By Patrick Schmidt. During an oil and gas conference in Norway, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Energy, Sara Akbar (pictured) noted that recent events in Iraq do not sour her outlook for the petroleum industry in Iraq. This statement follows the evacuation of oil engineers and workers from Iraq by select energy companies over the preceding […]
By John Lee. As Kurdish Peshmerga forces have continued their advance, capturing Batana mountain near Zumar, along with recent gains in Makhmur, they have announced ISIL is following a "scorched earth" policy. An official from Iraq's North Oil Company recently confirmed that after ISIL retreated from the Ain Zalah oil field, they set fire to […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Ambassador to the US Lukman Faily has given an interview with the journal Foreign Policy speaking of his long term friendship with Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi. We learn that Amb. Faily and Abadi were students together in England in the 1980s and both campaigned to raise awareness of the crimes of the regime […]
By John Lee. Gulf Keystone (pictured: CEO John Gerstenlauer) an independent oil and gas exploration, development and production company with operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq ("Kurdistan Region"), today announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2014. Operational highlights · Gulf Keystone's operations in the Kurdistan Region remain secure and production […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 18 banks took part in its currency auction on Thursday. A total of $193,850,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
By John Lee. Fox News have reported that the former commander of US forces in Iraq, General Lloyd Austin (pictured, far right) has met with Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad. The two men were discussing the changing nature of US-Iraq security cooperation in the face of the ongoing offensive of the Islamic State of Iraq […]
By John Lee. China expert Simone Van Nieuwenhuizen has written an opinion piece for The Diplomat, a foreign affairs journal that covers events in Asia. She argues that it would be in China's interests to do more for Iraq. In the piece, Van Niewenhuizen notes that not only has China been threatened by the Islamic State of […]
By John Lee. The Pentagon--home to the US Department of Defence--has announced that there are now a total of 7 countries arming Kurdish forces in Iraq. A spokesman said those nations were Britain, Canada, Albania, Croatia, Denmark, Italy and France. Germany may soon follow. In a sign of the sudden onset of the crisis, a […]
By John Lee. Australia is currently weighing up options to use aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF, insignia pictured) to bomb targets of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). If authorized, RAAF aircraft could also target ISIL in Syria, but a spokesperson for Australia's Department of Defence noted this was not […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani has announced coming reforms for the Kurdish security forces, most famous for the Peshmerga. The reforms would bring all units under a single unified command. In the past, the Minister of the Peshmerga did not have control over all troops, and the force was in some cases […]
By John Lee. Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi has issued a statement saying that government formation is going well and that on the security front, all militias loyal to the government must come under government control. The remarks are another sign of the PM's departure from the governing style of Nouri-al-Maliki, who originally appeared tough on […]
By John Lee. The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has recently remarked that countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are ready to give Iraq further assistance if it is requested and supported by NATO member states. Some NATO countries have already taken their own steps in Iraq, choosing variously to intervene on […]
