Archive | 2011

ShaMaran Identifies 2 New Oil-Bearing Zones in Pulkhana

ShaMaran Petroleum has provided the following operational update on the Pulkhana-9 appraisal well: Pulkhana-9 reached a total depth of 2333 meters on July 23, 2011 in the Cretaceous. A comprehensive testing program of six well tests (“DST”) has been completed and oil has been recovered in four separate reservoir intervals, including two new reservoirs that […]

Iraqi Architect Wins Top Prize

The Evelyn Grace Academy, a cutting-edge new secondary school in Brixton, south London by Zaha Hadid Architects has won the prestigious £20,000 RIBA Stirling Prize 2011 for the best new European building built or designed in the United Kingdom. This is the second year running that Zaha Hadid Architects have won the RIBA Stirling Prize; […]

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Iran, Iraq pay $1.2 bn to Battle Sandstorms

A top Iranian environment official said on Monday that Tehran and Baghdad will jointly invest $1.2 billion [1.4 trillion Iraqi dinars] in a project to reduce the number of sand dunes in a bid to cut the number of sandstorms. "In order to reduce gravel levels we have signed an agreement with a foreign company […]

Transport Ministry wants More Money for Railway Projects

Iraq's Ministry for Transport has complained that the $60 million (7o billion Iraqi dinars) that were allocated in the 2012 budget for the development and rehabilitation of the Iraqi Republic Railways Company (IRR) are not enough. "The Ministry of Transport tries to attract investment companies in order to finance its railway projects," Ministry spokesman Jawad […]

Fluor Drops Protest against $500m KBR Contract

Fluor Corporation has dropped a protest filed last month with the Government Accountability Office challenging a $500 million award to KBR for a logistics support contract in Iraq, according to a report from Bloomberg. According to the news agency, a Fluor spokesman said the company had no comment. The contract was on hold until the […]

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Gulf Keystone Seeks Algeria Buyers to Focus on Iraq

Gulf Keystone's Legal and Commercial Director, Tony Peart, said the company is seeking a buyer for its 38 percent holding in Algeria’s HBH project, in addition to selling its 20 percent interest in the Akri Bijeel block in Iraqi Kurdistan. “This is a strategic decision to sell because we want to focus on larger opportunities […]

Crude Exports Resume through Ceyhan Pipeline

Iraq has reportedly resumed crude exports through its Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline at a rate of 400,000-450,000 bpd, after a suspension of six days. Iraq’s oil exports through the main oil pipeline from Kirkuk to Ceyhan in Turkey had stopped entirely due to leakage caused by erosion, according to Aswat al-Iraq. A source at North Oil Company […]

Foreign Minister Zebari Denies Kuwaiti Bribes

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari denied allegations that he or his ministry had been bribed by Kuwait in order to settle the dispute over Kuwait's new Mubarak Port, according to a report from AKnews. Although Zebari stated that these allegations would not deserve a response, he labeled the allegations as "fabricated" and "defamatory". "The Ministry […]

Iraqi Microfinance Conference Discusses Greater Outreach to Poor

Iraq’s 12 microfinance institutions in cooperation with the USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program are holding an Inclusive Financial Services Stakeholders Conference in Erbil on October 3 and 4. The theme of this year’s microfinance event will be “Transforming Inclusive Financial Services for Increasing Outreach”. The conference will bring together leaders from 12 microfinance institutions (MFIs) […]

Sheraton Considering Hotel in Erbil

Rudaw reports that a delegation from the Sheraton hotel chain recently visited Erbil to explore the possibility of building a hotel. Omed Kayfi, head of Kurdistan Region tourism department, told Rudaw, “so far ... Marriott, Hilton and Turkish Divan brands are building hotels in Erbil ... Sheraton has also visited the Kurdistan Region to assess […]

Preventive Diplomacy in Iraq

In the following video interview, former UNAMI chief Ad Melkert (2009-2011) recounts how the United Nations supported dialogue over boundary issues and assisted Iraqi politicians to find a compromise on the electoral law that laid the ground for peaceful elections in 2009. (Source: United Nations)