Iraqi Oil Minister: Hussain al-Shahristani
Iraq says DNO has no export licence
Iraq has given no oil export licence to the Norwegian ompany DNO, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said today.
"No export license has been granted to DNO. Any crude produced in Iraq, including (by) DNO, should be handed over to SOMO (the state oil export company) to export and all the revenue will be given to the Ministry of Finance," Shahristani said in an email to Reuters.
The Norwegian outfit pumps oil in Iraq's autonomous northern Kurdish region and has been attempting to gain a license to export it. Without a licence, it must sell oil on the domestic market at a fraction of the world price.
Shares in DNO briefly surged by more than 50% on Tuesday after a news report that it was about to receive a license, although the company said it had not yet received one and the share price subsequently fell, reported Reuters.