Saturday, October 19, 2024

The Government Intends To Proceed With A New Licensing Round For Iraqi Gas.. What Will It Add?, 20 OCT

 The Government Intends To Proceed With A New Licensing Round For Iraqi Gas.. What Will It Add?

Posted On 2024-10-18 By Sotaliraq   The government is planning two new rounds of licensing in the energy sector, with the aim of stopping gas flaring and achieving self-sufficiency to operate power plants that are experiencing an increasing need for fuel, in light of the challenges of Iranian gas outages, financial payment problems due to US sanctions, and the increasing demand for energy.

Last August, the Council of Ministers approved the contracts for the fifth and sixth supplementary licensing rounds, amounting to 14 projects for final signing and direct activation.

Member of the Parliamentary Oil and Gas Committee, MP Basem Al-Gharibawi, said, “The coming period will witness a fifth licensing round, most of which will be granted to border oil and gas fields, while the sixth round will focus largely on gas fields.”

Al-Gharibawi added, “There are 15 fields, most of which are in the western region, that have not been referred to any party during the previous two rounds, and thus more than one new round may be held in order to refer them for investment, due to Iraq’s urgent need to invest in gas due to the problems of electricity that depends on Iranian gas, which is cut off due to Tehran’s need for it at times, and at other times due to the inability to pay the debts resulting from the US sanctions imposed on it.”

He explains the reasons for the government’s move towards investing in gas, with “the renewed urgent need for it as a result of the scarcity of Iranian gas during peak times, which prompts the Ministry of Oil to use kerosene fuel oil as an alternative, which created a crisis at gas stations for vehicles,” noting that “the Ministry of Oil is ultimately making efforts to market the remaining gas fields to international companies through the Minister’s travels to the United States and European countries, during which he extended invitations to companies.”

The member of the parliamentary committee continues, “The targeted governorates in the upcoming licensing rounds are the governorates of western Iraq that were not included in the rounds by submitting applications for their fields, so they remain without referral, and efforts during the coming period are focused on the necessity of referring them and investing them in the best possible way.”

The fifth and sixth supplementary rounds were launched in Baghdad between May 11-13, in the presence of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, where 22 companies from all over the world competed for them, including no American company, while Chinese companies and one Iraqi company won their contracts, with different profit percentages after investment expenses that reached 30 percent.

It is noteworthy that Iraq is distinguished by its location among the most important strategic regions in the global oil and gas industry, due to its important strategic geography and huge reserves of natural resources, which provide it with distinct opportunities for investment and development in this vital sector.

For his part, academic and oil specialist, Govind Sherwani, believes that “what remains of the fifth and sixth licensing rounds are 15 investment opportunities, including 10 gas exploration blocks that were presented by the government delegation that recently visited the United States of America to major American companies,”

 indicating that “the new rounds will focus largely on investing in natural gas, which has not received the attention it deserves for two decades, despite being a huge wealth that is equal to oil in its industrial importance and the fields of energy and fertilizers, and Iraq has a large reserve of it, as the reserve is estimated at 143 trillion cubic feet, and a lot of free gas is still not invested, and the associated gas continues to be burned in the oil fields, which is a wealth estimated at millions of dollars that is being wasted.”

Sherwani criticizes the previous rounds’ focus on “oil, and the lack of interest in gas and its huge reserves, which place Iraq in 13th place in the world, so it continues to burn and waste despite all the efforts of the Ministry of Oil to invest 65 percent of it, and the remaining 35 percent is burned at a time when it should be fully exploited to stop imports from Iran or distant Asian countries,” explaining that “the total investment in gas will make Iraq self-sufficient within four to five years, after which the surplus will be exported to Western European markets, which have been cut off from natural gas, causing its prices to rise three or four times as much as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war.”

He attributes the delay in referring these oil and gas fields so far to “the fact that they are less attractive than their predecessors, due to the lack of full security of the border areas, in addition to the lack of infrastructure in some of them, such as transportation lines and logistics, or the fact that they are not promising large quantities of gas and oil, because each company receives a bag of information about the investment opportunity to study it before submitting its offers.”

He points out that “the ministry adopted, in the two previous rounds, a new formula for contracting with investors, represented by profit sharing, and not through previously approved service contracts, which may achieve greater profits and benefits for companies in the event of a rise in global oil prices.

Therefore, the ministry’s introduction of this system in the licensing rounds came to strengthen the methods of attracting companies, which led to a local company also obtaining two or three investment areas, which means that some local companies have reached advanced levels in investing in oil projects.”

The academic specializing in oil notes that “the ministry has not yet succeeded in resolving the issue of exporting oil from the Kurdistan Region, despite a year and a half having passed since the suspension, in the absence of technical, financial and administrative solutions with the Ministry of Wealth in the region and foreign companies working in production and transportation, which has led to significant damage exceeding $16 billion so far at a time when it can be invested as a useful outlet for oil with the instability of oil shipments through the Red Sea and Suez to importers in Western Europe and North America.”

“The Turkish port of Ceyhan can be the best option for exporting Iraqi oil to these western regions. Its importance lies in increasing export outlets to Iraq to avoid any crises that may occur in other export regions, which means the continuation of exports with stability and complete security at all times,” he added.

It is noteworthy that Iraq took six years to prepare for the licensing round that was held in the middle of this year 2024 after conducting several workshops for companies and reviewing the type of contracts by changing the percentage of ownership and the companies’ share of the profits from investments in these fields.

Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani had anticipated the licensing round by expecting that the investments in the two licensing rounds would increase by up to three billion cubic feet of gas, contributing to putting an end to the chronic energy problem.

For his part, academic and energy researcher Bilal Khalifa explained that “the delay in not exploiting the fields that were not referred in the fifth and sixth rounds is a loss, because the companies that operate these fields in the previous rounds have begun to extract oil without exporting it from them,” indicating that “two of the six fields, namely Anjana-Khashm Ahmar and Kalabat-Kamar, are gas fields, and Iraq is in great need of gas.”

Khalifa explains that “four of the six fields, which are border fields, are considered oil fields, and their exploitation by investment companies must be accompanied by exports from the fields.

Otherwise, Iraq will pay profitable fees despite not exporting oil if OPEC does not raise Iraq’s share, which amounts to about four million and 400 thousand with the region,” noting that “Iraq signed the licensing contracts in 2009 and now 14 years have passed, and it is supposed to have sufficient experience now in managing the fields with the professionalism of foreign companies.”

He notes that “if it is not possible to allocate funds from the federal general budget, it can resort to borrowing as international oil companies do to avoid the great waste of public money, especially since the Ministry of Oil announced about a month ago the establishment of the Oil Services Company, and it would have been better to put among its first tasks the management and operation of those fields.”

He added, “The Emirati Crescent Company, which recently won three contracts, also has contracts in the region, which violate the constitution, while the Federal Court previously ruled that the government should not deal with any company that has dealings or contracts with the region. As for the Chinese company Geojiad, it is small and unknown,” calling for “dispensing with companies from neighboring countries, because it involves caveats, and replacing them with international companies.”

Khalifa advises that “the Ministry of Oil should take the middle path of expediting the exploitation and operation of these border and gas fields for the reasons explained above, but not with foreign companies, but with national effort, while giving the operating authority for these fields broad powers like the powers of foreign companies and freeing it from the restrictions of instructions and controls.”

He points out that “the recent licensing rounds failed to refer the gas fields, just as they failed to refer the border fields, in light of Iraq’s inability to meet the needs of its power stations for generation,” stressing “the need to limit the upcoming rounds to gas only, otherwise they will be useless. Iraq’s offshore fields should also be included with the Gulf because the parties adjacent to them are exploiting them without benefit to Iraq.”

He points out that “the world is moving towards renewable and clean energy, and estimates say that the use of oil will decrease after 2060, and therefore we need to exploit oil before its value decreases, at a time when Iraq needs more revenues, and its economy is rentier and depends on oil revenues.”

Regarding the negatives of the licensing rounds, he believes that “the current government’s statement in announcing the imminent celebration of the signing of the fifth licensing round contracts is for gas, and it would have been better to pay attention to the fields of the third licensing round, especially the Akkas gas field, whose production is greater than the two gas fields combined, to be an alternative to extending a gas pipeline from Baghdad to Anbar, and the loss would be doubled.”

It is noteworthy that the oil sector’s imports represent more than 94 percent of Iraq’s GDP, which is the second largest country in burning natural gas in the world after Russia, with losses estimated by the government at about six billion dollars annually, as the Sudanese Prime Minister is counting, during the launch of the latest licensing, on the country obtaining about 3,460 million standard cubic feet of gas and more than one million barrels of oil per day, in addition to increasing investments in the targeted governorates.  LINK

TIDBIT FROM MNT GOAT, 20 OCT

  Mnt Goat 

  Have they reached some sort of benchmark in the electronic digital banking reformation? Probably...it seems they have made so much progress.

 Also remember all this liquidity in the banks from the stashes and hordes of currency now being deposited... 

Please connect the dots and see the oncoming storm of prosperity coming to Iraq. 

 Remember that we investors partake in this wealth when it comes to Iraq, but only when it comes as a byproduct of all these reforms. Yes, when they finally move to FOREX... 

the plan and thus the execution of the process for the plan is moving forward nicely...it seems at a more rapid pace as we near the end of this year.

INTEL FROM A FRIEND THAT WORKS WITH THE TREASURY CONTRACTOR BY GOLDEN ER...

Trade: These Are The Reasons For Postponing The (48) Session Of The Baghdad International Fair / Expanded, 20 OCT

 Trade: These Are The Reasons For Postponing The (48) Session Of The Baghdad International Fair / Expanded

Friday 18 October 2024 11:53 | Economic Number of readings: 65  Baghdad / NINA / The Ministry of Trade revealed the reasons for the Prime Minister's approval to postpone the (48) session of the Baghdad International Fair to February 2025.

The ministry stated, in a press statement today, Friday, that "the request to postpone the session came as a result of the circumstances the region is going through as a result of the Zionist entity's attacks on the countries of Lebanon and Palestine and their people."

It added, "The sessions of the Baghdad International Fair are of great importance as they are Iraq's economic gateway to attracting countries and companies to display their products and identify the needs of the Iraqi market, and find partnerships with Iraqi sectors to enter into investment projects in various fields."

The ministry explained that "through the Iraqi Exhibitions Company, it will announce the exact date for the 48th session in the event that it is confirmed and all preparations are completed." https://ninanews.com/Website/News/Details?key=1162879

TIDBIT FROM BRUCE, 20 OCT

 Bruce 

  [via WiserNow] 

  ...the Iraqi dinar... we're hearing now it's either going to be on the forex with a new rate, either Friday night...or Sunday night. My bet is Sunday after the Forex comes back up after having been turned off or closed for 48 hours,

 which is typical every weekend, from five o'clock Friday to five o'clock Sunday, it's down. It's down so that they can reconcile accounts on forex...The word was get ready for the weekend. 


🔴HCL Is Completed & Paying!🚩RV Clock Ticking & Time Running Out🤔Dinar RV...

"GOOD... HCL" BY FRANK26, 19 OCT

 KTFA

FRANK26: "GOOD... HCL".........F26

Planning: The percentage of completion of operations related to the population census exceeded 90 percent

 

10/18/2024

 

Baghdad
 

The Ministry of Planning confirmed, on Thursday, that the percentage of completion of the population census work exceeded 90 percent, and that it was completed in most governorates, while it announced a decrease in the need for schools and stability in the annual inflation indicators.

The official spokesman for the ministry, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, said in a statement reported by the official news agency, and seen by "Al-Eqtisad News", that "the percentage of completion of operations related to the population census has achieved great progress," explaining that "work began in the field since the first of September for a period of two months, but rapid progress may lead to the completion of operations before the specified date."

He pointed out that "the work will be completed before the end of this month, with the exception of the three governorates of the Kurdistan Region (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk), in which work was delayed for technical reasons," noting that "the completion rate has reached more than 90 percent."

Regarding the country’s need for schools, Al-Hindawi said, “Previous estimates indicated a need for about 6,000 schools, but the implementation of many projects within the framework of the Chinese agreement and other activities significantly reduced the need,” indicating that “the ministry is awaiting the results of the general population census to provide an accurate figure on the number of current schools.”


LINK

DINAR REVALUATION UPDATE: " APPARENTLY THE HCL LAW WAS SECRETLY PASSED IN IRAQ" , 19 OCT

 


DINARLAND UPDATE!! WOW IRAQ WILL RV SOON !! @DINARREVALUATION

Iraq signs key gas supply deal with Turkmenistan to boost power grid, 19 OCT

 Shafaq News/ On Saturday, Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziad Ali Fadel announced the signing of an agreement with Turkmenistan to secure a daily supply of 20 million cubic meters of gas.

In a statement, Fadel emphasized that this influx of gas will play a remarkable role in enhancing the country’s electricity infrastructure, saying, "This amount of imported gas will contribute to the full operation of our gas-powered plants, ensuring stability for the national grid."


The gas from Turkmenistan will be transported to Iraq through Iran's pipeline network, following a swap mechanism in cooperation with Switzerland-based “Loxstone Energy”, Fadel explained.


"The signing of this agreement is the culmination of over a year of intensive technical efforts, which included multiple meetings, reciprocal visits, and the signing of a memorandum of understanding last year," the minister added.

LAST POSTS FROM FIREFLY, 19 OCT

 Frank26 

 [Iraq boots-on-the-ground report] 

 FIREFLY: Minister of Finance on TV saying they have activated the automation and digitization process. 

 FRANK:  That's important.  Digitization...is the backbone of the monetary reform.  

That's what's going to move the currency in and out of the country but more so out there when it starts to float for us...That will add the Real Effective Exchange Rate to your currency. 

https://dinarevaluation.blogspot.com/2024/10/rv-update-by-firefly-12-oct.html 

Frank26 

 [Iraq boots-on-the-ground report]   

FIREFLY:Television is showing there was meetings going on.  These meetings are every day. 

 They say there was Sudani who had his meeting with his Finance Minister and all of the lead bank officials and with the audit companies.  

FRANK:  Sudani meeting with the powerhouse of his monetary reform. 

 FIREFLY:  It looks like Sudani is crossing all of his T's and dotting all of his I's one last time!

https://dinarevaluation.blogspot.com/2024/10/rv-update-by-firefly-9-oct.html---

----

FIREFLY:They are telling us deleting zeros and enhancing value.  We never heard this before.

  FRANK26:  This is extremely impressive in the way the monetary reform is coming to you faster.  

 We predicted this.  It's good to see it happening.

https://dinarevaluation.blogspot.com/2024/10/they-are-telling-us-deleting-zeros.html

CBI INTEL CONTACT FROM MNT GOAT UPDATES @DINARREVALUATION

IOM Iraq Mission issues Annual Report 2023, 19 OCT

 The Iraq Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has released its 2023 Annual Report.

It was founded in 2003, and its main offices are in Baghdad, Erbil, Mosul, and Basra. It has over 1,600 employees and sub-offices in all governorates.

Click here to download the full report in English

Click here to download the full report in Arabic

To browse our comprehensive library of reports on Iraq, click here.

A HISTORIC MOVEMENT BY WOLVERINE, 19 OCT

 WOLVERINE

A HISTORIC MOVEMENT : 


US TREASURY DOLLARS IS ABOUT TO REPLACE THE USD, MARKING A NEW ERA IN THE US CURRENCY


NCSWIC, we all know that the

NEW US Treasury dollar,

backed by RWAs (real world assets), is coming.

That's why it's so important to know what you have.


The value of US Treasury dollars is expected to skyrocket soon, signaling a major shift as they

gain significant strength in global markets. 


Make sure you get as many as you can before it's too late.

DINAR REVALUATION : ANALYSIS OF MNT GOAT POSTS : Mnt Goat Answers Your B...

Parliamentary Security Committee reveals the most prominent laws expected to be approved, 19 OCT

Parliamentary Security Committee reveals the most prominent laws expected to be approved

Mohammed Al-Shammari, a member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, revealed today, Saturday, the most important laws that will be put to a vote in the House of Representatives while also confirming that the National Intelligence Service Law will be put to a vote soon.

Al-Shammari stated, “The committee has mission laws, such as the Army Aviation Law, the Civil Defense Law, and the Intelligence Service Law.”

“The priority during the next stage is to vote on the Intelligence Service Law after we finished the vote on the National Security Law,” he continued.

“Due to their urgent need,” he said, “the upcoming sessions will witness the completion of laws related to security institutions.”

“The Legal Committee is continuing its work and will discuss a set of laws related to it,” he said.

TIDBIT FROM GINGER, 19 OCT

 Thurs. 17 Oct. 2:48 am Ginger

 “Protecting my contacts, while I’m not permitted to explain the exact details, I’ll just tell you I’ve verified the most encouraging and LEGIT news for Tier 1 through Tier 4A / Bond holders that I’ve ever heard from my REAL People contacts on Wednesday. It took several hours to vet the details after work, so I’m reporting this, with extreme CONFIDENCE.”

via Ginger's Liberty Lounge Room on Telegram

PHONE CALL WITH CBI CONTACT : TAKING STEPS TO GO INTERNATIONAL BY GOLDI...

The Kurdistan Regional Government announces the suspension of work for Saturday and Sunday, 19 OCT

The Kurdistan Regional Government announces the suspension of work for Saturday and Sunday

Shafaq News / The Kurdistan Regional Government announced on Friday the suspension of official working hours on Saturday and the day after tomorrow, Sunday, in conjunction with the elections of the Kurdistan Parliament of Iraq in its sixth session.

The Information and Information Department of the regional government said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency; that due to the Kurdistan Parliament elections in its sixth session, October 19 and 20 will be an official holiday in all institutions and government departments in the region.

1,091 candidates in the Kurdistan Region of both sexes compete for 100 seats, five of which are “Kota” for components after being 11 seats, which was reduced by a decision of the Federal Supreme Court (the highest judicial authority in Iraq)

The number of seats reserved for women according to the electoral law must be at least 30.

The total number of voters in the Kurdistan Region is 2,899,578 voters, of whom 215,960 are eligible to vote in the special ballot, and the remaining 2,683,618 voters will vote by universal suffrage next Sunday.

https://www.shafaq.com/ar/كوردســتانيات/حكومة-اقليم-كوردستان-تعلن-تعطيل-الدوام-ليومي-السبت-وال-حد

TIDBITS FROM MILITIAMAN, 19 OCT

 Militia Man 

 What are we waiting for

 We're waiting for Alaq to make an announcement I believe in some shape or form.  It's going to be his job.  He's the Central Bank of Iraq governor. 

Article quote: "The Minister of Finance and The US ambassador today discuss efforts to achieve economic reforms..

.They strengthened bilateral relationships between the two United States and Iraq with a focus on economic cooperation."  

I like that part. "The meeting discussed the development road project that connects Iraq to Europe through Turkey and is one of the largest strategic and vital project making Iraq the link between Asia and Europe."  

That is unbelievable and it's given a finality to it.  I like it...

LATEST CBI INTEL FROM MNT GOAT @DINARREVALUATION #iraqidinar

599 Iraqi Companies and 27 Foreign Branches Registered in Sept, 19 OCT

 599 Iraqi Companies and 27 Foreign Branches Registered in Sept

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Trade announced the registration of 599 national companies and 27 branches of foreign companies during September,

The Companies Registration Department, led by Rashad Khalaf Hashim, also issued several decisions, including amendments to contracts of joint-stock companies, adjustments to capital, and the merging and liquidation of companies.

Additionally, 897 companies were officially documented, and 337 Iraqi and 18 foreign companies were referred for legal investigation due to regulatory violations.

The department also reviewed the final accounts of 1,922 national companies and 121 foreign branches, processed capital adjustments for 209 companies, and handled various company-related formalities including mergers and liquidations for 580 firms.

(Source: Ministry of Trade)

https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/?p=225711