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Federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government run very different oil sectors, and it is the latter that is currently exciting investors. But without political compromise – unlikely given the increasingly sour relations between the two regions – there can be no stable oil revenues for majors looking to develop Kurdish concessions

Iraq has approved a $329m tender for UK oil and gas services company Petrofac to develop the untapped Badra oil field.

There appears to be confusion between Baghdad and Erbil over the status of ExxonMobil’s contract with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG)(GSN 915/14, 913/9). On 16 March, Reuters ran a story quoting Iraqi oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi as saying: “We received a letter from Exxon on 5 March saying they are freezing the contract with the Kurds.”

Qatar has quietly accumulated a 2% share in French energy giant Total, according to a report in French paper Les Echos. On 13 March, the paper said Qatar’s investment – built up since last summer – was worth more than E2bn ($2.7bn), making the emirate one of the oil major’s biggest shareholders.

France’s Technip has won a Kuwait Gulf Oil Company contract to build a 110km pipeline between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, both onshore and offshore.

Baghdad has said it will ban US supermajor ExxonMobil from Iraq’s fourth oil and gas licensing auction scheduled for 30 May because of its deals with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). It has also warned France’s Total that it will face “full consequences” if it signs contracts directly with the Kurdish authorities.

Iran plans to increase its crude oil storage capacity in order to circumvent sanctions, according to the English language Tehran Times.

Oil major ExxonMobil has broken its silence over its controversial production-sharing contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), although it did not comment on the resultant tension with Baghdad.

Reports that a major pipeline in Eastern Province had been attacked – subsequently denied by the Saudi government – were enough to send oil prices to their highest level since 2008, a sign not so much of the fragility of oil supplies as market nerves.

French oil major Total has bought a 40% stake in the Block 3 exploration licence, which it will operate. The licence covers 2,954 square metres in the eastern section of the Marib Basin

Iraq has nominated former oil minister Thamer Al Ghadban as next secretary general of Opec, according to a government spokesman.

A much-debated hydrocarbons law is slated for a first reading in parliament this month, although with Baghdad and Erbil still at odds over five key articles, analysts are sceptical that agreement will be reached any time soon.

UAE plans to capitalise on logistical, financial and diplomatic support to anti-Qadhafi rebels throughout 2011 are focused on the advancement of a major refinery joint venture. But the terms of the deal have been criticised and its economics are bad for Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC).

Saudi Arabia has been keen to stress that it will make up for any shortfall in world oil markets. While he did not directly mention Iran, oil minister Ali Al Naimi told a London conference on 30 January that “any future shortages will be handled”.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has said the emirate’s onshore oil concessions will be put to tender when they come up for renewal in 2014, opening the door for Asian firms to boost their presence and casting doubt over the future contracts of the emirate’s long-term partners.