Author Archive | Editor

ICTSI Ramps Up Business at Umm Qasr

By John Lee. Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has said it has increased its volumes by 12 percent over the past year, mainly due to the continuing volume ramp-up at its terminal at Umm Qasr port. The company inaugurated the first phase of its $130-million greenfield port development at Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT) […]

Efforts to Privatize Electricity face Resistance

By Salam Zidane for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In a meeting held Feb. 21, Najaf’s provincial council followed in the footsteps of Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Wasit and Diwaniyah and voted against the privatization of the electricity sector in […]

Counter-ISIS Strikes Continue in Syria, Iraq

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 22 strikes consisting of 82 engagements against ISIS targets on Saturday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported yesterday. Officials reported details of yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in […]

Video: The Human Cost of the Battle for Mosul

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The battle for Mosul has displaced more than 275,000 people, but the number of killed and injured civilians is harder to document. Make-shift hospitals have been set up to deal with the constant […]

Al-Abadi to visit White House this month

By John Lee. The White House has said US President Donald Trump will host Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Washington later this month. AFP describes the visit as a "fence-mending meeting", following the tensions between Washington and Baghdad since Trump introduced a ban on Iraqis visiting the United States; Iraqis were subsequently excluded from […]

Capacity Increased at Kirkuk Oil Refinery

By John Lee. The Iraqi Oil Ministry has said that the North Refinery Company (NRC) has successfully added 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity at Kirkuk oil refinery. The new unit brings total capacity to 40,000 bpd, with another 10,000 bpd planned to be added by the end of the year. It will produce oil […]

US Report on Iraqi Human Rights Practices

By John Lee. The US State Department has said human rights abuses were widespread in Iraq over the past year, adding that the civilian authorities were not always able to maintain effective control of all security forces. In its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016, it says that while donor funding increased, the […]

Improving Women’s Livelihoods in Ninewah

For a young Yazidi woman who survived upheaval and displacement in northern Iraq, hope and stability finally arrived in an unexpected form: plump brown quails, and their tiny speckled eggs. Gulistan, 23, lives in the predominantly Christian and Yazidi district of Alqosh in the northern reaches of Ninewah Governorate. In the summer of 2014, the […]

Gazprom Commissions three New Wells at Badra

Gazprom Neft Badra — a subsidiary of Russia's Gazprom Neft — has commissioned three new production wells (BD-2, P-14 and P-10) at the Badra field in Iraq. Total production across all three wells is running at 23,000 barrels per day, with daily production at the field totalling 77,000 barrels. All three wells are operating under […]