PetroChina has invited seven contractors to submit the bidding documents for engineering, procurement and construction work on the first phase of development at the Halfaya oilfield in Iraq in the first week of 2011, the Norway-based energy newspaper Upstream has reported. The report said the companies invited to participate in the tender include the UK-listed […]
The Kurdistan Regional Government has licensed a firm to build a $1.1 billion smelter and steel plant, according to Trade Arabia. Mass Global was granted the to build the project in the Chamchamal area between Kirkuk and Sulaimaniya, said Haidar Mustafa, head of the industrial projects department of KRG's investment commission. "The total amount of […]
Oil companies working in Iraq complained of a "mafia" type atmosphere that drove the price of security up considerably, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic cables revealed by Wikileaks. London's Guardian newspaper reports that official at oil services company Halliburton complained the price of security in Iraq was "unwarranted" during a modestly secure environment in 2008. […]
By Ranj Alaaldin, a Middle East political and security risk analyst based at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He visits the Middle East regularly and as part of his recent work on Iraq has visited the country on a number of fact-finding missions. Foreign Policy magazine recently listed him among its 100 […]
Members of Parliament from Iraq’s al-Ahrar (Liberals) Bloc has demanded that the Parliament holds a special session to discuss the problem of electrical power, according to a statement carried by Aswat al-Iraq. “We demand the Parliament’s chairmanship to add the issue of the electric power on the schedule of the Parliament for next session, in […]
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ambassador to Iraq Abdullah Ibrahim reviewed with local officials in Anbar on Thursday economic conditions and investment and trade opportunities in the province, a local council source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Ambassador Ibrahim met with Anbar Provincial Council Chairman Jassem Mohammed Hamad and other members and exchanged views on […]
AKnews reports that the Egyptian Housing Ministry is to contribute to the Iraqi government's plan to build a million housing units in Iraq. The General Director of the Technical Department of the Iraqi Housing and Construction Ministry, Hussein Majid Hussein, said on Thursday that the Iraqi Ministry signed a contract with the Egyptian Housing Ministry […]
Overview Levels of violence rose last week in Iraq as Shi'ahs marked al-'Ashura. Pilgrims travelling to the holy city of Karbala were attacked on several occasions, in Baghdad and the central provinces, although Karbala itself saw little in the way of violence. The police arrested numerous suspected militants ahead of the event and many potentially […]
The big news this week in Iraq was the announcement of Nouri al-Maliki's new cabinet, and, unusually for such a decision, the fact that it was made several days ahead of the legal deadline. Nevertheless, BBC reports that Iraq now has the dubious honour of holding the world record for the longest period between an […]
Iraq's new oil minister, Abdul Kareem Luaibi, put building infrastructure at the top of his priority list and said yesterday he expected the expansion of Basra's crude export facilities to be finished by the end of 2011, according to a report from Gulf Daily News. Luaibi, who was sworn into office with Iraq's new government […]
Iraq's daily oil production rose to 2.5 million barrels, the biggest since 2003, a spokesman for the oil ministry said on Wednesday. “The daily oil production rose by 10% through cooperation among national and foreign companies,” Essam Jehad told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, pointing out that this is the highest production since 2003. Iraq’s newly […]
The following is a statement from US President, Barack Obama, on the formation of the new Iraqi government: Today’s vote in the Council of Representatives is a significant moment in Iraq’s history and a major step forward in advancing national unity. I congratulate Iraq’s political leaders, the members of the Council of Representatives, and the […]
