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Najaf Refinery Output Up 30% in 2011

Najaf Refinery achieved a 30% rise in overall production in 2011 compared to a year earlier, the Director of the Najaf refinery said this week. Leith al-Gharrawi told AKnews that the refinery produced about 7.174 million barrels of petroleum, up from about 5 million barrels in 2010. The production of kerosene was also 30% higher […]

Iraq to Raise January Kirkuk Crude Exports by 3.5%

Bloomberg reports that Iraq will increase its exports of Kirkuk crude for January from the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan (pictured) by 3.5 percent from last month. The loading program obtained by comprises 18 cargoes totaling 13.88 million barrels, or 447,742 barrels a day, compared with 432,677 barrels a day for December. The cargo sizes […]

Sonoro Energy Shares Jump on Iraq Farmout

Shares in Sonoro Energy rose 11% on Thursday following its announcement that the company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sonoro Energy Iraq B.V. (“Sonoro Iraq”), has entered into a Farmout Agreement with Geopetrol International Holding Inc. and its subsidiary, Geopetrol Iraq Corp. The Agreement provides for the assignment by Sonoro to Geopetrol of a thirty percent […]

Small Victories for Maliki in Parliament

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. […]

600 Unit Housing Project in Kirkuk

AKnews reports that officials in Kirkuk have laid the cornerstone of a 600-unit housing complex worth 16.5 billion Iraqi Dinars (about US$13 million). The project, undertaken by a local Iraqi company, is funded by the province’s petrodollar money. Kirkuk is one of the richest provinces in the country after Basra, which exports the majority of […]

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Iraq One Year From Now

Having welcomed in a new year, many of us will have hopes and dreams for the twelve months ahead. And with Iraq in a state of flux following the departure of American troops, the range of possible outcomes for the country is very wide; Iraq has the ability to make 2012 a transformative year, for […]

Iraq Delays 4th Energy Auction

Reuters reports on Wednesday that Iraq has delayed its 4th energy bidding round by more than a month. Originally scheduled for 7-8 March, the auction for the 12 new gas and oil exploration blocks will now be held on 11-12 April. Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, director of the oil ministry's contracts and licensing directorate, told Reuters: "We […]

New Gulf Oil Terminal to Open in February

Iraq plans to start shipping crude from the first of its three new offshore export terminals in the Gulf at the start of February, according to Reuters. The new single-point mooring (SPM), which will boost export capacity by 900,000 barrels per day, was due to start operation on 1st January, but testing of new pipelines has […]

Iraqi Oil Exports hit 2.145m bpd in December

Iraq's oil exports rose by 10,000 barrels per day in December, from 2.135 million bpd to 2.145 million bpd, according to a report from Platts. Citing data from the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), the agency also says that the country's oil production fell by 13,000 bpd in December, to 2.652 million bpd from 2.665 […]

Vanrise Wins 5-Yr Contract with ITPC

In order to improve the quality of telecom services provided in Iraq, the Iraqi Telecommunications and Posts Company (ITPC) has sought to find the right partner to market its international traffic outside Iraq and to detect and eliminate fraud originating from and terminating into Iraq. And following a rigorous selection process among the leading telecom […]

Belgian Credit Agency Warns on Iraq's Instability

ONDD, the Belgian export credit agency, has warned in its monthly report that "insecurity, instability and sectarian tensions will continue to prevail in Iraq". The text of their statement is shown below: Iraq: Deteriorating security and political climate as US troops leave the country > Event: The last US troops left Iraq after President Obama‘s […]