The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is working closely with authorities to support displaced people who are returning to Tikrit to rebuild their lives after the town was liberated from ISIL forces. Government sources estimate that up to 1,500 families have returned to the town, which was occupied by ISIL from June 2014 until April 2015. […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 22 banks and 2 remittance companies took part in its currency auction on Monday. A total of $290,914,740 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
By Mark DeWeaver. This has been quite a year for the Iraqi dinar. From a level of IQD 1,217: USD 1 at the end of 2014, the market rate for the currency weakened steadily during the first quarter, penetrated a key support level at 1,290 in late April, and reached a low of 1,379 on […]
By Robert Tollast. The following opinions are the authors only, and do not necessarily represent the views of Iraq Business News. This article examines Iraq’s localised and national level attempts to foster pan sectarian cooperation against ISIL, looked at in the context of previous counterinsurgency campaigns fought by Britain and the US. “Our fighting against […]
By Simon Kent. Al Jazeera have reported a string of violent incidents in Iraq in the past 24 hours. In Salahaddin, a suicide bomber targeted a meeting of anti ISIL Sunni Sheikhs, killing at least 18 people. ISIL and its predecessor ISI have long targeted opposing Sunnis, fearing widespread Sunni opposition in Iraq would undermine […]
By Simon Kent. Lukoil, the Russian energy giant with one of the biggest investments in southern Iraq at the vast West Qurna 2 oil field, have issued a statement in support of Iraq's move to split crude grades into Basra Heavy and Basra Light. Previously, different grades arrived at Basra for blending, which not only […]
By Robert Tollast. Sterling, the international Health, Safety and Environment oil and gas and construction specialists, have expanded their HSE training site in Erbil. Sterling focus on HSE consulting, building capacity to mitigate risks and environmental hazards, as well as preventing and dealing with major incidents in construction and the energy sector. The expanded centre will […]
By Simon Kent. Sources at Ceyhan have told Reuters that there is insufficient oil in the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) tanks at the port to fill planned cargoes. Both BP and Spain's Cepsa have cancelled shipments, and no oil has gone to SOMO storage for the past ten days. According to sources, this […]
By Robert Tollast. The BBC's Orla Guerin has filed a report from Anbar after spending time with a Sheikh from the Albu Issa tribe. The report relays another example of a growing number of complaints from anti-ISIL Sheikhs in the strategic province. Many Sheikhs assert that the government is not giving them enough funds and […]
By Robert Tollast. Russia's Gazprom Neft has announced that production at the Badra field in Wasit province is close to double last year's production, now reaching 28,000 bpd. Gazprom Neft's commercial production and exports at Badra started in September last year, after the company signed a contract to develop the field in January 2010, as […]
By Simon Kent. As of today, personnel from the German army will be training fighters from the Yazidi ethnic minority in northern Iraq. The Yazidi's (pictured: Yazidi religious symbol) are an ancient religion from Northern Iraq and shot to global attention in June last year, when they became the target of a genocidal attack by the "Islamic State." […]
By Simon Kent. NATO have announced that they are in talks with Iraqi officials to revive a coordinated training mission for Iraqi officers. Previously, NATO was in Iraq during the war against the ISIS predecessor, ISI, the Islamic State of Iraq. At that time, NATO was generally involved with training the Iraqi army in Jordan and […]
