By Roman Zagros. This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Recently tensions between Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan have run high, complete with a military stand-off. The crisis seems to have been defused now. But if it […]
By Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq. The frightful story of young Malala Yousafzai has shocked the world over the last weeks. This 15-year-old Pakistani girl almost lost her life because she spoke out for the right of girls to go to school. Like many others, I was shaken […]
By John Lee. If we gave a prize for the best quote of the week, this week's top contender would be Sami Haddad, the general manager of Lebanon's Byblos Bank, which is expanding its presence in Iraq. "You would have to be stupid not to make money [in Iraq]", he said. And of course banking […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that LUKoil, Russian’s biggest non-state oil producer, which is believed to be considering buying ExxonMobil's stake in the West Qurna-1 oil field, has bought oil from Kurdistan in defiance of Baghdad. Baghdad has long insisted it has the sole right to export oil, but LUKoil's Geneva-based trading arm Litasco has […]
WorleyParsons has been awarded a three year contract by LukOil Mid-East Limited to provide project management services for West Qurna-2 oil field development project in Iraq. WorleyParsons will provide project management, technical and construction supervision personnel to support the West Qurna-2 engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities. WorleyParsons will also develop a Project Management System […]
By John Lee. Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has finalised a deal to buy up to 1.097 million tonnes of gasoil for delivery next year from BP and Swiss trader Vitol, according to Reuters. The company has agreed to pay a premium of $7.99 a barrel above Middle East quotes on a delivered basis, […]
By John Lee. Russian’s LUKoil is said to be studying documents on Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oil field, with a view to possibly taking over ExxonMobil's stake. Bloomberg quotes Chief Executive Officer Vagit Alekperov (pictured) as saying that the company will make a decision on possible participation in the project by the end of the year. […]
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad hosted a roundtable discussion with a group of Iraqi government and civil society leaders on November 26 on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Around the world, violence against women and girls continues to be a serious problem, and women’s rights activists remain […]
By Mark DeWeaver. On October 16, Prime Minister Maliki removed the head of the central bank, Sinan al-Shabibi, accusing him of mismanagement and currency manipulation. (There’s more on this story here, here, and here.) This move was widely seen as a power grab by the prime minister and a grave threat to the CBI’s independence. […]
By Gary Sandiford, Olive Group’s Dubai based assessments manager. Olive Group is a leading provider of security and technology solutions and has operated continuously in Iraq since 2003. Overview Olive Groups Iraq statistics are drawn from multiple sources, including media reporting and direct liaison with in country assets. Included within the statistics are a […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Minister of Housing and Reconstruction, Mohamed Sahib al-Daraji [Mohammed Al-Deraji] (pictured), has asked the government to allocate $3.5 billion every year to alleviate housing shortages in the country, reports Azzaman. He said Iraq needed 60,000 housing units every year as well as a massive housing reconstruction program for the building of […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi cabinet decided on Tuesday to give neighboring Jordan 100,000 barrels of oil as a gift to help it overcome its economic difficulties. According to a report from Businessweek, the move could be seen as an attempt by the Shiite-led Iraqi government to offer support to one of its Sunni neighbors. […]
