 |
|
In line with its goal to expand its suite of word-class well services, Al Majal is pleased to announce the completion of its acquisition of Parker Wellbore’s TRS business in Iraq. The transaction was agreed towards the end of Q3-2022 with several milestones built in that saw the smooth transition of assets and personnel from Parker Wellbore’s subsidiary in Iraq (ITS) to Al Majal without any interruption to operations or service delivery to clients.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Al Majal’s Oil & Gas Market Roundup in Collaboration with Qamar Energy
|
|
|
|
Latest in the Iraqi & Global Energy Markets
|
|
|
|
The World Bank announced a slight upward revision in its forecast of Iraq’s 2022 growth at 8.9% as OPEC+ Covid-related quotas ended in September and production has surpassed its pre-pandemic level of 4.6 Mb/d.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Last year marked the third year that Iraq has failed to pass a budget, after 2014 and 2020. MP Ma’een al-Kadhimi, a member of the country’s Parliamentary Financial Committee, says that the draft 2023 budget
|
|
|
|
|
|
Key Iraq Events – Oil and Gas
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Iraq’s Ministry of Finance signed an US$ 897 M loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for Phase 4 of the Basrah Refinery development project. This involves building a US$ 4 B new fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit with a capacity of 55 kb/d, the first in the country, with completion scheduled by 2025.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
In December, Iraq’s oil production fell to 4.62 Mb/d, taking the country’s 2022 average production to 4.61 Mb/d – a significant increase over the 2021 average of 4.189 Mb/d
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Iraq finished 2022 strongly, pocketing record revenues of US$ 115.554 B from oil sales, up US$ 40 B above 2021, thanks to the gradual easing of OPEC+ quota restrictions which coincided with near-record global oil prices
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Qatar is in talks with TotalEnergies to acquire a 30% stake in the US$ 27 B cluster of energy projects in Iraq, feeding Iraq’s hopes to stem efforts by Western energy companies to exit the country’s oil and gas sector.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chinese conglomerate Gezhouba Group, the world’s 33rd largest contractor by revenue, has offered to invest almost US$ 10 B in infrastructure projects in the KRI. Mohammed Shukri, Chairman of the Kurdistan Investment Commission
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Germany’s Siemens Energy is seeking to revive its roadmap to rehabilitate Iraq’s power sector
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Iraqi government has approved the construction of a power plant in the Southern Dhi Qar Governorate with a capacity of 3 GW, requiring an investment of US$ 3 B.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Key Iraq Events – Security
|
|
|
|
 |
|
The drone attack comes days after KRG PM Barzani traveled to Baghdad to meet the Iraqi PM Sudani for talks on the 2023 budget and the dispute over Kurdistan’s oil and gas sector.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
OPEC kept oil demand forecast for 2022 unchanged at 2.5 Mb/d. Oil demand for Q3 2022 is revised downward amid a drop in demand in the OECD countries and China, though demand in non-OECD countries outside of China is revised higher.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top Energy Deals in the Region
|
|
|
|
 |
|
A consortium led by France’s EDF Renewables and UAE-based ZeroWaste signed a framework agreement with Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity, the General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt for the development of a green hydrogen project.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Regional Rig Count (1): OPEC+ Pressure to Keep Iraq Rig Count Low
|
|
|
|
|
Middle East oil drilling has still not fully recovered from the sharp drop induced by the pandemic and the related OPEC+ production cuts. However, it is likely to start expanding as quotas increase and production growth plans in the UAE and Iraq get underway. Iraq has 54 active rigs as of December 2022, all drilling for oil. This number has not increased since the start of 2022, but is up 2 on December 2021, and 11 on April 2021. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Iraq had 77 active rigs targeting oil. Middle East gas drilling is starting to show a moderate recovery, supported by the beginning of Qatar’s LNG expansion projects and renewed efforts by Saudi Arabia towards its 2030 gas ambitions.
Note: Iraqi gas rigs are not reported by Baker Hughes, likely because Iraq reports gas rig figures clubbed with oil rigs and/or lack of response from contractors (drilling for non-associated gas is at minimal levels compared to oil, although it should pick up as Sinopec’s development of Mansuriyah and the Pearl Petroleum consortium’s expansion of Khor Mor, and potentially work by Halliburton at Akkas, move forward).
* End of Qamar Energy’s contribution, for more information about Qamar Energy, please visit www.qamarenergy.com
|
|
|
|
Iraq Oil Market Highlights
|
|
|
|
|
|
