Archive | 2011

Rumaila Output Down following Attack, Exports not Affected

Oil production at Iraq's Rumaila oilfield has been cut from about 1.4 million barrels per day to by around 700,000 bpd after yesterday's a bomb attack on southern crude pipelines, according to Reuters. The fire that resulted raged all night but was put out on Wednesday morning. Salah Mohammad, general manager of the Rumaila Operating […]

Statement by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Iraq

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement after a meeting with H.E. Nouri Al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq in Washington on Tuesday: It was a pleasure to meet Prime Minister Al-Maliki today. Over the past several years, Iraq and the International Monetary Fund have engaged in a […]

A Burst Housing Bubble Could Leave Kurdish Region in Tears

In Iraqi Kurdistan, locals are enjoying a property boom. As demand outstrips supply, buying off-the-plan is more popular. But if this housing bubble bursts, the region could face severe economic and political consequences, according to this article from Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of […]

Bombs Hit Iraqi Oil Pipeline

According to various sources, either two or three bombs hit a crude oil pipeline in Iraq's southern oilfields leading to storage tanks around Basra. The impact on oil production or exports was not immediately clear, but the deputy head of the Basra provincial council, Ahmed al-Sulaiti, said firefighters were still battling the fire late on […]

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Diyala Plans new Civilian Airport

Diyala Province is reportedly planning to build a civilian airport in the Mansuriya district, 30 km east of the provincial capital of Baquba. Mujawal al-Tayee, head of Diyala Council's Investment Board, said his board is engaged in negotiations with an un-named American company for the construction of the airport . AKnews reports that an executive from […]

Unemployment "Hits One Million"

Unemployment in Iraq has reached one million, according to a report from AKnews. Dara Hasan, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, told the agency: "We are working on a plan to bring the level of unemployment down. There are 13 new laws ready to be issued which will protect and stabilized employees' rights in […]

CBI Discusses Dropping Three Zeroes from Currency

Discussions reportedly took place with the Central Bank of Iraq regarding the dropping of the three zeroes from Iraqi currency. MP Aziz Shareef al-Mayahi, a member of Parliamentary Economic Commission, added that detailed discussions were held on Tuesday with economic experts. The commission will study the suggestions in order to reach a suitable response on […]

Washington Window-Dressing and Diyala Federalism

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. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. […]

Qualtra the Authorized Agent for Soler & Palau in Iraq

Soler & Palau, the leading Spanish company specialized in ventilation, announced the appointment of Quality Trading Company, Qualtra, as the authorized and only distributor in Iraq for their products that include both industrial and domestic ventilation. The partnership was signed during an official ceremony that was held on Oct 27th in Murica, Spain, between S&P […]

Weekly Security Update for 13th December 2011

Levels of violence fell slightly in Iraq over the past week but conditions are still higher than most weeks in November. Incidents were concentrated in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk, as well as southern Salah ad-Din province, western Diyala province and central Babil province. At least 35 separate bomb attacks left over 60 people dead and […]

Blackwater Plans to Re-Enter Iraq

ABC News reports that the private security firm once known as Blackwater, wants to re-enter the Iraqi market. The company was forced out of Iraq after a shooting incident in which 17 civilians died, and then changed its name to Xe Services in early 2009. It is now changing its name for the second time […]