Iraq would be drastically affected should Iran block the Hormuz Strait. Most of the oil Iraq produces is exported via the Strait. The scenario is seeing Iraq, distinct because of its good relations with both the US and Iran, practice its new diplomacy again, according to this article from NIQASH. Any opinions expressed are those […]
Central Bank of Iraq announced that it revaluated the Iraqi Dinar by 3.4% relative to the US Dollar, according to a report from Al Sumaria. “During the daily auction of foreign currencies’ exchange, the Central Bank raised the value of Iraqi dinar against the dollar by 3.4%, or four Dinars,” the deputy governor of the […]
Bloomberg reports that Malaysia's Petronas and the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (JAPEX) will start producing crude from the Gharraf oil field in southern Iraq by September. Sattar Mahdi, head of field development, said the field will initially produce about 35,000 barrels a day by the end of the third quarter, gradually increasing capacity to 230,000 […]
OAO Gazprom Neft started drilling a second appraisal well at the Badra oilfield, according to a report from Bloomberg. The Russian producer, which started drilling the first such well at Badra in November, expects to complete the second well in spring, and plans to approve the field development plant in February 2013. (Source: Bloomberg)
Prime Minister Barham Salih will hand over to former Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in a reshuffle of the Kurdistan Regional Government cabinet. The move is part of the strategic alliance between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) which are in a coalition government. Under the agreement, Dr Salih was […]
When Becca Heller, current director and co-founder of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, first met Moustafa in Amman, Jordan in August 2008, he and his brother were the only surviving members of his family. His father and other brother had been kidnapped and tortured. A video of them pleading for their lives was sent to […]
The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford and currently based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. […]
Gulf Keystone has issued an update on its ongoing exploration and appraisal programme in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which includes the Shaikan block, a major discovery with independently audited gross oil-in-place volumes of between 8 billion barrels to 13.4 billion barrels calculated on the P90 to P10 basis with a mean value of 10.5 […]
Reuters, citing banking sources familiar with the matter, reports that Qatar Telecom (Qtel) plans to buy out a private equity partner's 19-percent stake in Iraqi telecoms operator Asiacell. Qtel, the Gulf state's former monopoly, has a 30-percent stake in Asiacell, Iraq's number two operator, while its partner MerchantBridge owns 19 percent. Morgan Stanley is reportedly […]
Bloomberg and Reuters report that Iraq has invited foreign companies to compete for a $450 million monorail project in the southern holy city of Kerbala [Karbala]. The city, 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Baghdad, hosts the shrines of two Shi'ite imams and hosts millions of Shi'ite pilgrims each year at several major religious rites. […]
In 2011, 621,870 passengers used Erbil's new International Airport, a 37% increase on the previous year, whilst cargo tonnage also increased dramatically, with a 67% increase to 17,769 tonnes per annum. The increase in passenger and cargo numbers will help cement Erbil International Airport as one of the fastest growing in the Middle East and […]
Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 19th January 2012). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,363 / $1,495, -6.4% (weekly change). The number of weekly traded shares was 6.4 bn and the weekly trading volume […]
