A damaged building in Erbil following the Iranian strike
Iraq looks beyond headwinds for the upside in 2024
Optimism about Kurdish production increases contrasts with a messy security situation that could obstruct oil and gas progress
Iraq’s one-step-forwards, two-steps-back progress is continuing in 2024, with recent improvements in northern crude output clouded by a deterioration in the country’s wider security situation. An Iranian missile strike on the Kurdish capital of Erbil on 15 January coincided with a general uptick in militia violence in the country—regional fallout from the Israel-Hamas conflict. A drone attack on the Khor Mor gas field in the Kurdistan region on 25 January, damaging Emirati company Dana Gas’ liquid storage tank, has reinforced oil and gas companies’ vulnerability to militia violence in Iraq’s north. The incidents obscured some recent good news for Iraq: crude production is trending upwards ag
Also in this section
3 October 2024
The formation’s gas-to-oil ratio is set to keep rising, but new markets and midstream plans mean infrastructure constraints may not be an issue
2 October 2024
Geopolitical strife embroiling Iran and political corruption in Venezuela suggest little near-term change to oil production from either of the sanctioned states
1 October 2024
Our look into Petroleum Economist's archives continues with October 1960 coverage of another key moment in the history of oil and gas: the founding of OPEC
1 October 2024
In an age of ‘poly crisis’ and ‘radical uncertainty’ the only thing we can say about the future is that it will not be business as usual
