Archive | 2015

Iraqi MP Calls for Embassy in Israel

By Patrick Schmidt. A Sunni member of the Iraqi Parliament, Mithal Al-Alusi, called for the opening of an embassy in Israel during an interview with the Kuwati Al-Rai. "Yes, Israel is a state and I support peace with it," he said, when asked if he supported "normalization" with the Jewish state. "I want to see […]

DNO Unaffected by Pipeline Disruption

DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, announced that production from its flagship Tawke field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq continued uninterrupted during this week's shut down of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in Turkey, given the flexibility to redirect volumes from exports to local sales. Prior to the pipeline disruption, Tawke production in the […]

Iraq Instability Weighs on Zain Group

By John Lee. In its financial results for the six months ended 30 June, 2015, Zain Group gave the following update on its operations in Iraq: "Zain Iraq launched 3G services at the beginning of the year and is very active in rolling out 3G services across the country that saw data revenues grow 17% […]

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Anti-ISIL Airstrikes in Iraq, Syria Continue

U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported. Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Airstrikes in Syria Fighter and remotely piloted aircraft […]

Security Council Renews UNAMI Mandate

The UN Security Council on Wednesday extended for another year the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and expressed its intention to review the operation’s mandate in 12 months or sooner, if requested by the Iraqi Government. Adopting a resolution, the Council extended UNAMI’s mandate through 31 July 2016, and, in line with the […]

Petrel says "Virtually no Activity" in Iraq

By John Lee. In a statement to the company's Annual General Meeting in Dublin on Wednesday, the Chairman of Petrel Resources, John Teeling, said that there is "virtually no activity" at the company's interests in Iraq. "The Block 6 acreage in Anbar province is a no-go area. There remains a belief that the authorities in […]

Heatwave Forces Four-Day Weekend

By John Lee. The Iraqi government has declared a four-day holiday starting on Thursday, as the country attempts to cope with temperatures expected to exceed 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit). Highest temperatures are expected on Sunday, and in the Central and Southern areas of the country, including Baghdad. Poor electricity supplies will continue to cause […]

Erbil-Baghdad Agreement: Deal or No Deal?

By Mohammed A. Salih for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Erbil-Baghdad Oil Relations Swing between Deal, no Deal Encouraged by more international interest in purchasing its oil, coupled with the apparent failure of the federal Iraqi government to provide agreed-upon […]

Keeping Iraq’s Oil Flowing

By Waleed Kamhieh, Accenture oil and gas consultant. This is an extract from an article originally published by Nina Iraq, and is reproduced here with permission. In June 2015, Iraq produced an average of 3.19 mm bbpd (million barrels per day), the highest level of production since 1980, and it has surpassed the 2.8 mm bbpd […]

Airstrikes Destroy ISIL Fighting Positions

U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported. Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Airstrikes in Syria Fighter, fighter-attack, bomber and remotely […]

Bomb Halts Kirkuk Oil Exports

By John Lee. Turkey's energy ministry has confirmed that the smaller of the two parallel pipelines from Kirkuk to Ceyhan (pictured) was sabotaged early on Wednesday in the district of Cizre in Turkey. Only the 40-inch line was operational at the time of the attack, with the parallel 46-inch line currently idled. Crude oil exports […]

Currency Auction Results, 29th July

By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 25 banks and 10 remittance companies took part in its currency auction on Wednesday. A total of $271,668,000 sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)