Eighth oil company joins Kurdistan Region int’l petroleum association

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The petroleum company Kalegran B.V. on Thursday joined the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR), according to a statement by the association.

A subsidiary of the Hungary-based MOL Group, the company has been involved in the Kurdish petroleum sector since 2007, where it owns a 20% stake in the Shaikan Oil Field.

This marks the eighth company that has joined APIKUR, with the other companies being DNO, Genel, Gulf Keystone, HKN, ShaMaran Corporation, Hunt Oil Company, and WesternZagros. These companies comprise roughly 50% of all petroluem production in the Kurdistan Region.

Internationally, Kalegran operates in over 40 countries and employs over 30,000 people. 

“With Kalegran B.V. (MOL Group) joining our ranks, APIKUR's voice in the petroleum industry becomes even more robust,” said Myles B. Caggins III, the association’s spokesperson. 

Founded in 1957, the parent corporation MOL Group is mainly situated in eastern Europe. There, it is currently operating three oil refineries, two petrochemical plants, and a network of over 2,000 service stations. 

Notably, the Hungarian corporation has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion on the Budapest Stock Exchange.

“Kalegran B.V., along with our other member companies, is dedicated to advancing full oil production and exports for the benefit of stakeholders, employees, and the overall economy of Iraq,” Caggins concluded.

On Dec. 5, APIKUR published a statement saying it was disappointed that Kurdish and Iraqi officials were having bilateral negotiations without the oversight of the international oil companies. 

APIKUR was founded in 2023 by international upstream oil and gas companies active in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq with the goal of promoting the Region as an attractive destination for international oil and gas companies, yet also as part of a campaign by the companies to restart Kurdish oil exports.

Read More: Foreign oil companies express readiness to resume oil exports

The major hurdle for the Kurds is that the KRG’s oil revenues from Turkey’s Ceyhan Port have been halted since March, creating devastating economic repercussions. This followed an adverse ruling by the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration, where Iraq scored a victory over Turkey and its import of Kurdish oil, with the court deeming the sales illegal.

That flow of income has yet to be restored, and the KRG has lost upward of about $7 billion in revenues, albeit that figure was last reported on Nov. 12.

Read More: Kurdistan Region, Iraq lost $7 billion in oil revenues thus far in 2023, says APIKUR spox

Thus far, talks among Iraqi, Kurdish and Turkish officials to resume the oil exports have not resulted in a breakthrough.