By John Lee. The Iraqi Cabinet approved a draft law on Tuesday to create a new National Guard. Reuters reports that Sunni political and tribal leaders have billed the move as a way to handle their own security in the fight against the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL). The National Guard would consist of locally […]
By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The militant activities of the Islamic State (IS) and its counterparts have contributed to the rise of moderate Islam in the Islamic world. The fact is that it is Muslims, of all sects, who have […]
Kurdistan Regional Government’s Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, yesterday in Erbil received the Austrian Foreign Minister, Sebastian Kurz and his accompanying delegation, which included the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the European Parliament, the Austrian Ambassador to Iraq and a number of senior officials from the Austrian Foreign Ministry, as well as Iraq’s Ambassador […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 23 banks took part in its currency auction on Tuesday. A total of $69,611,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
National Overview ISIS fighters mount the largest offensive against Kirkuk since July 2014, seizing control of oil and gas facilities as Peshmerga forces defend outer districts of the provincial capital. Preceded by a considerable build-up of militants in the Hawija and Sharqat areas south west of Kirkuk city, the main thrust of the attack occurred […]
By John Lee. Iran has issued a tender to build a second pipeline to carry natural gas to Iraq. Trade Arabia reports that the $1.5-billion project will be granted on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, and all costs will be recovered through revenues from gas exports to Iraq. A pipeline will be built from the Iranian […]
By John Lee. Dubai's Al Khaleej Sugar Refinery has resumed exports to Iraq after disruption last summer due to the conflict with Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL). The company is exporting about 600,000 to 800,000 tonnes a year to Iraq, making the country its biggest customer. “We have four vessels queuing in Umm Qasr. It […]
By John Lee. Exports of crude oil from Iraq's southern ports dipped in January to an average of 2.389 bpd, according to a report from Reuters. This is down from the record high of 2.76 million bpd in December, and was due to bad weather in the Gulf. (Source: Reuters)
Head of the KRG Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, today received Ambassador of Armenia to Iraq Mr Karin Gregorian to discuss bilateral ties. In his first visit to the Kurdistan Region, Ambassador Gregorian commended Kurdistan Region for its political and economic developments as well as its culture of peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance. He briefed […]
By John Lee. Production at the Khabbaz oilfield, 20 km southwest of Kirkuk, remained suspended on Monday following severe damage during a weekend attack by Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) insurgents. Oil Minister Dr. Adel Abdul Mahdi [Adel Abdel Mehdi] (pictured) said there is severe damage to the field, which was recaptured by Kurdish forces on […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 23 banks took part in its currency auction on Monday. A total of $64,505,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
By John Lee. Oil Minister Dr. Adel Abdul Mahdi [Adel Abdel Mehdi] (pictured) has announced the establishment of three new oil companies. The Dhi Qar Oil Company has been set up to put the extraction and production of oil from fields in Dhi Qar under their direct supervision of the people of the province. This […]
