On Wednesday 7th September, the Middle East Association will be holding a Business Briefing on ‘The Future of Renewables in the Middle East and North Africa’ at Bury House, the third event of our Energy Series. This briefing will give expert analysis on the opportunities, risks and challenges of this important emerging energy sector, as […]
Despite news of increasing security problems, Iraq has attracted as much new investment (in terms of deals announced) in the first half of this year as it did in all of 2010. And the raw figures are impressive; according to Dunia Frontier Consultants, $42 billion was attracted to Iraq last year, with $45 billion announced […]
Iraq needs to boost its 2012 investment budget to as much as 60 trillion dinars ($51 billion) from a planned 40 trillion dinars, to allow funds for new projects, the Planning Minister, Ali al-Shukri (pictured), told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "What is being put forth is 40 trillion Iraqi dinars (as the investment […]
By By Mu Chunshan. Originally published in The Diplomat, and re-produced with permission by Iraq Business News. The visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to China didn’t just fail to grab much international media attention – there was also little coverage in the Chinese media, too. Most Chinese associate Iraq with Saddam Hussein and […]
Bandits, border guards and big profits NIQASH’s correspondent follows the illegal nicotine trail, as he joins local smugglers taking cigarettes into Syria. Dodging border guards and bandits, he meets the locals risking their lives to deliver millions of profitable packs to smokers every day. Several days ago, two soldiers and a member of the public […]
An Iraqi MP has stoked rising political tensions with Kuwait, by claiming that Kuwait has been stealing Iraqi oil through slant-drilling. According to the report from the Kuwait Times, he emphasized that the parliamentary committee, of which he is a member, will investigate the issue. MP Oday Awwad, a member of Iraq's parliamentary energy committee, […]
Iraq’s wheat production will total 1.8 million metric tons this year, and the country is expected to become an exporter of the grain by 2015, Deputy Agriculture Minister, Ghazi al-Abudi, said at a press conference in Baghdad. Bloomberg reports the minister as saying that otput is on course to reach 2.25 million to 2.5 million […]
Iran plans to increase its electricity exports to Iraq to 1,250 megawatts, the Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namho told Mehr News Agency on Tuesday. Mehr quoted the Iranian Minister, in a meeting in Tehran with Iraq’s Electricity Minister, Raad Shallal Saeed al-Any [Ra'd Shalal al-Ani], that “Iran’s power exports for Iraq, now estimated at 800 […]
Iraq’s oil ministry says oil exports increased in June by slightly over 2 percent compared to the previous month, according to the Washington Post. Tuesday’s statement says last month oil exports averaged 2.273 million barrels per day (bpd) - up from the 2.225 bpd in May. The sales yielded $7.173 billion with an achieved average […]
An arms deal under which Iraq would buy $13 billion in American weapons has been recommended for cancellation by the Iraqi parliament’s integrity committee, reports AKnews. The deal has been criticized for involving extensive financial corruption. A member of the committee, Aliya Nussaif, told AKnews that the parliament has passed a request by the committee […]
AFP reported on Tuesday that Iraqi forces took charge of security at Basra's oil export terminals at the southern port of Basra from US troops. Nearly 80 percent of Iraqi oil is exported through the south. "Today, we took charge of the oil terminals at Basra from the Americans," an Iraqi navy official said, speaking […]
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in principle with a group of Italian investors to build a refinery in Karbala, the oil undersecretary for refineries affairs said on Tuesday. Ahmed al-Shamma said in a statement that the signature was made to enable the consortium complete its procedures for the project, […]
