Businesses considering entering the Iraqi market are being offered a second free seminar, to explore further the considerations for operating in Iraq.

The second of a series of “Opportunity Iraq” seminars is being delivered by Upper Quartile as part of Aberdeen City Council’s international trade and investment team’s support services. This will deal with the commercial aspects of managing and building a commercial operation in Iraq and in particularly Basra.

The Seminar will be held in Marischal College on Friday 27 January, with presentations commencing at 2pm and concluding by 5pm.

Presenters include representatives from AAIB Insurance, who offer specialist insurance in high-risk markets including Iraq Insurance; Blue Hackle, who offer security in Iraq and an Iraqi national whose business helps foreign companies set up in Iraq.

Companies attending the seminar will have the opportunity to discuss specific issues relating to their business with the speakers, representatives of both Upper Quartile and Aberdeen City Council.

Please click here to download futher details and agenda.

The EIC is organising an oil and gas trade mission to Basra in Iraq.

Missioners will have the opportunity to attend organised group meetings with key local players, as well as incorporating a briefing meeting presented by qualified speakers with in-market experience and the opportunity to meet with local companies.

Why Iraq?

As Iraq works to rebuild its economy and infrastructure after years of war and internal strife, the engagement of UK businesses will be an important factor in the success of those efforts. During the past several years, in the face of many political challenges, Iraq‘s economy has made impressive strides.

Iraq‘s gross domestic product, which was $57 billion in 2007, has grown to more than $80 billion in 2011. In its 2010–2014 national development plan, the government has budgeted more than $186 billion for some 2,700 projects in different sectors.

Iraq holds one of the principal hydrocarbon reserves in the world. With proven reserves estimated at 143 billion barrels, the country‘s undiscovered oil reserve is considered to have the second largest reserve in the world — possibly 300 billion barrels. Iraq also has reserves of gas of 3.2 trillion cubic metres, and is also rich in other minerals, including sulphur, phosphate and iron.

There are also many opportunities in the country‘s power sector, as the government has targeted billions of dollars to restore and meet Iraq‘s increasing need for power. Areas of opportunity include power plants, transmission and distribution, and renewable energy.

As Iraq moves forward with its new government, there are tremendous opportunities for UK companies to develop business.

The deadline for returning booking forms is Friday 6th January 2012. Please click here for full details and booking form.

The Middle East Association, in partnership with UK Trade & Investment and the Kurdistan Regional Government, will be leading a Trade Delegation to Iraqi Kurdistan in the spring of 2012, visiting Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Mission Participants will have the opportunity to meet government ministers, senior business leaders, and the local Chambers of Commerce.

The Kurdistan region remains one of the MEA’s major success stories. In October we took the largest UK trade delegation to the region to date, which was also the largest trade mission from the UK anywhere in the world this year.

Mission Focus:

Our spring mission will have a particular focus on education & training, and construction & infrastructure. Each of these areas of interest will have a comprehensive sector-specific mission programme organised by the KRG.

The KRG are especially keen to welcome representatives from British universities and other well-respected institutions to develop a variety of educational links. Given the current construction and infrastructure boom, the MEA would also like to encourage participants from organisations that would be well-placed to contribute to developing the major infrastructure requirements of the Kurdistan region as it accelerates towards being a major commercial and cultural hub in the broader region.

Investing in Iraqi Kurdistan:

The stable security situation in Kurdistan has lent itself to business prosperity. Economically, the region is moving rapidly ahead of the rest of Iraq, and the economy’s growth this year is expected to be over 7%. It also has one of the friendliest investment laws in the Middle East.

Currently, 68 UK companies are registered in Kurdistan, making the UK the third largest foreign presence in the region. British-Kurdish relations are strong, and British business is welcomed and encouraged for the high quality of its skills, expertise, and products. More can be read about British-Kurdish relations and British investment in Kurdistan here.

‘Introducing the Kurdistan Market’: Pre-Mission Market Briefing, Wednesday 18th January

The Middle East Association will be hosting ‘Introducing the Kurdistan Market’ at Bury House on Wednesday 18th January, a market briefing ahead of the trade mission.

This event is free, although priority will be given to MEA Members.

Our panel will include senior representation from the Kurdistan Region Government and the Middle East Association, who will give market advice and inform you of the fantastic potential of the Kurdistan market. It will also be an excellent opportunity to raise any questions and queries you might have about investing in the region.

On the panel will be:

• David Lloyd, Mission Leader and Senior Consultant, Middle East Association
• Vian Rahman, Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in the UK
• Carl Bruce, Senior Country Manager – Iraq, UK Trade & Investment
• Lyndsay Snowden, MEA Trade Missions Manager, CT Group Travel
• Kawa Besarani, Managing Director, Besarani Trading (Kurdish-British businessman)

This seminar will be of particular interest to those as yet unfamiliar with the Kurdistan region and those thinking of participating in the trade mission, although all are welcome.

The event will begin at 16.30 with Registration and Refreshments. Presentations will be from 17.00, followed by Q&A, lasting until about 18.30. To attend, please email your name, position, company, and reason for attending to chrism@the-mea.co.uk. As this is a free event with a limited number of places, we recommend that you sign up as soon as possible.

Participating on the Trade Mission

To sign up for a mission prospectus, please contact our Mission Managers, CT Group Travel, at mea@ctgrouptravel.co.uk or 01892 673 435. The prospectus will give full details of the mission programme and costs.

We hope to see you on January 18th – and on the mission.

Please click here to download further details and contact form.

The EIC is organising an oil and gas trade mission to Basra in Iraq.

Missioners will have the opportunity to attend organised group meetings with key local players, as well as incorporating a briefing meeting presented by qualified speakers with in-market experience and the opportunity to meet with local companies.

Why Iraq?

As Iraq works to rebuild its economy and infrastructure after years of war and internal strife, the engagement of UK businesses will be an important factor in the success of those efforts. During the past several years, in the face of many political challenges, Iraq‘s economy has made impressive strides.

Iraq‘s gross domestic product, which was $57 billion in 2007, has grown to more than $80 billion in 2011. In its 2010–2014 national development plan, the government has budgeted more than $186 billion for some 2,700 projects in different sectors.

Iraq holds one of the principal hydrocarbon reserves in the world. With proven reserves estimated at 143 billion barrels, the country‘s undiscovered oil reserve is considered to have the second largest reserve in the world — possibly 300 billion barrels. Iraq also has reserves of gas of 3.2 trillion cubic metres, and is also rich in other minerals, including sulphur, phosphate and iron.

There are also many opportunities in the country‘s power sector, as the government has targeted billions of dollars to restore and meet Iraq‘s increasing need for power. Areas of opportunity include power plants, transmission and distribution, and renewable energy.

As Iraq moves forward with its new government, there are tremendous opportunities for UK companies to develop business.

There is priority booking for EIC members until 9th December. Please click here for full details and booking form.

This morning saw the launch of a major new guide to business in Iraq: Entitled “The New Iraq: 2012 Discovering Business“, it was launched simultaneously in Dubai and at the “Iraq: Untapped Opportunities” conference in London.

Published by Allurentis, in association with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the guide containes a wealth of  case studies, commentary and data; it’s 140 pages of essential reading for everyone involved with the redevelopment of Iraq.

And as Dr. Sami Al-Araji, Chairman of the National Investment Commission, says in the introduction, “the sky really is the limit for investors”!

Iraq Business News is delighted to make this guide available to readers in pdf format. Please click here to download the full document (6.8MB).

By Chris Bowers, British Consul General in Erbil. This article was originally published by Rudaw, and is re-published with permission by Iraq Business News.

Like all the best ideas, the concept for a British Film Festival in Kurdistan Region came from a chat between two friends over a few drinks a few months ago.

Those two friends were lucky enough that when we first gingerly mentioned it to the next circle of friends did not say: “What how can you have a film festival in a city where there are no cinemas?” rather said “What a great idea, let’s go for it!”

So, why hold a British film festival in Kurdistan Region?

Well, why ever not?

Erbil is the type of city that can now expect to host film festivals – given a bit of ingenuity.

We are bringing in professional projectionists who will convert the Saad Palace from a convention centre to a cinema between the 26-28 November. It could be said that we are taking Erbil back to its roots more than two and a half thousand years ago. British archaeologists have translated fragments of cuneiform text found in and around Erbil dating from the 7th century BC. One fragment, a poem, written by an Assyrian King describes Erbil as a ‘City of Festivals’!

Like all the best festivals, entry to the British Film Festival will be free and open to everyone: first come, first served. We are arranging Kurdish subtitles for the films.

It is a British film festival because there is a special bond between the people of Kurdistan Region and Britain. Film can reach out to people across cultures and speak to what unites us.

In a bid to encourage firms to develop a presence in the Middle Eastern state of Iraq, Upper Quartile, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council’s International Trade and Investment team, held a seminar yesterday in Aberdeen, attracting representatives from around 20 oil and gas service companies interested in the investment opportunities available in Iraq.

Over the afternoon, presentations were given by Blue Hackle, a security firm who offer specialist risk mitigation and management services, and operate in Iraq; and KCA Deutag, a drilling company who already have operations employing some 65 staff in Iraq, and Upper Quartile.

After the presentations, delegates entered into discussion on their own experiences of the country, and the problems they had encountered with obtaining visas and payments for work done.

In order to address these problems, it was agreed that a small forum be set up, which would bring together companies currently doing or wishing to do business in Iraq, for dinner and informal discussion every quarter.

The event attracted significant interest and was covered by both BBC Scotland and STV, with pieces broadcast on the radio and on the news.

Another Opportunity Iraq Seminar will be held on January 26th. Should you wish to attend, please register your interest here.

For further information please contact Siobhan Young.

Speech by British Ambassador, Michael Aron at the Kurdistan-Iraq: Oil & Gas Conference

Mr Chairman, Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to speak at Kurdistan-Iraq Oil & Gas 2011. The timing could hardly be better.. as the country with greatest potential for increasing conventional oil production in the medium term, the trajectory of Iraq’s future oil and gas production is of considerable importance to global energy markets. British Companies are actively involved in Iraq and I look forward to hearing their perspective, and the views of Ministers and others, on doing business here and their expectations for the future.

Oil is of course central domestically to Iraq. It currently accounts for around 65% of GDP and 95% of federal budget revenue. Oil will be the single largest source of government revenue for years to come. But Iraq’s oil production – currently around 2.8mbd – is still only a fraction of its potential. Of this, around 2.2mbd is currently being exported. On IEA figures – that is without April’s increase in audited reserves to 143 billion barrels – Iraq has the fourth largest proven reserves of oil in the world. While the government’s declared aim to increase production to 12mbd by 2017 will be challenging, it demonstrates the level of ambition and scale of opportunity for companies and investors.

Oil grabs the headlines, but development of Iraq’s gas fields is also crucial and time sensitive. Once domestic demand is satisfied, the huge gas resources in Iraq give Baghdad and Erbil the opportunity to set a long-term strategic energy relationship with Turkey and Europe through the Nabucco pipeline and other southern corridor routes. European energy demand for gas is growing and Nabucco and others can make a significant contribution to European energy security.

Development of the oil and gas sector will drive the wider reconstruction of physical and human capital that Iraq needs. This is important for domestic stability. A combination of stability, economic development and the creation of a competitive private sector offer huge opportunities for international and Iraqi business. And it puts Iraq right back at the centre of the global economy it left 20 years ago.