Archive | 2014

Talisman to Sell Kurdamir Stake

By John Lee. Talisman Energy has said that it still plans to sell its oil properties in Iraqi Kurdistan, despite the recent declaration that its Kurdamir Block was commerical. Reuters reports that the Calgary-based company plans to look for buyers for its Kurdistan assets as it continues restructuring to cut debt and boost its flagging […]

Kurdamir Block Declared Commercial

By John Lee. WesternZagros Resources and its co-venturer, Talisman, have submitted a Declaration of Commercial Discovery ("DoC") to the Kurdistan Regional Government ("KRG") for the oil and gas discovery in the Kurdamir Block. A phased development plan, outlining future production wells, facilities and supporting infrastructure, is under preparation for submission to the KRG. Simon Hatfield […]

Charity Chairman Visits Front Line

The Chairman of the British-based AMAR International Charitable Foundation, Baroness (Emma) Nicholson of Winterbourne, met the man commanding Peshmerga forces in the Kurdish region of Iraq on Friday and was given a full briefing on the latest situation on the battle against ISIS. Baroness Nicholson has flown into Erbil to meet AMAR’s medical teams treating […]

UN Calls for Immediate Action on Amerli

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, is seriously alarmed by reports regarding the inhuman conditions of the inhabitants of the northern town of Amerli, besieged and cut off from food and water supplies by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group for almost […]

Video: Militia wants Help from US

From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's Mahdi Army fought US troops to the death in past years, but now some members of the rebranded Shiite militia say they could do with a little help from their old foe:

Video: Islamic State Shifts Tactics

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. In Northern Iraq, US airstrikes have hit targets held by the Islamic State group near Mosul Dam. But well-armed Islamic State fighters appear to be changing tactics slowing down the gains made by […]

Kurdish Oil Export Figures on the Rise

By Patrick Schmidt.  The Kurdish Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured) announced that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has sold 7 million barrels of oil on the international market. He remains confident that the KRG will win the ability to sell oil in the US markets. Currently, the KRG produces 300,000 barrels of oil per […]

Potential Genocide at Amerli

By John Lee. The Associated Press has reported recently on the northern Iraqi town of Amerli where some 15,000 members of Iraq's Shi'a Turkmen minority are cut off from food and water supplies and besieged on all sides by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters. If ISIL are able to enter the town it is […]

Iraqi National Museum Heralds Expansion

By John Lee. No doubt in the hope of happier times ahead, Iraq's National Museum has opened two new halls at a recent well attended ceremony. Showcasing objects from a span of 7000 years of Mesopotamian history, a key feature of the new part of the museum was some 500 objects from the Hellenistic period, […]

Plans Made to Recapture Mosul

By Barbara Slavin for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. US officials have begun discussions with local leaders in Iraq’s Ninewa province about how to recapture the city of Mosul in the wake of the successful operation to recover control of Mosul […]

US Considers Sending More Advisers

By Patrick Schmidt. American officials have announced that more US troops may be deployed to Iraq in the coming weeks. The additional troops would be based in the capitol city of Baghdad. Approximately 748 US troops have been deployed to Iraq since the rise of the Islamic State (IS). These troops supplement the usual 100 […]