Archive | 2012

Genel Energy Increases Stake in Bina Bawi

Genel Energy has announced that it has agreed to acquire an additional 21 per cent interest in the Bina Bawi exploration block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from Hawler Energy Ltd for $240 million, to be paid from the Company's existing cash resources. The Transaction is in addition to the Company's acquisition of an […]

You Can't Fix Stupid: The Iraqi Dinar Scam

By John Lee. In a recent article on Forbes magazine website, legal expert and anti-scam campaigner Jay Adkisson challenges the idea that vast wealth will be made from a dramatic appreciation of the Iraqi dinar, saying, "You can't fix stupid". "Scams involving the arbitrage of foreign currencies have been around as long as there have […]

Blast Knocks Out Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline

By John Lee. Reuters reports that the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline was bombed on Sunday night, knocking out flows. Officials from the Turkish Energy Ministry said on Monday that repairs could take up to 10 days. The blast occurred in Mardin province, north of Turkey's border with Syria. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was behind the […]

Iraq to Buy Russian Air Defences

By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq's acting Minister for Defence,  Sadoun al-Dulaimi (Sadun al-Dulaymi) (pictured), has been in Russia to negotiate the purchase of air surveillance equipment. Hakim al-Zamili, a member of the parlimantary security and defence committee, told the news agency: "There is a delegation, headed by the minister of defence and the commander […]

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KRG Forms Cmte for Foreign Workers in Kurdistan

By John Lee. The KRG is to form a committee to lay down the mechanism for foreign workers to apply for work in the Kurdistan Region, according to AKnews. Abbas Akram, press secretary for Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, said the committee is intended to help to secure the rights of the foreign workers […]

Heritage Oil Interim Results

By John Lee. Heritage Oil, which has operations in Iraqi Kurdistan, has published its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2012: Operational Highlights · Execution of an agreement to acquire a transformational major interest in OML 30 in Nigeria ("Proposed Acquisition"), which is subject to shareholder approval, and is expected to complete […]

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Shahristani, Metka, Discuss Shat al-Basra Power Project

By John Lee. The Head of the Greek company Metka, John Mytilineos, met with Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, Hussein al-Shahristani, to discuss the building of the new Shat al-Basra power station. A statement by Shahristani's Office, reported by AIN, said: "Shahristani urged during the meeting the Company to assume suitable immediate procedures […]

اليونسكو تنظّم ورش العمل لنشر الوعي حول أهمية التراث الثقافي

إن التراث الثقافي العراقي اليوم مهدّد بالزوال والاختفاء، ولاسيما فيما يخصّ أبنيته التاريخية. إن القيمة الهائلة لهذا التراث الوطني تكاد تكون غير بارزة تماماً بالنسبة للعراقيين، وذلك يعود لماضيهم التي حكمته الديكتاتوريات والصراعات، وأيضاً لاعتبار العراق دولة سريعة التطور، لما يجعل تركيز الحكومة مصبوب على ضمان المستقبل، وبشكل أقلّ على مسألة الحفاظ على الماضي. إلا […]

Genel Energy Update on Bina Bawi

By John Lee. Genel Energy has issued the following announcement on its Bina Bawi acquisition in Kurdistan: On 14 May 2012, Genel Energy plc ("Genel Energy") announced that it intended to acquire a 23 per cent interest in the Bina Bawi exploration licence. The acquisition was to be made through the purchase of all of […]

Provincial Elections Law Revisions in Iraq

By Reidar Visser. 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 […]

3rd Phase of Nahrawan Industrial Complex to Start

By John Lee. The third phase of construction at the Nahrawan industrial complex is soon to be launched, reports AIN. Directorate General for Industrial Development at the Ministry of Industry, Hadi al-Hassan, said: "The Directorate will invite companies related to the Ministry including al-Faris Company and the General Company for Design and Industrial Construction to […]

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Iraq Finance 2012 - Agenda Launched

On 18-19 September 2012 in the City of London, a high-level Iraqi delegation of Ministers, Deputies, and senior decision-makers will get together with their counterparts from international banks and financial institutions to collaborate to rebuild Iraq's financial sector. Huge opportunities will be on offer for the financing of major infrastructure and energy projects. PPP mechanisms […]