Archive | 2010

Iran and Iraq to Sign Contract on Shared Fields

The managing director of the Iranian Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC), Mehdi Fakour, reported of a new round of negotiations with Iraqi oil officials to achieve a ‘common language’ to expand cooperation on the development of shared fields, based on national interests of the two countries. In an interview with the Iranian news agency Shana, […]

Quality Investment Group Launches Qualtra in Iraq

QIG (Quality Investment group) Holding, the main shareholder of Qualco which is one of the fastest growing construction companies in Lebanon, has announced the establishment of Qualtra in Iraq, a new company based in Baghdad and specialising in construction materials. The launch is part of the group's expansion strategy in the Middle East and its […]

Tenders for Rigs at Halfaya Oilfield

Bids are invited from oil service companies to supply two workover rigs for the 4.1 billion barrel Halfaya oilfield. The tender from state-run Maysan Oil Company, along with the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), French oil major Total, and Malaysian state firm Petronas, closes on Nov. 28, and the offer must remain valid for 90 […]

Sweden's Scania Accused of Corruption in Iraq

Swedish truck maker Scania paid $5 million in kickbacks through the U.N.'s oil-for-food program in Iraq, possibly violating both U.S. and Swedish laws, an anti-corruption investigator said on Friday, according to a report from Associated Press. Swedish prosecutor Nils-Eric Schultz told the agency he is preparing to file charges in Sweden against several company officials […]

Saddam Hussein's Yacht Back in Iraq, For Sale

Iraq's ministry of transportation has announced that the luxury yacht Ocean Breeze, also known as the Basrah Breeze, once owned by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, is back in Iraqi waters, according to a report from ITN. The boat, which has been the subject of legal wrangling between Iraq and Jordan, which claimed ownership of […]

New Iraq-Focused Equity Fund

Global Capital Investments, of Illinois, has created a private investment fund for sophisticated investors who wish to invest in the long-term growth potential of the emerging Iraqi economy. The objective of the fund is to seek long-term capital appreciation over a broad range of Iraqi listed securities, a small number of private investments and Iraqi […]

Batna Oil Field Resumes Production After 20-Yr Stoppage

Northern Iraq’s Batna Oil Field in Nineveh Province has resumed production after 20 year stoppage, an official at Nineveh Oil Comission said on Tuesday, The official expressed the hope that production would exceed 2,000 barrels per day (bpd). “The comissioning of Batna Field, one of the oil fields in northwest Mosul’s Zummar town, stopped more […]

Iraq’s Oil Exports Decline in October

Iraq’s oil exports slipped in October to 1.9 million barrels per day from 2.021 million bpd in September, the head of the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) said on Monday. Reuters reports that Iraq exported an average of 1.492 million bpd from the southern oil hub of Basra and 408,000 bpd from the northern oilfields […]

Scandal of Iraq's Politicians: Overpaid and Underperforming

According to a report from Associated Press, Iraq's 325 members of parliament have collected their $90,000 stipends, are claiming $22,500 a month in salaries and allowances, and are spending free nights in Baghdad's finest hotel. That's what they get for attending the only session of parliament since the March elections, a session that lasted about […]

Iraq Plans to Spend $9bn on 4 Refineries

Iraq plans to build four new refineries with an announcement expected in 2011, the country's deputy Oil Minister Motassam Akram Hassan said on Sunday, adding that the bidding round could be conducted for all four refineries at once. Reuters reports that total expenditure on the four plants is expected to be at least $9 billion. […]