Archive | 2013

Alkitan Plans Basra Cement Plant

By John Lee. A Pakistani company identified as "Alkitan" has said it will build a new cement plant in Basra. Company director Shakir Ali told the Basra Investment Commission that they wanted to set up there "due to the abundant natural resources and investment opportunities". He added that the plant will be built on a […]

Behind Iraq's Upsurge in Violence

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Will a political deadlock, a lack of government control and spiralling chaos push the war-torn nation over the edge? Mike Hanna discusses the reasons behind the increasing violence in Iraq recently with guests: […]

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UN Condemns Assassination of Sheikh

The Acting Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (A-SRSG), Mr. Gyorgy Busztin, has condemned in the strongest terms the assassination on 22 July of the Head of the Arab bloc in the Kirkuk Provincial Council and Deputy Chairman of the Provincial Council Security Committee, Sheikh Abdallah Sami Al-Assi, and two of his […]

Security Update 23 July 2013

By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk NEWS UPDATE In a series of sophisticated simultaneous attacks the ISI has managed to break out hundreds of convicts, including senior members of al Qaeda, from Abu Ghraib jail amidst a military-style assault. The deadly raid on the high-security jail comes as Sunni Muslim militants are seeking to gain […]

Crude Exports Fall for Second Month

By John Lee. The Iraqi Oil Ministry has said that exports of crude oil fell in June for the second consecutive month, due to bad weather at the ports and attacks on northern pipelines. Shipments dropped to 69.8 million barrels for the month, or 2.33 million barrels a day (bpd), bringing in a total of $6.8 […]

Talisman Testing Kurdamir-3 Well

A unit of Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, has begun a cased-hole test program of the Oligocene reservoir at the Kurdamir-3 well on the Kurdamir block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Talisman (Block K44) BV drilled the well to 2,895 m about 5 km southwest and downdip of the Kurdamir-2 well in what the block […]

Officials Divided Over Dinar 'Reset'

By Omar al-Shaher for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Two Iraqi parliamentary committees monitoring fiscal policy in Iraq have held two contradictory positions on the Iraqi currency “reset” project, which would delete three zeros from the currency. There has been […]

KRG Receives New US Consul General

The new US Consul General in the Kurdistan Region, Mr Joseph Pennington, met with the KRG's Head of Foreign Relations Minister Falah Mustafa as part of his introductory meetings. He was accompanied by the outgoing Consul General, Mr Paul Sutphin, and the Head of Political/Economic Section at the US Consulate General in Erbil, Mr Stephen […]

Diyala to Build 8 Bridges

By John Lee. The local government in Diyala has announced the start of construction on a 1.5 billion Iraqi dinar ($1.29 million) project to build eight pedestrian bridges, reports al-Shorfa. The bridges, located in Baqubah, al-Meqdadiya and al-Khalis, are being built to facilitate movement and prevent accidents. Local companies are overseeing the project, which is […]

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Maliki, Barzani "Close to Solving Oil Dispute"

By Omar al-Shaher for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. MPs from the ruling State of Law Coalition and the Kurdistan Alliance confirmed the presence of positive vibes between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in […]