Author Archive | Editor

Provinces take ex-Baathists to Court

By Mustafa al Kadhimi for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Iraq Business News. Iraq's de-Baathification crisis resurfaced Feb. 2, when the Cabinet approved amendments to the Justice and Accountability Act, which deals with the country's ex-Baathists and the banning of the Baath […]

Genel Shares Bounce on "Significant Growth"

By John Lee. Shares in Genel Energy bounced 4 percent from a long-term low on Thursday morning following the publication of its results for the year ended 31st December 2014. Highlights 2014 revenue of $520 million, an increase of 49% on 2013 2014 EBITDAX of $411 million, an increase of 49% on 2013 2014 production […]

Exxon in Talks Govt on Oil Payments

By John Lee. The Iraqi government has reportedly requested talks with ExxonMobil to restructure oil agreements to help Iraq meet its near-term cash requirements. CEO Rex Tillerson (pictured) is quoted by Reuters as saying that "by and large we are current in our payments," adding that any change would have to be beneficial to Exxon. […]

DNO Hits 100m Barrels from Tawke

By John Lee. DNO, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, produced its first 100 million barrels of oil at its flagship Tawke field in February. Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani told a conference in Oslo: "Output will pick up at Tawke this spring with the expansion of the field's capacity to 200,000 barrels per day." A […]

Iraq launches first Proficiency Testing Scheme

Iraq has launched its first Proficiency Testing (PT) scheme, through the Iraqi Accreditation System (IQAS), targeting 20 material and mechanical (Hardness) testing laboratories. This is an important milestone in establishing the system required for laboratories to achieve accreditation against the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025, an international standard which shall assure that measurement services and tests […]

The New Iraq – Discovering Business 2015

Allurentis, UK publishers of The New Iraq series, are now in production of the 2015 edition of the book. This will be the sixth edition and will be launched in the coming months. There are opportunities for organisations from all sectors to promote their services to a global audience through editorial features and advertising. For […]

Unemployment Rate Passes 25%

By John Lee. The Iraqi Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Mohammed Shayaa al-Sudani, has said that the unemployment rate in Iraq has passed 25 percent. Ministry statistics also show that Iraq's population is now almost 36 million, two million of whom are internally displaced as a result of the conflict with Islamic State (IS, […]

74 Hotels Close in Iraqi Kurdistan

By John Lee. BasNews quotes the Head of the Kurdistan Restaurant and Hoteliers Association, Hersh Ahmad, as saying that 74 of the region's 2,500 hotels have closed down in Erbil recently: “The main reason is the fight against the Islamic State (IS) ... And those which still operate have fired 50% of their staff, increasing […]

Remarks on Recent Statements from the Ministry of Oil

Remarks on Recent Statements from the Ministry of Oil By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. In the past two weeks, several statements reportedly attributed to the Minister of Oil, Mr. Adel Abdul Mahdi, have been circulating. An earlier one advocates the benefits of the Production Sharing Contracts, while the recent one deals with the alleged Iraqi indebtedness […]

Turkey to Explore for Oil in Qandil

By John Lee. Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz said today that agreements with Iraqi administrations open the door for Turkish oil exploration in Iraqi Kurdistan: "We have agreements with Baghdad and [the government in] northern Iraq ... In the frame of these agreements, we will explore for oil there ... "There can be an additional […]