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Chevron, Occidental, and oil trading giant Trafigura have agreed to explore the idea to price the light U.S. crude they export to Asia off the upcoming ICE Murban Futures contract for light sweet crude, the operator Intercontinental Exchange ICE said in a statement.

The Murban futures contract will be an alternative pricing benchmark to the benchmark Oman/Dubai average, which is currently the most used benchmark in the Middle East and off which the oil exporters from the Middle East price their oil going to Asia.

The Murban futures contract for light crude could spare Asian buyers the use of Brent Crude futures for hedging, according to Reuters.

Trafigura and U.S. oil majors Chevron and Occidental are the largest exporters of U.S. crude oil, and using the new futures contract to be launched in March next year to price their oil to Asia shows the growing importance of U.S. crude oil exports on the international oil markets.

As one of the largest exporters of US crude to Asia, we are pleased to explore opportunities to utilize the new price benchmark for light sweet crude oil that Murban Futures will provide, Fred Forthuber, President, Oxy Energy Services, said in ICEs statement. Murban moving to forward looking pricing, as a futures contract, is another great step in the evolution of the oil market, Forthuber added.

The Murban Futures Contract is a positive development in enhancing transparency for oil markets and very relevant to us as an active participant in crude oil trading in the Arabian Gulf and as the largest exporter of US crude. We look forward to playing an active part in the new benchmark, Daniel Yuen, Head of Crude Asia for Trafigura, said.

Earlier this week, ICE said it plans to launch ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) and the worlds first futures contracts based on Murban crude oil on March 29, 2021, subject to the completion of regulatory approvals.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and nine of the worlds biggest energy tradersincluding BP, Shell, Total, and Vitolpartnered in November last year to launch the crude oil futures exchange in Abu Dhabi and the Murban crude oil futures contract.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Saudi Arabia And Iraq Agree To Intensify OPEC Cooperation - OilPrice.com

Meanwhile, Joshua Preston had just pulled a 12-hour night shift. He was pretty tired and thought he might be seeing things when he spotted someone on the other side of the street who liked like his father.

I yelled out Daddy, and others turned around, it was pretty funny, Joshua Preston said. I was so surprised that it was actually him, because I didnt even know that he was in Iraq, too.

The two sat down at a bus stop to catch up. They ate a few meals together, the son gave a quick tour of his duty station, and the father was able to witness his sons reenlistment ceremony.

It was pretty amazing that I could be there for that, the father said, to which his son added: It made one day during this time a little bit more normal for me, he said.

They werent the only ones who enjoyed the unscheduled reunion. Back home in Spotsylvania County, Sally PrestonTonys wife and Joshuas motherwas thrilled to hear about their brief time together.

It was very difficult to have a husband there, but even more difficult to have your first baby there as well, she said in an email.

Three of her four childrenJoshua, Elijah and Ethanjoined the armed forces, and Joshua and Elijah also married service members.

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Fatherson veterans from Spotsylvania recall improbable reunion in Iraq - Fredericksburg.com

November 23-25, 2020

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2020 has seen the advent of crisis after crisis in Iraq: from the assassinations of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis and a series of clashes between US and Iran-aligned militias, to the months-long political crisis over the appointment of a new government, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Iraqs crumbling healthcare system, the collapse of oil prices and delays in paying public salaries, and rumblings from a resurgent ISIS.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is attempting to pursue a reform agenda to pull the country back from the brink, but political wrangling over the early elections proposed for next year, ongoing popular protests revealing deeper societal grievances and escalating violence in the streets may be an indication that Iraq is heading in the wrong direction.

At the 2019 Chatham House Iraq conference, the countrys transition to a period of peace and stability was on the agenda. A year later, Iraq looks to be in an altogether more precarious place, once again facing the possibility of the outbreak of conflict.

This virtual conference, part of the Chatham House Iraq Initiative, will bring together Iraqi and international policymakers, academics and activists to discuss the critical issues for Iraq as it navigates this challenging period.

The conference will be held on the record.

Please note that the conference will take place via the Conference+ platform. For best experience, please use either Google Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge when signing in to the platform. Each session will be hosted on Zoom, with simultaneous interpretation available in Arabic and English.

Event Contact: Georgia Cooke, project manager, MENA Programme, gcooke@chathamhouse.org

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Iraq: Navigating Reform, Collapse and the Status Quo - The Media Line

Rep. Andy Biggs(Photo: David Kadlubowski/The Republic)

Rep. Andy Biggs wants President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq before the holidays.

In a letter to Trump datedWednesday,Biggs, R-Ariz., characterized the service members' exit from the countriesa "gift" for the upcomingseason.

In the letter, Biggs asks Trump to "look abroad and continue to strategically draw down our nations military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Biggs cites the lack of progress in counterterrorism, nation-building efforts and the human and financial cost of the war as reasons to continue thewithdrawal of U.S. troops.

"Nation-building doesnt work, as you immediately recognized upon taking office: Afghanistan and Iraq today are clearly not beacons of democracy, stability, or prosperity, despite the thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars we have sacrificed to try to remake these countries," Biggs said in the letter.

The U.S. has spent or obligated $6.4 trillion dollars on fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan through 2020, according to Brown University. Additionally, at least 800,000 people have been killed by war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemenand Pakistan, with more than 310,000 civilians being killed since 2001.

Biggs claimed that the Taliban retain control of much of Afghanistan with no change in the situationsince 2001. Biggs said that the achievementsthe U.S. have made in Iraq were not worth the cost.

"Today, Iraqs government is shaky at best, addicted to continuing foreign assistance, and easily susceptible to pressure from outside actors, especially Iran," he wrote.

Biggsclarified that his comments in the letter were not a criticism of the service members who have served in the Middle East and other overseas engagements.

"Instead, it is an indictment of Washingtons broken foreign policy establishment, which is dominated by arm-chair idealists who never seem to grasp the messy realities on the ground," he wrote.

The U.S. first entered the war in Afghanistan 19 years ago after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In February, the U.S. entered an agreement with the Taliban that soughtto reduce the amount of violence in the war and withdraw the remaining U.S. troops by April 2021.

However, in October, Trump tweeted that service members in Afghanistan should be home by Christmas, a sentiment shared by Biggs in his letter.

"I urge you to continue to aggressively pursue these and all other related efforts in the coming weeks," Biggs said in the letter."What greater gift could we give the American people as we head into the holiday season?"

Contact the reporteratjoseignacio.castaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda.

Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/11/12/rep-andy-biggs-asks-trump-withdraw-troops-afghanistan-iraq/6270753002/

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Rep. Andy Biggs asks Trump to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Iraq in time for holidays - The Arizona Republic

The PKK's terror attacks on the Kurdistan Regional Government's economic lifeline should be a wake-up call for the incoming US administration.

After the sabotage on the oil pipeline on October 28 by the PKK, the terror group conducted an attack against Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq. These incidents followed a warning by the PKK that a war might be imminent.

On the other side, the Kurdish Regional Government demands the full withdrawal of the PKK from its territories and condemned the recent attacks. Within this dynamic, it is the United States that needs to take action to protect the Kurds from terror. As the US is the main supplier and supporter of the PKK/YPG in Syria, it has to ensure that the terror group respects the rights of the Kurds.

During the last few years, the PKK has faced several setbacks in Turkey after the solution process (2013-2015). The PKK was driven out of cities, and then the countryside. In the end, the fighting was limited to the mountains in northern Iraq with little to almost zero infiltrations of the PKK into Turkey.

Especially after recent Turkish military operations this year, the PKK lost control over several areas in the region and tried to flee southwards deeper into the territories of the Kurdish Regional Government. However, this was and is being prevented by the Kurds who erected barricades to stop the movement of the PKK.

For a long time, the Kurdish Regional Government demanded that the PKK should leave Iraq and end its occupation of Kurdish villages to facilitate the return of Kurdish civilians back home. Until today, the PKK rejects these demands.

Additionally, the Kurds made an agreement with the Iraqi Central Government that the PKK will completely withdraw from the Sinjar region near the Syrian border. The PKK/YPG had established a presence in the Yazidi-populated area and prevented the return of Yazidis back home. This deal was heavily criticised by the PKK and its affiliates. Due to its geographical location, the Sinjar region worked as the main hub for the PKK from Syria into Iraq. This region enabled the terror group to transfer weapons, fighters, ammunition, and other forms of equipment into Iraq and from there into Turkey.

Out of frustration, the PKK has increased its media campaign and rhetoric against the Kurds in Iraq and has pushed forward propaganda that they were collaborating with the Turkish enemy against them.

As the desperation of the PKK grew, the terror group decided to sabotage the oil pipeline from northern Iraq to Turkey the main economic lifeline for the Kurds. The damage caused by the terror attack caused the Kurds a loss of $86 million.

Seeing the KRG's commitment to its policy to blockade the movement of the PKK, the latter has resorted to a direct attack against the Kurdish Peshmerga. The Kurdish Peshmerga were trained and equipped by the international coalition to fight Daesh and have sacrificed hundreds of its men to that cause.

After these incidents, Kurdish political parties came together to discuss a joint approach to deal with the growing threat from the PKK. Many countries, including the US, and France have condemned the terror attack against the Kurds.

While the PKK is on a losing track in Turkey and Iraq, its only lifeline remains its presence in Syria under the pretext of the PKK/YPG or the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces backed by the United States. The terror group does use Syria as a staging ground, training, and recruitment area as well as a logistics supply route into Turkey and Iraq.

The aid delivered by the US to the PKK/YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces and the income from taxes and oil revenues in Syria is partially used to organise terror activities in Iraq and Turkey.

The US has to re-evaluate its policy on the PKK/YPG in Syria and prevent its local partners from attacking the Kurds. After the massive sacrifices of the Kurdish people against the terror by Daesh, the US has to protect the Kurds from the terror of the PKK.

To achieve this goal, the US needs to come up with an urgent response. First of all, the US has to articulate clearly with its partners that any attack on the Kurds will be met with grave consequences.

The US has to restrain its aid to demonstrate that attacks against the economic lifeline of the Kurds wont be left unpunished. The US also has to help the Iraqi government end the presence of the PKK in Sinjar and cut the land route of the PKK from Syria into Iraq.

The new US administration and especially CENTCOM officials who dictate the US policy in Syria should rethink their strategy. How can the US protect the Kurds from further attacks by the terror group? How did it happen that the US partnered with a terror group that targets the Turks and the Kurds alike? How can this catastrophic policy be reversed?

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT World.

We welcome all pitches and submissions to TRT World Opinion please send them via email, to opinion.editorial@trtworld.com

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The US has to stop its PKK ally from attacking Kurds in Iraq - TRT World