By John Lee. WesternZagros Resources has completed the remediation work at its Sarqala-1 producing oil well and is preparing to test the promising Shiranish reservoir in the Kurdamir-2 well. WesternZagros also continues to actively cooperate with the Kurdistan Regional Government ("KRG") in the effort to assign the third party participant interest ("TPPI") within the Garmian […]
By John Lee. Two oil executives in the Kurdistan Region have told Reuters that Chevron is purchasing 80 percent of the Sarta and Rovi blocks from India's Reliance Industries. Austria's OMV holds the other 20 percent interest in Sarta/Rovi. Chevron reportedly declined to comment on Wednesday, saying that it continued to be interested in pursuing […]
By John Lee. Alstom Grid has announced that it has won contracts worth €34 million ($42 million) from KAR Construction & Engineering Company to engineer and supply substations for the electrical grid. The company will supply four 132/33/11 kV Air-insulated Switchgear (AIS) substations and one 132/33/11 kV Gas-insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation for the Kurdistan Regional […]
By John Lee. Bloomberg reports that Iraq will reduce its daily exports of Basrah Light crude from the Persian Gulf by 3.8 percent in the second half of July, compared with shipments in the previous two weeks. Twenty-four cargoes are scheduled to be shipped from the al-Basrah Oil Terminal (pictured), up from 18 in the […]
By John Lee. A glass factory in Anbar has resumed production after a break of 10 years. AKnews reports that factory manager Fadhil Ahmed said the factory’s production line is now fully functioning with the help of the Ministry of Industry using local expertise. “The factory is now capable of producing high quality products like […]
By John Lee. A new video produced by USAID showcases the Al-Zatoon Olive Association's new processing plant in Ninawa province, home of the first mechanized olive oil presser in Iraq and a model for similar demonstration projects in Kurdistan, Salah al Din and the Tallafar district of Ninawa province. A new olive oil industry in […]
By John Lee. Northern Ireland's Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster (pictured), has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kurdistan Regional Government, which will strengthen trade links and define areas of co-operation between the two regions. The MOU is the result of the Minister’s visit to Kurdistan in October 2011 when she met with […]
By John Lee. The Samawa Business Development Center (SBDC) continues to expand the range of services it provides in Muthanna Province to meet the needs of government and businesses alike. Initially benefitting from grants and support provided by the Dhi Qar and Muthana Provincial Reconstruction Team and the USAID-Tijara program, the SBDC has grown from […]
By John Lee. Iran's Oil Minister, Rostam Qasemi (pictured), says his country is expected to start exporting natural gas to Iraq by the end of the next Iranian year (to start March 21, 2013), reports the Iranian news agency PressTV. Last year, the oil ministers of Iran, Iraq and Syria agreed to construct a pipeline […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, Hussein al-Shahristani, has reportedly urged the consortium developing the Gharraf oilfield in Maysan province to speed up progress on the project. He also offered to help "eliminate the obstacles facing the work of the company", which is a venture between the Japanese JAPEX and […]
By John Lee. Iran has again has blocked the flow of water from the al-Wind [Wand, Alwand, Hulwan] river, in a move which has angered Iraqi farmers and citizens, according to PUKmedia. Protesters are demanding that Iran release water into the river, saying their fertile land turning barren because of the repeated cuts and shortages […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on Sunday for the US to speed up the transfer of weapons to Iraq, which lacks the ability to defend its airspace or borders. UPI reports that during a meeting with General James Mattis, the visiting head of US Central Command, the Iraqi premier also pointedly […]
