(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Iraq's oil exports rose to an average of 2.579 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, the oil ministry said yesterday, due to increased shipments from southern oil fields which have helped it move closer to a year-end target.
Exports were higher than in July when Iraq exported 2.324 million bpd on average. Opec's second-largest producer wants to export 2.9 million bpd per day by the end of the year.
August oil exports, which have generated revenues of $8.3 billion, are the highest in months due to increased shipments from the southern ports, oil ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said.
Iraq shipped 2.308 million bpd from the southern oil hub of Basra, up from 2.144 million the previous month, a statement from state-run South Oil Co.'s media office showed.
"Shipments from southern oilfields were higher by around 58,000 barrels than what has been set at the August loading program," the statement said.
Iraq expects output to rise by 400,000 bpd by the end of this year due to the start-up of the Royal Dutch Shell operated Majnoon oilfield in southern Iraq and other smaller sources.
Garraf oilfield in the south, developed by Petronas and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd started production of 35,000 barrels per day on Saturday, Jihad said.
Iraq is planning to conduct maintenance this month at its southern terminals to expand export capacity but has said exports would continue normally.
Zain Saudi appoints telecoms veteran Kabbani as CEO
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's No.3 telecom operator Zain Saudi has appointed industry veteran Hassan Kabbani as chief executive with immediate effect, the firm said in a statement yesterday.
A native Arabic speaker from Lebanon, Kabbani replaces Fraser Curley, who became CEO of the loss-making company in March 2012.
Kabbani has been recruited to help Zain fight back against better-resourced rivals Saudi Telecom Co (STC) and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily). Zain Saudi had 16 percent of the kingdom's active mobile subscribers at 2012-end, according to the company's annual report.
Kabbani has held the post of CEO at several telecom operators in the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt's Mobinil from 2008 to 2011 and Algeria's Djezzy from 2003 to 2008, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Prior to joining Zain Saudi, he was a board member and advisor to Dubai-based Oger Telecom, which holds controlling stakes in Turk Telekom and South Africa's Cell C. Curley resigned with immediate effect yesterday for personal reasons, Zain Saudi's statement said.
In July, Zain Saudi - 37-percent owned by Kuwait's Zain - agreed with lenders to extend an outstanding $2.3bn Islamic loan facility for five years, while a month earlier it also received government approval to defer payment of licence-related fees that could total around $1.49bn over seven years. Zain Saudi's second-quarter net loss was SR370m ($99m), compared with a net loss of 394m in the corresponding period of 2012, as revenue rose nine percent to SR1.7bn.
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