Archive | 2013

Iraq "has Little Interest in Oil Law"

By John Lee. A leading Sunni figure has said that Iraq is not likely to pass a hydrocarbon law anytime soon, as the government has little interest in pushing a draft through parliament. Adnan Al-Janabi, a member of the Iraqiyya party, and the head of Iraq's parliamentary oil and energy committee, told Reuters: "It is […]

Training on Management of Investment Zones

By John Lee. In collaboration with OECD and and National Investment Commission (NIC), a special two-day training course in the management of investment zones was held recently in Baghdad. On behalf of NIC chairman Dr. Sami Al-Araji, NIC advisor Dr. Abdullah Al-Bander welcomed participants representing several ministries, including Industry and Minerals, Communication, Finance and the […]

US Contractor Fined for Late Reporting of Casualties

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs has announced a $75,000 settlement with The Sandi Group/Corporate Bank Financial Services for failure to report in a timely manner on the injuries and deaths of 30 employees in Iraq between 2003 and 2005. Under the Defense Base Act, a company must report any injury […]

Iraqi Parliament Rejects Draft Cybercrime Bill

By Ali Abel Sadah for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On Feb. 5, 2013, the Iraqi parliament responded to a campaign launched by activists against a proposed law criminalizing many means of circulating information. Iraqi lawmakers said that they will draft […]

US-Sponsored Legal Training Helps the Vulnerable

The U.S. Embassy, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), hosted the Law School Legal Clinic Best Practices Training for six Iraqi law schools in Baghdad from February 5 - 7, 2013. USAID assists Iraqi law schools to integrate clinical legal education into their curricula and to establish legal aid clinics. These law school […]

Turkish Firm to Invest $700m in Steel Plant

By John Lee. The Ministry of Industry and Minerals has signed an 18-year contract with a Turkish company to run iron and steel plant in Basra. According to Steel Network, $700 million will be invested to bring production capacity to 1 million tonnes per year. Work at the plant, located in the Khor Al-Zubair, is […]

Investment Opportunities in Iraqi Fiber Networks

By John Lee. The General Company of Post and Communications has announced that it intends to offer "huge investment opportunities" in the provision of optical fiber networks. AIN reports that the investment opportunities, running to billions of dollars, aim to take advantage of the geographic location of Iraq as a route for information and communications […]

Weatherford Completes New Well at Bazargan

By John Lee. Missan Oil Company has announced that the US company Weatherford has successfully completed an oil well at the Bazargan field. It has also rehabilitated another well in the same field, and one at the Faqa oil field. According to a report from AIN, this brings the number of wells Weatherford completed at […]

US Ambassador’s Fund Grant

The U.S. Mission in Iraq, through the Ambassador’s Fund Program, is seeking Statements of Interest that offer creative and effective approaches to promote reconciliation and stability in Iraq and to improve the institutional capacity of Iraqi organizations and local communities. Awards will range from USD 200,000 to USD 500,000, although smaller and larger awards may […]

WesternZagros Revises Resource Estimates

WesternZagros Resources has conducted further analysis of the results from the Kurdamir-2 well and provides a revision of its resource estimates for the Oligocene reservoir in the Kurdamir Block, as well as an update for the adjacent Oligocene reservoir in the Baram prospect on the Garmian Block. On the Baram prospect, the total mean estimate […]

Exxon Hires Former US Ambassador to Iraq

By John Lee. Oil giant ExxonMobil has reportedly hired former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, James Jeffrey (pictured), as a consultant. The company was recently told that it must choose between working in Iraq's southern oilfields, where it operates the $50 billion West Qurna 1 oilfield, or in Kurdistan, where it has signed exploration deals. Exxon’s […]