having licensing Honeywell UOP technology. It also
also significantly overshot its deadline. exports 5,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of asphalt.
Meanwhile, Kurdish leaders said they hoped Illustrating the division that remains within
the new regime in Baghdad could help expedite the country, a former member of Oil and Energy
the signing of a new oil and gas law after the pre- Committee, Ghalib Muhammad, was quoted by
vious one was torn up by the Supreme Court in local media this week saying that the KRG’s rul-
February. ing Barzani family ‘smuggles’ oil from Federal to
While inaugurating the Lanaz refinery near Kurdish territory.
Erbil this week, Kurdistan Region Prime Minis- “The province of Kirkuk has five oilfields, and
ter Masrour Barzani said: “I hope, following the part of it is under the control of Barzani family,
inauguration of the next Iraqi government, both like Khurmala field, from which they obtain
Erbil and Baghdad will be able to draft an oil and 170,000 bpd for the benefit of Kar Company of
gas law.” [KRG President] Nechirvan Barzani”.
He suggested that “entities and individuals” He added: “The other fields in Kirkuk Prov-
had misinterpreted and “violated” the coun- ince belong to the federal government, but part
try’s 2005 constitution and called out “bad of its oil is smuggled to Kurdistan, which is
governance.” also working to smuggle it to Turkey and other
A day later, Judge Mohammed Ali Mahmoud countries.”™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 26•October•2022