International Data Points -- April 9, 2016

I don't know when I put these two data points in draft. They've been in draft for quite some time; simply moving this to active post. For the archives only; not particularly noteworthy.

Breaking now: Canada's Bankers Petroleum agrees to takeover by Chinese firm. Headquartered in Calgary, it looks like this company's assets were in Albania.

Kurdistan: from Rigzone --

Iraqi Kurdistan is keen to attract Russian oil companies to work on its territory.

The semi-autonomous region of Iraq is ready to take all necessary measures, including security ones, to ensure that Russian energy firms can work safely there.

Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of state gas company Gazprom, is currently working on four projects in Iraq, of which three - Halabja, Shakal and Garmian - are located in Iraqi Kurdistan. 

For most recent update on the Kurds, see this post.