Upbeat outlook in Iraqi Kurdistan
Oil and gas developers in the semi-autonomous region are looking forward to a year of rebound
Confidence is growing among producers developing fields in Iraqi Kurdistan that positive momentum will continue in 2021, as new drilling campaigns kick off during a continuing oil price uptick. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) improving the regularity of its payments for oil sales throughout second, third and fourth quarters of 2020 is one driver of this optimism. A year ago, Erbil deferred hundreds of millions of dollars of payments to operators for November 2019-February 2020 crude sales for at least nine months. “The specific reason for the delay to payments has never been clarified, [but] generally the KRG has been very good at paying their invoices,” says Daniel Slater, oil and
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
