Købte DNO i 6,21 og nu står de i 4,60. Det er et tab på omkring 16.000 på mine 10.000 stk. Virkeligt bittert.
Vi må så håbe på at det inden jul bliver afklaret hvem der har den eksport rettighed og om Irakerne vil arbejde sammen med kurderne.
Indtil da så er min investering parkeret. Har haft Dno før købt til 9, som stadig ligger i depotet. Fatter ikke at de som olieselskab ikke kan tjene flere penge i det her markedet
Vi må så håbe på at det inden jul bliver afklaret hvem der har den eksport rettighed og om Irakerne vil arbejde sammen med kurderne.
Indtil da så er min investering parkeret. Har haft Dno før købt til 9, som stadig ligger i depotet. Fatter ikke at de som olieselskab ikke kan tjene flere penge i det her markedet
DNO INTERNATIONAL ASA: THIRD QUARTER 2008 RESULTS
12.11.2008
Oslo, 12 November, 2008: DNO International ASA (OSE:DNO) today announced its interim results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008.
The temporary halt in test production from Tawke during the third quarter reduced the total sales to the company in the third quarter. The operating revenues decreased by 13 per cent to NOK 325 million (NOK 375 million). YTD operating revenues increased by 21per cent to NOK 1,159 million (NOK 955 million).
In the third quarter DNO reported an EBITDA of NOK 116.0 million (NOK 217.8 million). For the first nine months, the EBITDA was NOK 649.6 million (625.4 million).
EBIT for the third quarter amounted to NOK 26.9 million (150.3 million). For the first nine months DNO reported an EBIT of NOK 306.3 million.(NOK 427.8 million).
Netback in the third quarter was NOK 65 million (NOK 192 million) and YTD netback was NOK 481 million (NOK 547 million).
Net profit in the third quarter was NOK -3 million (versus NOK 19 million before discontinued operations in the same period last year) and YTD the net profit was NOK 73 million (versus NOK 121 million before discontinued last year).
Certain amendments to PSC contracts in the Kurdistan region of Iraq were concluded in the third quarter. This implies that the Tawke PSC area was extended to include another prospect increasing DNO's working interest by 15% to 55% in this prospect. In return, DNO will pre-relinquish most of the Dohuk area. Incurred petroleum costs to date from the Dohuk area will be transferred to the Tawke PSC and will be recovered from the Tawke production.
All remaining work in preparation for export of crude oil from Tawke commenced and good progress was made during the third quarter.
- After a several years with high exploration activities adding new reserves and resources to the Company we are now facing a period with the focus more towards increased production and near term developments. This will change the balance between exploration and production activities within DNO and we are now positioning the Company to deliver growth in production going forward.said Helge Eide, Managing Director.
For full interim report, please see the attachments on www.newsweb.no and www.dno.no.
DNO International ASA will give a presentation of the interim financial statements for the third quarter and and first nine months of 2008.
The presentation will be held at 08:00 A.M. on Wednesday 12 November, 2008 in Vika Kino in Ruseløkkveien 14 (next to Konserthuset) in Oslo. The presentation starts at 08:00 A.M.
The presentation can also be followed live on the internet, via a video webcast at www.dno.no or at www.oslobors.no/webcast. An archived version of the webcast will be posted on www.dno.no shortly after the presentation. The presentation will be given in English.
DNO International ASA
Oslo, 12 November 2008
12.11.2008
Oslo, 12 November, 2008: DNO International ASA (OSE:DNO) today announced its interim results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2008.
The temporary halt in test production from Tawke during the third quarter reduced the total sales to the company in the third quarter. The operating revenues decreased by 13 per cent to NOK 325 million (NOK 375 million). YTD operating revenues increased by 21per cent to NOK 1,159 million (NOK 955 million).
In the third quarter DNO reported an EBITDA of NOK 116.0 million (NOK 217.8 million). For the first nine months, the EBITDA was NOK 649.6 million (625.4 million).
EBIT for the third quarter amounted to NOK 26.9 million (150.3 million). For the first nine months DNO reported an EBIT of NOK 306.3 million.(NOK 427.8 million).
Netback in the third quarter was NOK 65 million (NOK 192 million) and YTD netback was NOK 481 million (NOK 547 million).
Net profit in the third quarter was NOK -3 million (versus NOK 19 million before discontinued operations in the same period last year) and YTD the net profit was NOK 73 million (versus NOK 121 million before discontinued last year).
Certain amendments to PSC contracts in the Kurdistan region of Iraq were concluded in the third quarter. This implies that the Tawke PSC area was extended to include another prospect increasing DNO's working interest by 15% to 55% in this prospect. In return, DNO will pre-relinquish most of the Dohuk area. Incurred petroleum costs to date from the Dohuk area will be transferred to the Tawke PSC and will be recovered from the Tawke production.
All remaining work in preparation for export of crude oil from Tawke commenced and good progress was made during the third quarter.
- After a several years with high exploration activities adding new reserves and resources to the Company we are now facing a period with the focus more towards increased production and near term developments. This will change the balance between exploration and production activities within DNO and we are now positioning the Company to deliver growth in production going forward.said Helge Eide, Managing Director.
For full interim report, please see the attachments on www.newsweb.no and www.dno.no.
DNO International ASA will give a presentation of the interim financial statements for the third quarter and and first nine months of 2008.
The presentation will be held at 08:00 A.M. on Wednesday 12 November, 2008 in Vika Kino in Ruseløkkveien 14 (next to Konserthuset) in Oslo. The presentation starts at 08:00 A.M.
The presentation can also be followed live on the internet, via a video webcast at www.dno.no or at www.oslobors.no/webcast. An archived version of the webcast will be posted on www.dno.no shortly after the presentation. The presentation will be given in English.
DNO International ASA
Oslo, 12 November 2008
Kurdish authorities stand by foreign oil contracts
02-12-2008 17:42:00
ARBIL, Iraq, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The Kurdish Regional Government stands by contracts it has signed with foreign oil firms despite the Iraqi central government's insistence they are illegal, the Kurdish regional prime minister said on Tuesday.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said on Friday the contracts were not recognised by the central government even though it and the Kurdish authorities had reached an initial landmark agreement to allow exports from Kurdistan to Turkey.
"Let Shahristani say what he likes because all oil contracts signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are legal and constitutional," KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told reporters in Arbil.
Under the initial agreement, exports of 100,000 barrels per day are expected to begin from the Tawke oilfield, where Norwegian oil firm DNO (DNO) has a concession, at the beginning of next year.
Tawke is expected to be connected to Iraq's main northern export pipeline, which reaches the Turkish port of Ceyhan, by the end of this year.
A second Kurdistan oilfield, Taq Taq, is due to be linked to the pipeline three to four months later and combined exports should reach 250,000 barrels per day by the end of next year.
In addition to DNO, South Korea's SK Energy (096770) is part of a consortium developing the region's Bazian oilfield while Korea National Oil Corp has signed a separate $2.1 billion oil-for-infrastructure package with the KRG.
But the right to sign independent oil deals with foreign oil firms has been a sore point between the KRG and the central government.
An oil ministry official, asked about Barzani's comments on Tuesday, said annulling the contracts was an essential condition before exports of crude from Kurdistan could go ahead.
"The Oil Ministry will not allow the Kurds to export crude as long as they still adhere to the Production Sharing Contracts," the oil ministry official said, asking not to be identified.
(Reporting by Shamal Aqrawi in Arbil and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Editing by Michael Christie) ((michael.christie@thomsonreuters.com; +964 7901 917 052; Reuters Messaging: michael.christie.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: IRAQ/OIL KURDISTAN
02-12-2008 17:42:00
ARBIL, Iraq, Dec 2 (Reuters) - The Kurdish Regional Government stands by contracts it has signed with foreign oil firms despite the Iraqi central government's insistence they are illegal, the Kurdish regional prime minister said on Tuesday.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said on Friday the contracts were not recognised by the central government even though it and the Kurdish authorities had reached an initial landmark agreement to allow exports from Kurdistan to Turkey.
"Let Shahristani say what he likes because all oil contracts signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are legal and constitutional," KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told reporters in Arbil.
Under the initial agreement, exports of 100,000 barrels per day are expected to begin from the Tawke oilfield, where Norwegian oil firm DNO (DNO) has a concession, at the beginning of next year.
Tawke is expected to be connected to Iraq's main northern export pipeline, which reaches the Turkish port of Ceyhan, by the end of this year.
A second Kurdistan oilfield, Taq Taq, is due to be linked to the pipeline three to four months later and combined exports should reach 250,000 barrels per day by the end of next year.
In addition to DNO, South Korea's SK Energy (096770) is part of a consortium developing the region's Bazian oilfield while Korea National Oil Corp has signed a separate $2.1 billion oil-for-infrastructure package with the KRG.
But the right to sign independent oil deals with foreign oil firms has been a sore point between the KRG and the central government.
An oil ministry official, asked about Barzani's comments on Tuesday, said annulling the contracts was an essential condition before exports of crude from Kurdistan could go ahead.
"The Oil Ministry will not allow the Kurds to export crude as long as they still adhere to the Production Sharing Contracts," the oil ministry official said, asking not to be identified.
(Reporting by Shamal Aqrawi in Arbil and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Editing by Michael Christie) ((michael.christie@thomsonreuters.com; +964 7901 917 052; Reuters Messaging: michael.christie.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: IRAQ/OIL KURDISTAN
DNO ligger og fejer op og ned med et spread på 20% på en dag. DNO har ellers en lille fin underliggende forretning hvor de tjener penge. Hele kursen iøjeblikket afgøres dog af en politisk strid mellem kurderne og den irakiske regering omkring eksport af olie.
Den ene dag er der en aftale, den næste dag er der ikke en aftale. Jeg er nu ret sikker på at alle har en interesse i eksport fra de kurdiske områder, så mon ikke man finder ud af det indtil da masserer jeg lige mine papirtab
Den ene dag er der en aftale, den næste dag er der ikke en aftale. Jeg er nu ret sikker på at alle har en interesse i eksport fra de kurdiske områder, så mon ikke man finder ud af det indtil da masserer jeg lige mine papirtab
Thursday, 04 December 2008, 03:36 EST
"Let Shahristani say what he wants to"
People attend the inauguration ceremony of the Taq-Taq oil field, southeast of Erbil, on May 14, 2006. GLOBE PHOTO/FILES
The Kurdish Globe
KRG to honor all oil contracts with foreign oil companies.
PM Barzani announces that Kurdistan nearing readiness to export over 100,000 barrels of oil daily; number to jump by end of '09.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani stated that all oil contracts the Kurdistan Regional Government has signed with foreign oil companies are legal and signed according to the law and Constitution, and his government will start exporting oil to the world markets next year.
In a press conference after the 60th anniversary ofa the Human Rights Declaration, organized in Erbil on Tuesday, December 2, PM Barzani refuted Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani's comments about the oil contracts between the KRG and international oil companies in the Egyptian capital City of Cairo.
"Let Shahristani say what he wants to, since all the oil contracts of the Regional Government are legal and signed according to the law and Constitution," said PM Barzani at the press conference.
He added that an active committee has been established to follow up on the contracts and the disagreements between Erbil and Baghdad about them.
Regarding the yet more controversial issue of exporting oil directly from Kurdistan Region to world markets, the Kurdish PM told reporters that his government is preparing itself to start exporting oil next year.
"At the first stage, approximately 100,000 barrels of oil are to be exported daily, and that is subject to change."
Shahristani has been the biggest opponent of the KRG's acts regarding oil investment and the contracts it signed with several foreign oil companies. He constantly denounced the contracts, describing them as illegal, and threatened to blacklist the oil companies from his ministry.
To solve those disputes with Baghdad, delegations from the KRG have visited Baghdad several times during the past two years to negotiate a solution with Iraqi government officials.
The last meeting between Baghdad and Erbil officials about the oil-related issues was organized in Erbil as per a visit of Shahristani to Erbil last week. During the surprise visit, Shahristani met with Prime Minister Barzani and reached some agreements regarding exporting Kurdistan Region's oil products through Kirkuk pipes to the Turkish Ceyhan port.
Dr. Ashti Hawrami, KRG Minister of Natural Resources, has announced that the KRG will export 100,000 barrels of oil to the world markets starting in 2009, and this number will increase to 250,000 barrels by the end of 2009.
"Exporting Kurdistan Region's oil will be in cooperation with the Iraqi Oil Ministry," said Hawrami.
He added that Kurdistan's oil export will start from the Tawke oil field in Duhok Province, for which the Iraq-Turkey pipelines are used. Later that year, Taq-Taq and Zakho oil fields will also be exporting oil through the same pipelines.
"Let Shahristani say what he wants to"
People attend the inauguration ceremony of the Taq-Taq oil field, southeast of Erbil, on May 14, 2006. GLOBE PHOTO/FILES
The Kurdish Globe
KRG to honor all oil contracts with foreign oil companies.
PM Barzani announces that Kurdistan nearing readiness to export over 100,000 barrels of oil daily; number to jump by end of '09.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani stated that all oil contracts the Kurdistan Regional Government has signed with foreign oil companies are legal and signed according to the law and Constitution, and his government will start exporting oil to the world markets next year.
In a press conference after the 60th anniversary ofa the Human Rights Declaration, organized in Erbil on Tuesday, December 2, PM Barzani refuted Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani's comments about the oil contracts between the KRG and international oil companies in the Egyptian capital City of Cairo.
"Let Shahristani say what he wants to, since all the oil contracts of the Regional Government are legal and signed according to the law and Constitution," said PM Barzani at the press conference.
He added that an active committee has been established to follow up on the contracts and the disagreements between Erbil and Baghdad about them.
Regarding the yet more controversial issue of exporting oil directly from Kurdistan Region to world markets, the Kurdish PM told reporters that his government is preparing itself to start exporting oil next year.
"At the first stage, approximately 100,000 barrels of oil are to be exported daily, and that is subject to change."
Shahristani has been the biggest opponent of the KRG's acts regarding oil investment and the contracts it signed with several foreign oil companies. He constantly denounced the contracts, describing them as illegal, and threatened to blacklist the oil companies from his ministry.
To solve those disputes with Baghdad, delegations from the KRG have visited Baghdad several times during the past two years to negotiate a solution with Iraqi government officials.
The last meeting between Baghdad and Erbil officials about the oil-related issues was organized in Erbil as per a visit of Shahristani to Erbil last week. During the surprise visit, Shahristani met with Prime Minister Barzani and reached some agreements regarding exporting Kurdistan Region's oil products through Kirkuk pipes to the Turkish Ceyhan port.
Dr. Ashti Hawrami, KRG Minister of Natural Resources, has announced that the KRG will export 100,000 barrels of oil to the world markets starting in 2009, and this number will increase to 250,000 barrels by the end of 2009.
"Exporting Kurdistan Region's oil will be in cooperation with the Iraqi Oil Ministry," said Hawrami.
He added that Kurdistan's oil export will start from the Tawke oil field in Duhok Province, for which the Iraq-Turkey pipelines are used. Later that year, Taq-Taq and Zakho oil fields will also be exporting oil through the same pipelines.
Baghdad and Kurds Near Oil Pact
Beirut, London and Ankara, 05 December 2008 ( Financial Times ) By Anna Fifield, Javier Blas and Delphine Strauss
Iraq’s central government and regional authorities in Kurdistan are moving closer to signing a long-awaited oil deal that could pave the way for exports from the northern region’s oil fields early next year.
Following last week’s agreement to link two northern oil fields to the main pipeline to Turkey, government and oil company officials say that a broader agreement on exports could be reached as soon as this month.
http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/41160
http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/41178
Beirut, London and Ankara, 05 December 2008 ( Financial Times ) By Anna Fifield, Javier Blas and Delphine Strauss
Iraq’s central government and regional authorities in Kurdistan are moving closer to signing a long-awaited oil deal that could pave the way for exports from the northern region’s oil fields early next year.
Following last week’s agreement to link two northern oil fields to the main pipeline to Turkey, government and oil company officials say that a broader agreement on exports could be reached as soon as this month.
http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/41160
http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/41178
Iraq's Kurdish oil impasse rumbles on
05-12-2008 12:27:00
By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil minister on Friday again denounced oil contracts signed by Kurdish authorities with foreign firms as illegal, signalling that a bitter feud over oil in the semi autonomous northern region is far from over.
"We are in serious discussions with the (Kurdish Regional Government) about several issues, but the position on the contracts that were signed without the approval of the central government remains unchanged," Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said during an energy conference in Baghdad.
"Those contracts (have no) standing with Iraqi law."
His comments are the latest sign that the U.S-backed government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and officials in Arbil, the Kurdish capital, are loathe to back down as they vie for control of considerable oil resources in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Kurdish region, which has enjoyed defacto autonomy since 1991, has signed several oil contracts, but cannot export any oil without permission from Baghdad to use pipelines that run to neighbouring Turkey.
Resolution appeared close at hand last month when the Oil Ministry announced an initial agreement that would allow 100,000 barrels per day of exports from Kurdistan's Tawke oilfield, where Norwegian oil firm DNO (DNO) holds a concession.
A second oilfield, Taq Taq, would bring Kurdish oil exports through Turkey to 250,000 barrels per day by the end of next year, Kurdish officials have said.
Yet since then officials have sparred over whether Kurdistan will need to alter existing contracts.
Shahristani said that when Kurdish contracts were amended to the extent that they became acceptable "and recognized by the government of Iraq, then the oil could be exported."
Kurdish-Arab feuding has also held up passage of a national oil law that is seen as a centrepiece of rebuilding Iraq's economy and attracting major foreign investment.
Iraq has the world's third largest oil reserves, but production has been hobbled by years of sanctions and under-investment, in addition to widespread destruction and bloodshed since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Iraq is now in the process of seeking major contracts for oil and gas fields in several bidding rounds.
As global oil prices plummet, Iraq's plans for spending billions on reconstruction and economic development in the coming years are thrust into doubt.
Shahristani said Iraq is seeking to boost oil exports from an average of 1.7 million barrels per day in October.
"The Ministry of Oil is doing its utmost to increase production as fast as we can and that's why we have gone to the first bid round and we will be going to the second in a very short time," he said. (Writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by Michael Christie) ((missy.ryan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: missy.ryan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
05-12-2008 12:27:00
By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Iraq's oil minister on Friday again denounced oil contracts signed by Kurdish authorities with foreign firms as illegal, signalling that a bitter feud over oil in the semi autonomous northern region is far from over.
"We are in serious discussions with the (Kurdish Regional Government) about several issues, but the position on the contracts that were signed without the approval of the central government remains unchanged," Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said during an energy conference in Baghdad.
"Those contracts (have no) standing with Iraqi law."
His comments are the latest sign that the U.S-backed government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and officials in Arbil, the Kurdish capital, are loathe to back down as they vie for control of considerable oil resources in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Kurdish region, which has enjoyed defacto autonomy since 1991, has signed several oil contracts, but cannot export any oil without permission from Baghdad to use pipelines that run to neighbouring Turkey.
Resolution appeared close at hand last month when the Oil Ministry announced an initial agreement that would allow 100,000 barrels per day of exports from Kurdistan's Tawke oilfield, where Norwegian oil firm DNO (DNO) holds a concession.
A second oilfield, Taq Taq, would bring Kurdish oil exports through Turkey to 250,000 barrels per day by the end of next year, Kurdish officials have said.
Yet since then officials have sparred over whether Kurdistan will need to alter existing contracts.
Shahristani said that when Kurdish contracts were amended to the extent that they became acceptable "and recognized by the government of Iraq, then the oil could be exported."
Kurdish-Arab feuding has also held up passage of a national oil law that is seen as a centrepiece of rebuilding Iraq's economy and attracting major foreign investment.
Iraq has the world's third largest oil reserves, but production has been hobbled by years of sanctions and under-investment, in addition to widespread destruction and bloodshed since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Iraq is now in the process of seeking major contracts for oil and gas fields in several bidding rounds.
As global oil prices plummet, Iraq's plans for spending billions on reconstruction and economic development in the coming years are thrust into doubt.
Shahristani said Iraq is seeking to boost oil exports from an average of 1.7 million barrels per day in October.
"The Ministry of Oil is doing its utmost to increase production as fast as we can and that's why we have gone to the first bid round and we will be going to the second in a very short time," he said. (Writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by Michael Christie) ((missy.ryan@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: missy.ryan.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Min langsigtede investering i DNO fortsætter lidt endnu, idet mindste er kursen da på vej op. Der er ikke lang tid til det nye år, hvor kurderne fastholder at eksporten begynder. Det er da godt nok lidt af en rodebutik
DNO IRAK ALENE VERDT 30-40KR
DNO and Addax get ready to roll
VAHE PETROSSIAN, London
NORWAY´S DNO and Swiss-based Addax Petroleum are putting the final touches to plans for early crude exports from new oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan following Baghdad´s surprise conditional approval in November for export pipeline links to be completed without full political and commercial agreement.
There is growing optimism that Baghdad will soon open export routes for some Kurdish oil as a goodwill gesture, even though the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) publicly continue a heated political debate over sovereignty.
Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani is stressing that contracts signed without Baghdad´s approval will have to be amended.
However, with Shahristani´s approval, DNO has completed the last 50 metres of a pipeline link which will technically allow crude exports by early 2009 from its Tawke oilfield, giving the first of a handful of pioneering developers in northern Iraq an outlet and the Baghdad government new revenues.
Addax Petroleum and its Turkish partner Genel Enerji are completing front-end engineering and design and environmental impact studies as they await government approval of one of two proposed pipeline routes. A pipeline link could be completed by the fourth quarter of 2009.
DNO can make the final physical connection between its twin 24-inch lines to the national export network by January, a senior DNO official said.
Exports could begin at a rate of 50,000 barrels per day, the capacity of the processing plant built by the Norwegians.
Seven of 14 wells already drilled at Tawke have been tied in to the plant, and more wells will be drilled once exports start.
Addax and Genel have already started producing small amounts of crude at the Taq Taq field and could export between 30,000 and 60,000 bpd by the end of 2009.
The two proposed pipeline routes are from Taq Taq to Kirkuk and Taq Taq to Silopi, on the Turkish border. The first route is 70 kilometres, while the second is 255 kilometres.
Addax´s project manager Pradeep Kabra said the company"obviously prefers"the shorter route, but will be happy with whichever route is selected.
Exports by road could take place at any stage at lower volumes of between 5000 bpd and 10,000 bpd when and if the Oil Ministry gives the green light for receiving road tankers at Kirkuk or other loading points.
The export volumes handled by DNO and Addax-Genel could increase to 250,000 bpd by 2012.
Shahristani´s go-ahead in November for some developers in Kurdistan physically to link up with export pipelines is widely seen as"a very significant step"which has transformed the picture for Kurdistan.
"Now, we need the connection fromthe commercial point of view to start actual exports,"said an official of one of the foreign companies.
DNO and Addax get ready to roll
VAHE PETROSSIAN, London
NORWAY´S DNO and Swiss-based Addax Petroleum are putting the final touches to plans for early crude exports from new oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan following Baghdad´s surprise conditional approval in November for export pipeline links to be completed without full political and commercial agreement.
There is growing optimism that Baghdad will soon open export routes for some Kurdish oil as a goodwill gesture, even though the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) publicly continue a heated political debate over sovereignty.
Oil Minister Hussain Shahristani is stressing that contracts signed without Baghdad´s approval will have to be amended.
However, with Shahristani´s approval, DNO has completed the last 50 metres of a pipeline link which will technically allow crude exports by early 2009 from its Tawke oilfield, giving the first of a handful of pioneering developers in northern Iraq an outlet and the Baghdad government new revenues.
Addax Petroleum and its Turkish partner Genel Enerji are completing front-end engineering and design and environmental impact studies as they await government approval of one of two proposed pipeline routes. A pipeline link could be completed by the fourth quarter of 2009.
DNO can make the final physical connection between its twin 24-inch lines to the national export network by January, a senior DNO official said.
Exports could begin at a rate of 50,000 barrels per day, the capacity of the processing plant built by the Norwegians.
Seven of 14 wells already drilled at Tawke have been tied in to the plant, and more wells will be drilled once exports start.
Addax and Genel have already started producing small amounts of crude at the Taq Taq field and could export between 30,000 and 60,000 bpd by the end of 2009.
The two proposed pipeline routes are from Taq Taq to Kirkuk and Taq Taq to Silopi, on the Turkish border. The first route is 70 kilometres, while the second is 255 kilometres.
Addax´s project manager Pradeep Kabra said the company"obviously prefers"the shorter route, but will be happy with whichever route is selected.
Exports by road could take place at any stage at lower volumes of between 5000 bpd and 10,000 bpd when and if the Oil Ministry gives the green light for receiving road tankers at Kirkuk or other loading points.
The export volumes handled by DNO and Addax-Genel could increase to 250,000 bpd by 2012.
Shahristani´s go-ahead in November for some developers in Kurdistan physically to link up with export pipelines is widely seen as"a very significant step"which has transformed the picture for Kurdistan.
"Now, we need the connection fromthe commercial point of view to start actual exports,"said an official of one of the foreign companies.
Ligger i dag i 5,05. Vilde kurshåb de har på Hegnar. 60 kr.!
