عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Iraq to Boost West Qurna 1 Production by 50K bpd

A security man in front of the gate of the West Qurna 1 oil field operating authority. (Reuters)
A security man in front of the gate of the West Qurna 1 oil field operating authority. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Iraq to Boost West Qurna 1 Production by 50K bpd

A security man in front of the gate of the West Qurna 1 oil field operating authority. (Reuters)
A security man in front of the gate of the West Qurna 1 oil field operating authority. (Reuters)

US energy giant ExxonMobil Corp has formally exited the West Qurna 1 oilfield in southern Iraq and handed over its operations to PetroChina as lead contractor, a deputy oil minister told Reuters on Monday.
Iraq and PetroChina plan to boost production by 50,000 to 600,000 bpd at the end of 2024, Basim Mohammed, deputy oil minister for upstream affairs, said.
Senior Iraqi oil officials met with executives from ExxonMobil, PetroChina, and Basra Oil Co on Monday at the West Qurna 1 field near Basra to mark Exxon's complete exit and the handover of its operations to PetroChina.
"We are meeting today to bid farewell to ExxonMobil, and at the same time we congratulate PetroChina for becoming the lead contractor," Mohammed said.
PetroChina holds the largest stake in the field after the departure of Exxon.
Last year, Iraq signed a sale agreement to acquire 22.7% of ExxonMobil's stake in West Qurna 1 by Iraq's state-run Basra Oil Co.(BOC), while Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina bought the remaining 10% of Exxon’s stake, increasing its share to 20%.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

Trump Vows New Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
TT
TT

Trump Vows New Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President-elect Donald Trump attends a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, US, November 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

US President-elect Donald Trump vowed on Monday to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.

He said he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders.

In a series of posts to his Truth Social account, Trump vowed to hit some of the United States' largest trading partners with duties on all goods entering the country.

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on ALL products coming into the United States,” he wrote, according to AFP.

He said the new tariffs would remain in place “until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

The President ignored the US, Mexico and Canada three-decade-old free trade agreement, now called the USMCA.

In another post, Trump said he would also be slapping China with a 10% tariff, “above any additional Tariffs,” in response to what he said was its failure to tackle fentanyl smuggling.

“No one will win a trade war,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China's embassy in the United States, told AFP by email, defending Beijing's efforts to curb fentanyl smuggling.

“China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature,” Liu added.

Canada said it was “essential” to US energy supplies, and insisted the relationship benefits American workers.

“We will of course continue to discuss these issues with the incoming administration,” said the statement from Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Tariffs are a key part of Trump's economic agenda, with the Republican vowing wide-ranging duties on allies and adversaries alike while he was on the campaign trail.

Many economists have warned that tariffs would hurt growth and push up inflation, since they are primarily paid by importers bringing the goods into the US, who often pass those costs on to consumers.

But those in Trump's inner circle have insisted that the tariffs are a useful bargaining chip for the US to push its trading partners to agree to more favorable terms, and to bring back manufacturing jobs from overseas.