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Kirkuk Pipeline hit by 'Technical Defect'

A pipeline pumping around 90,000 bpd from a field near Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan (pictured) via Kurdistan reportedly stopped operations on Monday morning due to a "technical defect". North Oil Company (NOC) sources told Reuters on Wednesday that maintenance teams are working to repair the pipeline, which is expected to resume operations within […]

Oman Air Postpones Launch of Najaf Route

By John Lee. Oman Air has announced that the start of its planned service between Muscat and Najaf is delayed from 15th September to 1st October. The airline said in a statement: “The decision was taken in line with Oman Air’s over-riding priority of ensuring the safety and well-being of all its customers and staff.” […]

Video: The 'catastrophic’ Plight of Iraq's Orphans

From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. More than five million children in Iraq have lost one or both parents as a result of years of continued violence. As orphans often lack access to medical care, education and even the […]

Coalition Strikes Hit ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

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

Iraq to Increase Oil Exports in October

By John Lee. Platts reports that Iraq plans to export an average of 3.28 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in October, a rise of 23,000 bpd from the previous month. It cites data from the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) showing planned export volumes of 80.68 million barrels (2.6 million bpd) of […]

IMF starts first review of $5.3bn Assistance Package

The Iraqi authorities and the staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) held discussions in Amman from August 28–September 10, 2016 on the first review of Iraq’s 36-month $5.3-billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) approved by the IMF Executive Board on July 7, 2016. Mr. Christian Josz, Mission Chief for Iraq, issued the following statement: “The Iraqi […]

Giuliani defends Trump ‘taking’ Iraqi Oil

By John Lee. Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York, and current advisor to Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, has defended the Trump’s statement that the US should have taken Iraq’s oil. When asked in an interview if that was legal, Giuliani, a lawyer, said: “Of course it’s legal. It’s a war. Until the […]

Zebari Fights Back Against Accusations

By John Lee. The Financial Times reports that Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari (pictured) is fighting back against accusations of financial mismanagement by digging out documents that he claims reveal the true extent of corruption in the public sector. “I’ve started my campaign — the counterattack", he said. "I didn’t want to galvanise it. But […]

Counter-ISIL Strikes Target Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq on Sunday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported on Monday. Officials reported details of yesterday’s strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria Attack, bomber, fighter […]

Baghdad wants to take back Kirkuk Oil Fields

By John Lee. Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has said it will try to retake full control of all Kirkuk oilfields that were administered by the North Oil Company (NOC) before the Islamic State group (IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) entered Iraqi territories, and "before the Peshmerga forces seized some oil wells during the previous government.” It […]

GKP Reports on Payments to Governments

Gulf Keystone Petroleum has issued the details of the payments made to governments for the year ended 31 December 2015, as required under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Basis for preparation Total payments below £86,000 made to a government are excluded from this report as permitted under the Regulations. […]