Latest news with #HayanAbdel-Ghani
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Iraq's oil minister has 'reservations' about energy agreements signed by Kurdish region
Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani speaks during a press conference at Iraq's Majnoon oil field near Basra, Iraq, May 12, 2023. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani/File Photo BAGHDAD - Iraq's oil minister said that the federal government has reservations about energy agreements signed by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, after Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani oversaw the signing of two deals with U.S. companies worth a combined $110 billion over their lifetimes. "Agreements and contracts like this should be signed by the federal government," Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters on Wednesday. The agreements involve the development of the Miran and Topkhana-Kurdamir gas fields in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniya, and on Tuesday the federal oil ministry that Abdel-Ghani leads called the deals "null and void". The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources said in a statement in response to that that the deals were based on contracts that had been signed "many years ago" and that had been upheld as legal by Iraqi courts. Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between the federal government and the Kurdistan regional government. A key dispute is over a pipeline running through Turkey that has been halted since March 2023 after the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled that Turkey violated provisions of a 1973 treaty by facilitating Kurdish exports without Baghdad's consent. Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Asharq Al-Awsat
24-03-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iraq Says Iran Used Forged Iraqi Documents on Oil Tankers, Tehran Denies
Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said told state television that Iranian oil tankers stopped by US forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents. US President Donald Trump's administration has restored his earlier "maximum pressure" policy on Iran, reviving a policy that seeks to isolate the country from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenue in order to slow Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon. "We received some verbal inquiries about oil tankers being detained in the Gulf by US naval forces carrying Iraqi shipping manifests," Abdel-Ghani said on state television late on Sunday, adding there had been no formal written communication. "It turned out that these tankers were Iranian ... and were using forged Iraqi documents. We explained this to the relevant authorities with complete transparency and they also confirmed this." Iran's oil ministry on Monday denied that Tehran had used forged official documents and said allegations that they had done so came from US officials, the ministry's Shana news agency reported. "It's obvious that these allegations by US officials fold into the illegal... pressure on the nation of Iran and have no basis or credibility," Shana said. Iran views neighbor and ally Iraq as vital to keeping its economy afloat while under sanctions. But Baghdad, a partner to both Washington and Tehran, is wary of being caught in the crosshairs of Trump's policy to squeeze Iran, sources have said. Reuters reported in December that a sophisticated fuel oil smuggling network that experts believe generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq in the past few years, including by using forged documentation. Abdel-Ghani said state marketer SOMO sold crude exclusively to companies that own refineries and does not supply trading firms. "SOMO operates with full transparency and has committed no wrongdoing in the oil export process," he said.
LBCI
24-03-2025
- Business
- LBCI
Iranian oil tankers seized by US used forged Iraqi documents, Iraq's oil minister says
Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said that Iranian oil tankers seized by U.S. forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents. The U.S. administration has restored "maximum pressure" on Iran, reviving the policy used during President Donald Trump's first term that seeks to isolate Iran from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenues in order to slow Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon. Reuters
Asharq Al-Awsat
24-03-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iranian Oil Tankers Using Forged Iraqi Documents, Iraqi Oil Minister Says
Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said Iranian oil tankers seized by US forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents. The administration of US President Donald Trump has restored "maximum pressure" on Iran, reviving a policy that seeks to isolate the country from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenue in order to slow Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon. Abdel-Ghani was asked if he had received messages from the United States over the possibility that state oil marketer SOMO could be subject to sanctions itself over the violation of Iranian sanctions. "We received some verbal inquiries about oil tankers being detained in the Gulf by US naval forces carrying Iraqi shipping manifests," the oil minister said on state television late on Sunday, adding there had been no formal written communication. "It turned out that these tankers were Iranian ... and were using forged Iraqi documents. We explained this to the relevant authorities with complete transparency and they also confirmed this." The Iranian oil ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters reported in December that a sophisticated fuel oil smuggling network that some experts believe generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq in the past few years, including by using forged documentation. SOMO sells crude exclusively to companies that own refineries and does not supply trading firms, Abdel-Ghani said, adding that several traders were behind the scheme. "SOMO operates with full transparency and has committed no wrongdoing in the oil export process," he said.
Al Arabiya
24-03-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Iranian oil tankers using forged Iraqi documents, Iraqi oil minister says
Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said that Iranian oil tankers seized by US forces in the Gulf were using forged Iraqi documents. The US administration has restored 'maximum pressure' on Iran, reviving the policy used during President Donald Trump's first term that seeks to isolate Iran from the global economy and eliminate its oil export revenues in order to slow Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon. Developing
