Archive | 2012

China to Open Consulate in Erbil

By John Lee. The Chinese Ambassador to Iraq, Mr Ni Jian, met with Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani yesterday to explore ways of strengthening ties with the Kurdistan Region. Ambassador Jian presented his credentials to the Iraqi President last year November, and this is his first visit to Kurdistan. In his meeting with Prime Minister Barzani, […]

Cummins Power Supplies Cement Factory in Samawa

By John Lee. Modern Iraq Company for Trading Agencies (MICTA), the authorised distributor for Cummins Power Generation in Iraq, has provided a prime power solution to a cement factory in Samawa, midway between the capital Baghdad and Basra in the south. Al-Douh Cement Factory (pictured) needed 15 MW of self-generation capacity for its 5,000 m2 […]

UK, KRG, Expand Cooperation in Higher Education

By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr Ali Saeed, last week met with British ministers and universities to deepen and expand cooperation in the higher education and scientific research sectors. Minister Saeed led a delegation from the Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers and Ministry of Higher Education, […]

Petrofac Wins $100m Iraq Offshore Operations Contract

By John Lee. Petrofac, the international oil & gas service provider, has today signed a contract worth approximately US$100 million to provide offshore operations and maintenance services for the Iraq Crude Oil Expansion Project. Awarded by Iraq's South Oil Company (SOC), the 12-month contract will commence following a three-month mobilisation period. There is also additional […]

Dragon Oil Updates on Block 9

By John Lee. In its interim results for the period ended 30th June 2012, Dragon Oil today issued the following update on its business in Iraq: A consortium of companies, comprising Dragon Oil (30%), the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) (30%) and Kuwait Energy (40% and operator), has been awarded an exploration, development and production service […]

KRG Minister of Agriculture and Water Visits UK

By John Lee. Professor Serwan Baban, the Kurdistan Regional Government's Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, this week in London met Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade and Investment with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He also met other government officials in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and thanked them for […]

Iraq Warns Total over KRG Oil Deal

By John Lee. Iraqi authorities have warned France's Total that it must freeze its energy deal with Iraqi Kurdistan or sell its stake in the Halfaya oilfield, reports Reuters. Faisal Abdullah, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani, said: "Iraq has officially asked Total to freeze or cancel its contract with the […]

CNPC to Replace Statoil at West Qurna-2?

By John Lee. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is reported to be in talks with Russia's OAO Lukoil about joining the company’s West Qurna-2 project in Iraq. Lukoil is seeking a partner for a 30 percent stake in the project following the exit of Norway's Statoil’s, Nefte Compass said, citing Andrei Kuzyaev (pictured), head […]

Trade Licences to be Written in Kurdish and Arabic

By John Lee. The Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Trade and Industry has said that import and export trade licences are to be written in both Kurdish and Arabic from now on. Aziz Ibrahim, Director General at the Ministry said: "The region's Ministry of Trade and Industry decided to implement the instruction of Iraq's Ministry of […]

US Embassy Travel Warning

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all but essential travel to Iraq given the security situation. Travel within Iraq remains dangerous. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Warning dated January 19, 2012, to update information on security incidents and to remind U.S. citizens of ongoing security concerns for U.S. citizens in Iraq, including […]

Iraqi Tailors Driven Out of Business by Extremists

By Abdul-Muhaymen Basel. 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. In Mosul, still one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, wearing a suit makes you a target for kidnapping or murder. The unexpected result of […]

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