Archive | 2011

3,000MW Power Station Planned for Basra

Basra province is planning to build a 3000-megawatt power generation station in a coastal area overlooking the Gulf, Basra's governor's adviser announced on Wednesday. Central regulations prevent the local provinces from contracting for power generation stations more than 30 megawatts, but the governor has called on the central government to give permission to enter direct […]

Will Shell Over-charge for Iraqi Gas?

AKnews reports that Shell and Mitsubishi’s giant gas venture in Basra has been criticised for planning to sell gas to fuel-starved Iraqi power plants at too high a price. The fuel will be sold at $4.38 per million British thermal units (mbtu), less than a third of the $15/mmbtu that is charged in parts of […]

Contract Signed with Chinese Co. to Assemble Cars

Iraq’s state-owned General Company for Car Manufacturing, which belongs to the Ministry of Industry & Minerals, has signed a contract with the Chinese Proton Company, to assemble and market 1,000 cars annually. According to the report from Aswat al-Iraq, the Iskandariya-based company has also signed a contract with the Teachers Syndicate to supply teachers with […]

Turkish Company Proposes High-Rise Apartments in Karbala

The Chairman of Karbala's Provincial Council has announced that a Turkish company proposed building high-rise housing blocks to help tackle the housing crisis in the province. Mohammed al-Mussawi told Aswat al-Iraq that the company specialises in the construction of hotels and housing units. He said the Investment Commission held talks with a Turkish company to […]

Weekly Security Update for 11th August 2011

Levels of violence neither escalated nor decreased significantly in Iraq over the past week, although thankfully conditions are currently quieter than earlier in the summer. Across the country there were no reported kidnappings or suicide bombings, which is a welcome change from normality. It is likely that militants are lying low at present, partly because […]

Is Iraq a Third-World Country?

The big news this week is the sacking of the Iraqi electricity minister, following the revelation that two recently-announced power generation contracts were, let's say, 'questionable'. While the idea that a government and civil service can be fooled by a website and a company presentation may seem far-fetched, bear in mind that in Iraq the […]

Iraq's 'Dodgy' Power Generation Deals

Reuters reports that Iraq’s government has admitted to being duped when it signed multi-billion dollar power plant contracts with foreign companies that it later discovered were either bogus or had lied about their financial status. The announcement is embarrassing for Nouri al-Maliki’s government as it tries to lure foreign investors into Iraq. “These contracts damaged […]

Gulf Keystone Updates on Sheikh Adi Block

Gulf Keystone announced today results of an independent preliminary evaluation of the Sheikh Adi resources by Dynamic Global Advisors (DGA), independent Houston-based exploration consultants. The DGA report, based on Sheikh Adi-1 wireline logging data, core samples, 2D and 3D seismic and regional data, has indicated a significant range of between 1 billion barrels and 3 […]

DNO Announces Share Buyback

DNO International ASA's Board of Directors today announced a share buyback program following release of preliminary second quarter 2011 results. The timing and volume of the share purchases will depend on market conditions. "Given the ongoing sell-off and sharp declines in global securities, we have decided to invest available cash to capitalise on the undervaluation […]

An Unexpected Friday in Iraqi Kurdistan

Advertising Feature It’s early Friday morning and I’m in a SUV travelling from Sulymaniya to the picturesque border town of Ahmad Awa. But it’s not the SUV I expected to find myself in when I first visited Iraq, or more accurately the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The only green I see is the grass covered […]