National Overview One year on from the start of the militant uprising in Anbar province, Iraq’s fractured regions remain on sharply different political trajectories. In the Sunni heartlands of Ramadi and Fallujah where an initial protest by local tribesmen forced the withdrawal of the Iraqi security forces in December 2014, ISIS units launched a major […]
Archive | 2015
IEITI 4th Annual Report - Pros and Cons
IEITI 4th Annual Report 2012- Pros and Cons By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. For the fourth year in a row Iraq Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (IEITI) has been successful by releasing, in December 2014, its annual report entitled this year: Iraqi Oil Revenues 2012, Local Consumption and Field Development. A thorough review and analysis indicate that […]
Iran, Iraq to Cooperate on Healthcare
By John Lee. The Managing Director of Iran's Social Security Organization, Taqi Nourbakhsh, has told Iraqi Health Minister Adilla Hamoud Hussein (pictured) that Iran is ready to cooperate and share its experience with Iraq in the social insurance and healthcare tourism sectors. The Iranian organization operates 73 hospitals and 354 medical treatment centers, serving a […]
US Considers Upgrades for Iraqi Tanks
By Patrick Schmidt. Like the United States, Iraq’s main battle tank is the M1A1 Abrams, manufactured by General Dynamics. The United States Army is considering providing additional technology for Iraqi tanks including mine clearing blades/rollers, heavy-duty armor tiles, stronger belly armor, as well as other features. Many of these features will assist in the fight […]
New KRG Representative to United States
Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman yesterday began her mission as the Representative to the United States of America. Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, met with Ms Abdul Rahman and the staff of the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in Washington DC to officially declare her as the new representative and to […]
Atlasjet Cancels Flights to Iraq
By Patrick Schmidt. Atlasjet, a Turkish airline, recently announced that it would be unable to fly to destinations in Iraq. This issue began January 1 and is still ongoing. The airline currently flies to the cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. Some of the company leadership has travelled to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi officials about […]
Iraq Doubles Duty on Rice Imports
By John Lee. India's Economic Times reports that Iraq has doubled the import duty on rice to 40 percent. An official from the All India Rice Exporters' Association (AIREA) told the news agency that the sudden increase in import duty by Iraq has come as a major blow and it is bound to impact exports […]
US Delays Additional Troop Deployments
By Patrick Schmidt. The United States has delayed the deployment of an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq. Defense Department Spokesman John Kirby mentioned the delay in December. Current budget, and congressional issues are slowing the deployment. Most of the American troops in Iraq currently serve as military advisors or provide protection for American facilities in […]
Video: Iraq Unwilling to Arm Sunnis to Fight IS
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's armed forces are marking their 94th anniversary. But sadly there's little to celebrate. The army is facing unprecedented challenges - an enemy that has seized large parts of the country, internal corruption […]
Iraqi Oil Exports Soar
By Patrick Schmidt. The Ministry of Oil has announced that 91.14 million barrels of oil were exported during the month of December. This amount marks the highest number of barrels exported since 1980. Despite this increase, the overall profits for the month only increased marginally as the price of oil has dropped sharply. According to […]
Tags: Iraq Oil Exports News
GKP Reaches Production Target at Shaikan
By John Lee. Gulf Keystone Petroleum has announced that the existing Shaikan production facilities ("PF-1" and "PF-2") are now producing from seven wells with Shaikan-8 expected to come online in January 2015. Total daily production has been gradually increasing since early December 2014, reaching the Company's 40,000 gross barrels of oil per day target on […]
Asiacell Launches 3G Service
By John Lee. Asiacell has announced the launch of its third generation (3G) mobile phone services in Iraq. “Iraq has been underserved for far too long, it’s time to bring 21st century wireless service to this important economic hub in the world,” said Faruk Mustafa Rasool (pictured), Asiacell chairman. Asiacell has spent more than $1bn […]