Tony Blair's former political strategist, John McTernan, has said that, since the UK's troops are leaving, "our businesses should head there." The last 100 UK troops, who were training domestic forces, pull out on Sunday. Writing for The Telegraph, he stated about the Iraq War: "The first thing to be noted is that our intervention […]
A long-running dispute over oil fields on the Iran-Iraq border might soon be resolved, according to Ali al-Sjeri, the Iraqi minister of state for foreign affairs. Speaking to Aknews, he said that talks were now at an "advanced stage". "The Iraqi government looks forward to good relations with neighboring countries, without affecting Iraq's economic interests and […]
The next city to get some surgery to help restore Iraq's former glory is Najaf, a city of more than half a million inhabitants about 160km south of Baghdad, and home to the religiously important Imam Ali Shrine. Work on the historic center should begin soon and is expected to be completed on time for […]
Private banking reform is needed in Iraq, but iPhones may help. Abu Talib Al-Hashimi, chairman of Gulf Commercial Bank, is critical of the state stranglehold on banking in Iraq, reports Aswat Al-Iraq. By holding government deposits at government banks only, "This situation made the private sector banking system paralyzed and lacking its flexibility as private […]
Reuters reports that Lockheed Martin hopes to sign sales contracts for up to 18 F-16 fighter jets with both Iraq and Oman by early 2012, and expects to book a total of about 100 additional orders by the end of the decade. Lockheed is gradually winding down production of the popular multi-role fighter, which is […]
Korean company STX Heavy Industries has signed an agreement today to install 25 power plants to generate a total of 2,500 megawatts in Iraq, according to a report from Bloomberg. “This is a big event as the company will be establishing 25 plants in a region ranging from the southern city of Basra to the […]
Swedish truck maker Scania will open a branch in Karbala, its fourth brance after Baghdad, Erbil and a planned third in Basra. On Wednesday, Scania signed a contract with the Iraqi company al-Raw’aa regarding cooperation on this project. Swedish ambassador Karl Magnus said, “This will open a new door for Swedish companies to enter Iraq.” […]
Faruk Group Holding, a major conglomerate in Iraq, has unveiled big investment plans for the northern city of Sulaymaniyah. According to Trade Arabia, the group with a diversified range of interests including telecommunications, cement, manufacturing, hotels, medical services, properties, construction and IT, has pumped more than $400 million into its hospitality industry alone. Unveiling the […]
Baker Hughes, the world's third largest oilfield services firm, expects drilling activity to pick up in Opec-members Saudi Arabia and Iraq from the second half of this year as delayed projects restart, Reuters reported on Wednesday. "For the second half of 2011, we expect activity to increase, especially if you look at Saudi and Iraq," […]
Clyde & Co has been appointed by Lukoil Mid-East Ltd to support them in their development of the West Qurna-2 field in Iraq. With recoverable reserves of 43 billion barrels West Qurna is the second largest oil field in the world. This is a landmark project for Lukoil, representing as it does a planned production […]
Reuters reports that Iraq's state-run Iraqi Drilling Company has started work at the Zubair oil field under a $250 million contract to drill 23 new wells in the field. Director Idrees al-Yassiri said the two-year contract also included overhauling 63 old wells in Zubair. "We have started executing the contract awarded to us by ENI […]
South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. has started work on a $219 million project to expand a gas-fired power station near Baghdad, Bloomberg has reported. The Al-Quds station located in a suburb northeast of the capital will increase production to 1,400 megawatts from 900 megawatts withing 18 months, according to Qais al-Waeli, a spokesman […]
