Archive | 2013

Youths Plan ‘Mini-Iraq’ the Way it Should Be

By Ahmad al-Rubaie. 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. Fantasy Buffer Zone: Baghdad Youths Plan ‘Mini-Iraq’ the Way it Should Be For many educated young Iraqis, there’s no escaping the grim realities of daily life: […]

KRG Welcomes Delegation from German Universities

In a visit organised by the Kurdistan Student Union (KSU), Minister Falah Mustafa received a large group of German students and teachers from leading universities and institutes. This is part of a broader initiative by KSU in encouraging exchange of visits and to promote discussions and research about the history, cultural and progress of the […]

ASEC Consortium Wins Cement Plant Deal

By John Lee. ICR reports that a consortium of ASEC Cement and Iraq's Qemmet El-Iraq has won a contract to rehabilitate and manage the Muthanna Cement plant for 14 years. Attending a signing ceremony in Baghdad with Southern Cement, the state holding company that controls Muthanna Cement, ASEC Cement Chairman and CEO Giorgio Bodo said: […]

Nokia Opens New Office in Erbil

Nokia Solutions and Networks (NSN) has announced the inauguration of its new office in Erbil, the capital city of Kurdistan region in Iraq. Until now the company has been operating at a different location in Erbil. This is NSN’s fourth modern office in Iraq, with the other offices located in Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah, and Basra to […]

New NGO Cooperation Policy in Kurdistan

More than 75 civil society leaders, government officials, and members of Parliament endorsed today the new policy on relations between the parliament, government, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Kurdistan Region. A signing ceremony was held at the Canyon Hotel in Erbil to mark adoption of the Compact on Partnership and Development between Public Authorities […]

Maliki to Run for Third Term

By Ali Abdel Sadah for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On Aug. 26, 2013, the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq announced that it had overturned a previous law, passed by parliament, that limits the president, prime minister and parliament speaker to two terms […]

US Issues Iraq Travel Alert

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all but essential travel to Iraq. Travel within Iraq remains dangerous given the security situation. This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Warning dated February 25, 2013, to update information on security incidents and to remind U.S. citizens of ongoing security concerns in Iraq, including kidnapping and terrorist […]

How Many Countries are Interested in Iraq?

The international nature of business in Iraq can be seen clearly in the short-list of companies selected to bid for the new $18-billion pipeline to the Jordanian port of Aqaba: The 17 companies represent 11 different nationalities. Over the past week alone, we've also seen a Japanese and Malaysian consortium start commercial production of oil […]

Iraq Awards $348m in Drilling Deals

By John Lee. Iraq has awarded oil drilling deals with a combined value of $348 million. Associated Press reports that Weatherford picked up two drilling contracts, one for nearly $95 million and another for $82.4 million. Another contract worth $96.7 million went to China's Bohai, while COSL, a division of the China National Offshore Oil […]

Gharraf Oil Starts Field Production

By John Lee. The Gharraf [Garraf] oil field in Thi Qar [Dhi Qar] province, 85km north of the City of Nasiriyah, produced its first commercial output of oil on 31st August. Iraq's Ministry of Oil said the flow rate was 35,000 barrels a day, and peak production of 230,000 bpd was expected in 2017. Japan […]