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Genel Energy Interim Management Statement

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) instructed all contractors who are operating currently in the Kurdistan region to halt the export of crude oil. Due to this the portion of crude oil produced by the company’s two producing fields, Taq Taq and Tawke, which were destined for export via the Iraqi national pipeline has been halted. […]

Heritage Oil Update on Miran West-3 Exploration Well

Heritage Oil has successfully drilled and tested the Miran West-3 well. The well is situated in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, drilling has been taking place since August 2011, ir has successfully reached a total depth of 3,528 metres after encountering the primary gas bearing reservoir interval in the Jurassic. Testing of the main Jurassic […]

Iraq Spat With Turkey Over Regional Power Game

Turkey's growing rift with Iraq has exposed its role in the Middle East with Ankara protecting its stability from an Iranian-Iraqi “Shi’ite axis” with the withdrawal of the US military. Turkish officials have been in a war of words with Baghdad since December when the Shi’ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest of Sunni […]

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Oil Ministry Prepare for Fourth Auction

Preparations are being made for a fourth auction of oil and natural gas exploration zones. This will be in line with the country's aim to rival Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s leading oil producers. Iraq’s official statistics reveal that oil reserves are pegged at 143.1 billion barrels, the fourth largest in the world.  […]

Halliburton Lands $95m Gazprom deal at Badra

Halliburton has won a $95 million contract from Russian state oil producer Gazprom Neft to test and complete 11 wells at its Badra oil field in eastern Iraq, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gazprom said testing of the first well is scheduled to start in the third quarter of this year. "Production will commence […]

Why Strawberries? An Effective Development Tool

By Bob Nottelmann, crop production specialist with California Pacific Plant Exports (Cal Pacific) and Ekland Marketing of California (Emco). The introduction of commercial strawberry production in Iraq has been a satisfying success. Following the initial introduction of certified nursery stock to a few trial growers in 2009, the production of strawberries in the country has […]

Al-Fayha sees Precast Future for better Iraq

Sarmad Al-Khudairi, CEO of Al-Fayha Building Solutions, one of the biggest industrial contractors and service providers in south Iraq, is focusing resources on its precast concrete business in response to soaring demand, according to a report in Construction Week. He told CW in an interview: “We are focusing on our main business, which is the […]

Zhenhua Backs Out of Iraq Venture; PPL to Proceed Alone

The Chinese firm Zhenhua has decided not to partner with Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) in a bid for an exploration block in Iraq due to security issues, the Express Tribune reports. "The News", however, reports that Zhenhua walked out on the deal because a re-drawing of the boundary of the Bloc-9 meant "the opportunity became […]

Wheat Prices Surge on Iraq Purchases

Wheat prices surged on Wednesday after Iraq said it bought 400,000 metric tons from the U.S., Australia, Russia, Romania and Kazakhstan. The contracts are for delivery in July and August, a spokesman for the grain board told Bloomberg. (Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)

Investment Commission Website Hijacked

It might not seem so important in a country faced with such major post-conflict challenges, but getting the basics of communication right should be a necessary function of any government department or state agency. A key element of communication has to be the website, but it is remarkable how many Iraqi government websites are out […]

South Korea’s Hanwah to Sign $7bn Iraq Housing Project

Sami al-Araji, chairman of Iraq’s National Investment Commission (NIC), has told Bloomberg that Iraq will soon sign a $7 billion agreement with South Korea’s Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corporation [Hanwah] to build 100,000 housing units in the country. The commission is also due to sign a contract with the UAE-based Bloom Properties to build 40,000 […]

Iran Khodro to Make 30,000 Cars in Iraq This Year

Bloomberg reports that Iran Khodro, the country’s largest carmaker, plans to manufacture 30,000 cars at its production site in Iraq this year. The company is delivering components to the plant for assembly, mostly for the Samand sedan model (pictured). Operations at the plant, which has received investment from a local partner, started in 2011, the […]