Q&A: Assad Muhair Karim, director general for southern electricity transmission

Iraq is racing to upgrade transmission infrastructure and improve electricity service in the south in time for next summer.

Eng. Assad Muhair Karim, director general of Iraq's Electricity Transmission Company for the South. (ALI AL-AQILY)

Energy

Oil production steady as new PM urges review of OPEC quota

October oil output stayed near Iraq's high-water mark for the year as the newly elected prime minister expressed support for OPEC-plus but criticism of Iraq's quota.

Politics

Widening divide between Kurdistan’s ruling parties raises new risks

Leaders are openly discussing the dissolution of a strategic agreement for united governance that has underpinned Kurdistan's stability and oil sector independence.

Security

Smuggling bust unravels into scandal of murder and political intrigue

An oil smuggling ring was stealing thousands of barrels per day from a pipeline in Basra. The true contours of the conspiracy remain a mystery.

Interviews

Q&A: Bafel Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

The PUK leader discusses deteriorating political rivalries within Kurdistan and their impact on both gas development and impending negotiations with Baghdad over oil rights.