In common with some other countries, Iraq’s oil is priced relative to regional benchmark prices:

* For shipments to US, contracts are priced are relative to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI);

* Shipments to Europe are priced relative the North Sea Spot BFOE; and

* Asian shipmentas are priced relative to the Dubai-Oman crude benchmark, published by Platts, the energy-information division of McGraw-Hill.

October prices are as follows:

• Kirkuk crude to Europe increased the most, rising by $1.95 a barrel, and will sell at a premium of 15 cents a barrel to the North Sea (Dated Brent) benchmark;
• Basra Light to Europe will cost $1.50 a barrel more in October than in September and will sell at a narrower discount of $1.45 a barrel to Dated Brent;
• U.S. buyers will see a fifth consecutive price increase for the grade, with the discount to the ASCI narrowing to $1.15, an increase of 15 cents;
• Kirkuk oil for U.S. buyers will climb 10 cents a barrel to a 35 cents premium above the ASCI benchmark;
• The discount for Basra Light to Asia narrowed by 20 cents to $1.35 a barrel below the Dubai-Oman benchmark.

(Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)

Bidders are invited to provide acid stimulation services on 10 wells within a one-year period to maximize the inflow area of the wellbore in oil and gas formations.

The tender closes on Sept. 27 and the offer stays valid for 90 days after the bid closing date.

The group also issued a tender for detailed engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and maintenance to build a temporary oil storage and filling station at Halfaya.

The first tender is an engineering, procurement and construction contract to build an oil storage and filling station, a person familiar with the project told Dow Jones Newswires.

The other tenders call for the supply of dual-fuel generators, complete defense system, and Toyota Land Cruiser and pickup cars.

In August, CNPC and its partners said they planned to start drilling new wells this month in the Halfaya field as part of a plan to boost output to 70,000 barrels per day in 2011 from 3,000 bpd now.

(Sources: Dow Jones, Reuters)

Salam Yaseen, an economic adviser to the Iraqi government, told AKnews that the committee will discuss a range of issues with the Kurds including the oil and gas exports by the KRG that recently caused uproar in Baghdad.

The Kurdish and Iraqi governments have had deep disagreements for years over the management and control of oil resources in the country’s northern Kurdistan Region.

Recently disputes took another turn when the KRG announced the signing a new deal with the German utility company RWE to export gas to Europe.

He said the committee will soon start its work to resolve the differences over KRG’s gas exports.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s deputy oil minister told AKnews that so far oil and gas disputes between the KRG and Iraqi government have remained unresolved.

Assem Jihad said improving the relations between the KRG and Iraqi government will help increase Iraq’s crude oil exports.

The Iraqi government had already said some regional countries were trying to “complicate” the relations between the Kurdish government and Baghdad.

The Iraqi government has frequently objected to the oil and gas contracts between the Kurdish regional government and foreign firms saying it is a violation of the Iraqi constitution. But, Kurds insist that their contracts are constitutionally valid.

(Source: AKnews)

“The meeting ended with the agreement to send a delegation from the Iraqi company to Korea to benefit from its experience in that field,” said Anmar al-Safi, the public relations and media director at the State Company for Iraqi Ports.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

“I take this occasion to call upon governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to scale up their support to literacy,” stressed Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO, in her message for the Day. “Literacy and women’s empowerment” is the theme for this year celebrations, which focus on the importance of literacy and gender equality as one of the global strategic priorities for sustainable development.

UNESCO Iraq Office will seize this opportunity to organize events throughout Iraq together with the Ministry of Education and National NGOs to ensure participation of all Iraqi citizens and invites them to express their views towards the development of a national literacy strategy in Iraq. Activities will take place during last week of September due to celebration of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan and will include: Roundtables and conferences with Members of Parliament, community leaders, literacy practitioners and coordinators to discuss policy options to reduce illiteracy in Iraq; organizing community plays about literacy and women’s empowerment in national theaters; dissemination of awareness raising material on best literacy stories; and screening of TV spots in the UNESCO supported educational TV among others.

“Literacy is the necessary tool for social development and peace building,” said Mohammed Djelid, Director of the UNESCO Iraq Office, adding that “the achievement of the Literacy goal of reducing illiteracy by 50% by 2015 relies on the development of an effective strategy and implementation of inclusive policies for literacy.”

National illiteracy rates are estimated at 20% in Iraq. Women are particularly affected by illiteracy, especially in rural areas, where close to 50% of women aged between 15 and 24 are illiterate, compared to 28%-20% of women living in urban and metropolitan areas. The Government of Iraq (GoI) has responded to the literacy gap with the development of new literacy textbooks, the introduction of accelerated learning programs, and the opening of new literacy centres. However, equal access and attendance remain obstacles to progress on literacy in Iraq.

To address these challenges, the UNESCO Iraq Office in 2010 launched the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) for Iraq with funding from the Office of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned, First Lady of Qatar and UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education. LIFE, which is a 4 year project with a budget of US$ 6,300,000, will contribute to strengthening the capacity of the Iraqi Government and civil society to deliver sustainable and empowering literacy for all.

For Further Information Please Contact:

Alberto Biancoli, Education Project Manager, UNESCO Iraq Office a.biancoli@unesco.org

Tel: +962 59 02 340

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research will hold an international conference on revitalising scientific research, from 14 to 16 December in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region. The goal of this conference is to connect university departments and individual scientists with their counterparts in international centres of excellence.

The primary aims of the conference are to

• Support researchers’ efforts to widen their contacts and networks
• Engage international academics in split-site PhD supervision
• Encourage world-renowned universities to establish long-term relationships and investment in the Kurdistan Region
• Encourage international companies with interests in higher education and scientific research to establish a foothold in the Kurdistan Region’s market

Workshops will include:

• Review, identify and analyse policies for research collaboration.
• Analyse policies and best practices for split-site PhD programs in specific scientific fields.
• Present programmes for developing links and MOUs between international and Kurdistan Region universities.
• Review access to the market and policies for investing.
• Review policies for widening scholarship programs.
• Recommend policies and best practices in research administration.

The Conference will give participants an opportunity to:

• Present proposals
• Discuss opportunities
• Network for new projects
• Visit historical sites of cultural interest

Please note that the conference has been rescheduled from October to December 2010.

Call for applications to participate in the conference

The conference is for higher education policy makers, administrators, academics and researchers.

For more information and to download a registration form, please see the conference website http://sites.google.com/a/mhe-krg.org/rrku/home

For more information about the KRG Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research please see http://www.mhe-krg.org/

A recent report from the Services Commission highlighted a lack of public notification when state property comes up for sale or rental which prevents many interested parties from participating in transactions as they are not informed of them.

Mohammah Khuzai warned that these failings were not only compromising equal opportunities for investors but having negative effect on public funds as the lack of competition often led to properties failing to reach market value levels at auction.

“The report included several recommendations to combat corruption like putting a billboard in the city’s Maydan square”, Khuzai continued.

This central “municipal billboard” would advise the public of forthcoming auctions and other opportunities related to state properties.

“The recommendations also demanded that notices are posted on the same day they are published in the Official newspaper.”

Najaf council have voted in favour of implementing the committee’s recommendations.

(Source: AKnews)

The total number of officially reported hostile incidents nationally was 126 last week, consistent with the number of incidents recorded during the last reporting period. The number of incidents in the west rose by a quarter this week and incidents in Baghdad also rose significantly. The south east saw a very minor rise in the number of incidents. Incidents in the south central, north and north central areas decreased this week.

Although incident levels have remained consistent over this fortnight, the incidents occurring last week affected far fewer casualties and caused less damage. Insurgents operating in the north central and western areas appear to be benefiting from increased freedom of movement brought about by the fall in number of U.S. Forces.

There were further attacks on infrastructure during the reporting period, including Improvised Explosive Device attacks against electrical pylons in Hillah, power generators in Baghdad and a water tower in Anbar. These attacks are assessed to have been the work of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQIZ) or their associated movements seeking to undermine local and national Government.

The resilient militant networks who undertook the 25 August attacks will be difficult to uproot and we can expect further synchronized attacks to come, probably to correspond with future religious festivals or indeed new government formation. The Ramadan / Eid religious ceremonial period provides a unique opportunity for insurgents to attack when the security forces and civilians’ defences are low. This year the Eid festival will coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which is potentially an irresistible coincidence for Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQIZ) and their associated movements to launch large scale attacks.

The most likely culprits were neo-Baathist insurgents, probably with assistance from Islamist elements such as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (branded as the Islamic State of Iraq). Though almost all the mass casualty bombings were remote-controlled car bombs, at least two of the thirteen devices were suicide-detonated, indicating an Islamist element. According to Olive’s contacts in the U.S. government, key former regime leaders such as Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri are floating to the top of the boiled-down insurgency. These figures are able to bridge the divide between nationalist and Islamist wings of the insurgency and even to cross sectarian and ethnic lines to some extent. The objective of such movements is to maintain resistance and foster a state of chaos until such time as the Iraqi people call for a stronger nationalist government. At that point, it is posited by U.S. intelligence analysts, elements of the old Baath will seek to gain power through election, running on a platform of experience in security and governance, technocratic competence, and toughness vis-à-vis Iran.

Baghdad

Reported incidents in Baghdad rose from 34 to 47 last week. The International Zone was targeted for three days in a row during the reporting period. This is a continuation of Shia’a militants’ harassment campaign to coincide with the draw down of US Forces. One of the attacks was seemingly conducted to coincide with the visit of US Vice President Joe Biden. Shia’a insurgents were also responsible for the IDF attack against Victory Base Camp – none of the attacks resulted in death or serious injury.

An electricity generator was targeted with an Improvised Explosive Device in the Shia’a area of west Rasid. This may have been carried out by Sunni insurgents to stoke up anger and provoke a response. Such attacks are often conducted to undermine faith in the ability of the GoI to provide basic essential services.

Under Vehicle Improvised Explosive Devices remained the most prevalent form of assassination in the City in this reporting period. An Iraqi Police Services member working at the passport office in Kadimiyah was killed by an Under Vehicle Improvised Explosive Device on 31 August and an Iraqi Security Forces Colonel was injured by device on 02 September; several civilians (probably with links to Government of Iraq or Iraqi Security Forces) were also targeted during the review period. However, the most significant Under Vehicle Improvised Explosive Device attack was aimed at Hussein al Mir’ibi, a leading figure in the Shia’a Fadhila party and member of the Iraqi National Alliance, who did not sustain any injuries from the attack.

Basra

There was only one significant hostile incident in Basra last week which took the form of an Improvised Explosive Device attack against a Private Security Company vehicle as it transited south west of Az Zubayr on route Tampa. The Improvised Explosive Device damaged the vehicle but did not result in any injuries. The area in which the attack took place has been targeted several times in the recently as insurgents know that there is a large volume of United States Forces – Iraq, Iraqi Security Forces and Private Security Company traffic in the area.

The discovery of two Improvised Explosive Devices and an Explosively Formed Projectile around the province indicates that Shia’a insurgent intent remains high. The Explosively Formed Projectile discovery was made in the vicinity of route Tampa in Umm Qasr and was likely designed to target a passing United States Forces – Iraq or Private Security Company convoy as there are an increasing number transporting United States Military equipment out of Iraq via Umm Qasr port.

Atmospherics in Basra were tainted by more demonstrations in the City protesting against the lack of electricity in the province. According to open sources, authorities in Muthana province took action against illegal electricity lines enabling them to increase the electricity supply. Further civil demonstrations in the south east region can be expected.