APS Diplomat Operations in Oil Diplomacy

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 41 - Iraq's Kurdistan Regime Consolidated.
The results of the July 25 presidential and parliamentary elections in Kurdistan represent a turning point in that region's history. They have bolstered the authority of rebel-turned veteran statesm . . .

Maleki's Meeting In Kurdistan & Focus On Constitutional Solution.
In his first visit to Kurdistan since June 2007, Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maleki on Aug. 2 met with Kurdistan President Barzani and the two rivals pledged to resolve their disputes which had threatened to s . . .

Barzani's Image Improved - His Background.
This was something of a setback for Barzani and Talabani, since the KDP and PUK, which had campaigned jointly in 2005, had previously controlled 78 seats in parliament. But Barzani's presidential vi . . .

KRG's Defence Of EPSAs.
During Maleki's visit Aug. 2 visit to Kurdistan, experts from the KRG's Ministry of Natural Resources presented the Iraq PM with a resume of a detailed study by a prominent Western petroleum and leg . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 40 - Iraq's Disastrous Auction Of Oilfieds.
The Iraqi Oil Ministry's first auction for six of the country's largest and developed oilfields and two gas fields on June 30 was a disaster, as only one field was taken by a JV of BP and the state- . . .

Baghdad's Service Contracts & BP-CNPC's Deal.
Unlike the KRG, the central government is only offering service contracts to IOCs for development of major oilfields already discovered and for a period of 20 years. These are officially called Expl . . .

The Second Auction.
For the second auction, the Oil Ministry has invited 45 potential bidders to Istanbul at the end of August to give them details of the 16 oil and gas fields on offer - all found but undeveloped. Ame . . .

The Chinese Role.
CNPC, China's biggest IOC and with a huge cash pile, does not shy away from risky deals, having bought Verenex Energy of Canada against the will of Libya's state-owned National Oil Corp. Verenex has . . .

Japan Role In Nasseriya.
Visiting Tokyo, Shahristani on July 9 met with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshihiro Nikai, who requested the Iraqi oil minister to give special consideration of stakes sought b . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 39 - Iraq & Petroleum Export Problems.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil and the Baghdad government are competing for a major natural gas pipeline to reach the EU through Turkey. But whereas the KRG believes its venture is . . .

The EU Market.
Jolted by sudden interruptions of Russian gas supplies in recent years and by Gazprom warnings that Brussels must back its new pipeline projects, the EU is seeking to diversify its sources of gas. E . . .

The Turkish-EU Angle.
Turkey and the EU want to see Iran having a deal with the US, not only because of Iran's vast gas reserves which are the second largest in the world next to those of Russia, but also for the sake of . . .

The Baghdad-Erbil Oil Dispute.
Although Kurdistan is exporting 35,000 b/d of crude oil through Turkey, Baghdad still regards KRG's exploration and production sharing agreements (EPSAs) with international oil companies (IOCs) as i . . .

Baghdad's Service Contracts.
Unlike the KRG, the central government is only offering service contracts to IOCs for development of major oilfields already discovered. These are officially called Exploration Development Productio . . .

Towards A Kuwaiti Move On Chapter 7.
APS learns that Kuwait is counting on US support for a gas pipeline from Qatar to Nabucco to pass through the emirate. This will not only meet Kuwait's gas needs but will also be a major source of t . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 38 - Iraq & Basra/Kirkuk Problems.
Things have been turning bad for Iraq in recent weeks, particularly over the issue of Kirkuk in the north and Basra in the south. Both of these petroleum-rich areas are becoming flash-points in new . . .

Basra's Failed Oil Bonanza.
When British soldiers arrived in Basra in March 2003, they quickly set about ensuring that the local economy continued to function. That involved protecting the tankers which lined up at the Basra c . . .

The Kirkuk Issue.
A long-awaited UN report presented on April 22 to senior Iraqi officials proposes several options for Kirkuk Province, including making it an autonomous region as a way to defuse simmering tensions . . .

French/EU Partnerships.
PM Maleki on May 3 began a state visit to Paris, during which he was to sign agreements to boost commercial partnerships between Iraq and France. This came after Maleki and his cabinet members met w . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 37 - Iraq & Remaking Baghdad.
The Shi'ite-led government of Iraq is trying to re-assert central control by uniting communities in Baghdad, which for centuries used to be the capital of the Sunni-led Muslim world and in the post- . . .

US Concern Over Anti-AC Moves.
The US military on April 15 said it was closely following the arrests of 15 AC leaders, plus the threatened arrests of five others. But it insisted the detentions were not part of a deliberate gover . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 35b - Iraq: Oil Development Efforts.
The state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is the first international oil company (IOC) to have begun work on developing a major oilfield in Iraq under a 20-year technical service agreemen . . .

Central Govt Boosted By Provincial Polls.
PM Nuri al-Maleki's political bloc, The State of The Law (SoL), made sweeping gains at Iraq's Jan. 31 provincial elections, including sizeable victories in the cities of Baghdad in the centre and Ba . . .

Complications Seen - KRG Opposition.
The Jan. 31 elections are not expected to deliver the final results for a few weeks. Nevertheless, it appears from initial media reports that Maleki is the main winner. While a crucial symbol of nor . . .

The Basra Test.(Brief article)
With the KRG area and the Kirkuk region exempt from the Jan. 31 elections, geography dictates that the crucial test of the electoral outcome will be events in the oil-rich Basra region in the south. . . .

The Sunni Regions.
While initial reports suggest that Shi'ite religious parties in the Jan. 31 vote to more secular-leaning candidates, the big change will be the new regional authorities headed by emboldened Sunni po . . .

Implications.(Iraq's election)(Brief article)
Unless factions close to Maleki make a strong showing in Shi'ite areas, the regional elections are unlikely to result in political progress on stalled core hydrocarbon issues like the petroleum law . . .

The Ahdab Venture.
The value of the TSA for al-Ahdab is $3.5 bn. CNPC has 75% in this, with the Oil Ministry's North Oil Co. (NOC) holding the remainder. The field was found in 1979 but kept undeveloped. CNPC holds th . . .

The 1st Round Fields.
The first round of bidding for TSAs covers the Kirkuk and Bai Hassan fields in the north; West Qurna-1, Rumaila and Zubair in the south; and three oilfields in Missan province: Burzurgan, Fauqi and . . .

The 2nd Round Fields.
Oil Ministry spokesman 'Asem Jihad on Feb. 2 said a Jan. 31 deadline for IOCs to send in documentation to qualify for a second round of bidding for TSAs had been extended to Feb. 15. This was becaus . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 35a - Iraq: Oil Development Efforts.
Baghdad is trying hard to get international oil companies (IOCs) to accept its terms for technical support agreements (TSAs) based on a model which is no longer popular in view of a rapid fall in pa . . .

Concern Over Iraqi Oil Bids.
There are mounting concerns over interest in Baghdad's first field two rounds of international bidding launched in 2008, one for TSAs launched in June and the other for engineering, procurement and . . .

Baghdad-Kurdistan Competition.
Whereas Iraq's central government in Baghdad is limiting the E&P incentives to service fees and EPCCs, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the north is offering far more attractive exploratio . . .

Baghdad's Promotion Efforts.
Launched in June and pursued on a full scale in October 2008, Iraq's first round of bidding for TSAs is aimed at boosting Iraq's crude oil production to 4m b/d by 2011/12, with six oilfields and two . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 34 - Iraq: Shoes To Bush & Bomb From Obama.
When US troops invaded oil-rich Iraq in March 2003, they expected to be welcomed as liberators from Saddam's ruthless Sunni/Ba'thist dictatorship, with the country's Shi'ite majority to shower them . . .

Obama's Energy Policy Team.
Before taking office, Obama has begun work on his plan to end US imports of foreign oil and non-American gas within ten years. His national security team, led by energy expert Gen James Jones, is br . . .

The Zaidi Case.
It was reported on Dec. 19 by Maliki's officials that the jailed shoe-thrower Zaidi apologised for what he did. But they did not reveal his where-about. People's pressures and world public opinion c . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 33 - Iraq With Obama & Saudi Perspective.
Under Barack Obama's Democratic administration which will take over on Jan. 20, 2009, the US will be the first world power to focus on the non-petroleum sector. It will spend $15 bn per annum for 10 . . .

Kurdish Intervention.
To secure more support from the Sunni Arabs, Iraq's Kurdish President Jalal Talabani on Nov. 21 held meetings with many Sunni Arab leaders at his Baghdad residence in the heavily fortified and US-pr . . .

The Saudi Perspective.
Saudi Arabia, from where US-led forces liberated Kuwait, has been quietly advising Iraq's Sunni Arab leaders to back the SOFA. From the Saudi standpoint, an early US withdrawal from Iraq would mean . . .

Iran Split Over The SOFA; Syria Remains Strongly Opposed.(status of forces agreements)
The Shi'ite theocracy is divided over the US military presence in Iraq. Its supremacist wing which includes the IRGC is strongly against the SOFA, while pragmatists under Chief Justice Ayatullah Mah . . .

Zawahiri Hits Obama.(Ayman al-Zawahiri and Barack Obama)
Using a racially derogatory term, al-Qaeda's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri on Nov. 19 attacked Obama for his support for Israel. In the first al-Qaeda reaction to the Nov. 4 US presidential election, Zawa . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 32 - Iraq-US Deal Gets New Obstacles.
In the run up to the Nov. 4 US presidential election, the Bush administration is applying intense pressure on the government of Shi'ite PM Nuri al-Maliki to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) . . .

From Beirut To 9/11.
This was the title of an article by Robert C. McFarlane, who was the US national security adviser from 1983 to 1985, published on Oct. 23. He ended it with this: "Since 9/11 we have learned a lot ab . . .

Back To McFarlane's Piece.
The former top Republican official on Oct. 23 wrote (with underlining and some name spelling by APS): "In the summer of 1983, I became President Ronald Reagan's special representative to the Middle . . .

Bad Scenarios.
Baghdad and other Arab capitals during the week were buzzed with a variety of bad scenarios for Iraq. One was a military coup. Another was an uprising by the awakening councils (AC), made up mainly . . .

Iraqi Nationalism Vs Iran.
With all the influences it has in Iraq, the one thing Iran's theocracy fears most is the country's Arab nationalism, most notably among Iraq's Shi'ite Arabs as well as the Sunni Arabs. It had become . . .

Iran Training Shi'ites?
The US media on Oct. 19-20 gave top play to documents showing that Iran's IRGC was training Shi'ite Arabs, including Lebanese Hizbullah members, to fight US forces as well as pro-US Shi'ites and Sun . . .

Focusing On The Non-Oil Sector - Part 31 - Iraq & Better US Exit Options.(Viewpoint essay)
When this series began on Jan. 26, 2004, APS Energy Group had expectations that the petroleum-rich countries of the Greater Middle East (GME) and OPEC were finally to begin focusing on the non-oil s . . .

The US Exit Options.(Viewpoint essay)
The real motives behind the US invasion of Iraq relate to a strategy having a much broader perspective than that of the GME. This strategy is based on a projection of the US as the "midwife" for the . . .