Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LSE: GKP) has announced an update on its Shaikan-3 Shallow Appraisal Well. Following completion as a Sargelu/Alan formation producer and as a result of an acid treatment, Shaikan-3 has achieved a rate of 9,800 bopd. The stabilized flow rate was recorded on a 128/64th inch choke with a flowing tubing pressure of […]
Further to our report last week on Iraq's new import tariffs, you can download the new tariff list in English by clicking on the link below: Import tariffs (English version) The Arabic version is contained in 21 large pdf files, and can be downloaded from the Ministry of Finance: Import tariffs (Arabic version) Iraq Business […]
The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford and currently based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. […]
Potential energy routes and energy security were discussed in a syposium in Brussels, according to a report from AKnews. The participants highlighted what it calls "the Turkish attempts to monopolize energy supply to the EU", as well as the significance of Kurdish energy for the West. The event was organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation […]
Starting March 6, Iraq will begin imposing import tariffs ranging from zero to 80%. For many products, this will be a big increase. Up to now, importers have been subject to a uniform tariff of only 5%, which covered everything except food, medicine, books, clothing and products related to humanitarian assistance or Iraq’s reconstruction. (For […]
Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has adjusted its official selling prices for its Basra Light and Kirkuk crude grades for March. 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 […]
Reuters reports that the state-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) said on Thursday it expects to provide about 16.3 billion yen ($198 million) of capital in 2011-2012 to Iraq's Gharaf [Gharraf, Garraf] oilfield development project. In return, JOGMEC said it would take a stake of less than 50 percent in Japan Petroleum […]
Iraqi Kurdistan's President, Masoud Barzani, and Prime Minister, Barham Salih, have met Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dirk Niebel. Mr Niebel was accompanied by two members of Germany’s federal parliament and several business representatives. At their meeting, President Barzani told the delegation that he hopes the Kurdistan Region’s already excellent diplomatic and […]
The director of the Iraqi Ports Company said on Thursday that the company signed its second contract with the Emirati company Gulftainer to establish a dry port north of Umm Qasr port, at a cost of $150 million [180 billion Iraqi dinars], according to a report from AKnews. Khudair Aboud said that the project is […]
Masoud Barzani, President of Iraqi Kurdistan, held a meeting on Wednesday with the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the speaker of Kurdistan Parliament, and leaders and representatives of political parties in the region to exchange views on how to fight corruption and make the KRG's institutions more efficient. President Barzani said it […]
Overview Levels of violence rose slightly in Iraq last week, although conditions have generally been quiet so far in 2011 and the number of weekly security incidents has not yet exceeded 40. The majority of violence is currently taking place in Baghdad and Mosul, although last week saw several attacks in the provinces of Anbar […]
Over the past week, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared that he will take a 50% cut in salary, and will not stand for a third term of office; the general consensus is that this is an attempt to head off any possible popular uprising against his rule. As we pointed out last week, […]
