Overview
- Iraq’s oil ministry says funds tied to West Qurna-2 will stay frozen until contract terms allow payments to non‑sanctioned entities.
- SOMO canceled planned loadings from the field, including roughly 4 million barrels allocated to Lukoil for November.
- Lukoil notified Baghdad on November 4 and is invoking force majeure to shield itself from contractual penalties.
- Work by all non‑Russian foreign staff has been suspended, with Russian and Iraqi personnel maintaining output near 480,000 barrels per day.
- Efforts to sell overseas assets have faltered after Gunvor withdrew its offer for Lukoil International GmbH following U.S. licensing warnings.