Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International is eyeing project tenders in Iraq in the second half of 2011 as it looks to break into new markets and diversify its income. Drake, whose biggest market is Saudi Arabia, is also keeping a close eye on political unrest in Egypt, where it is bidding for $200-300m worth […]
Crude production from oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan has reached about 80,000 barrels per day, but only about 50,000 bpd are being exported, sources at Iraq's North Oil Company said on Friday. "We have between 45,000 and 50,000 barrels per day being pumped from the Tawke oilfield to the export pipeline, while crude from Taq Taq […]
Reuters reports that Iraq has fined Kuwait-based telecoms provider Zain $262 million for putting 5 million Sim cards in the local market without permission, contravening its licence. The company has three months to pay. Zain's Iraq unit will appeal the fine, its chief executive, Emad Makiya, said. "They have no right to issue such a […]
Violent protests have broken out at various locations in Iraq, with anti-government protesters rallying against corruption, poor basic services and high unemployment. Basra: In the country's second largest city, about 1,000 people protested on Friday, demanding better services, jobs and improved pensions. They called for the provincial governor to resign, and blocked a bridge for […]
This week marks the first birthday of our Iraq Business News weekly newsletter -- from a modest start, our newsletter is now read by nearly 8,000 people each week, while our website receives more than 100,000 visitors each month. Our readership includes some of the best-informed decision makers in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, security, […]
The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity said on Tuesday it had signed a contract with Hyundai, of South Korea, for the construction of four new power generating stations at the al-Quds [al-Qudus] Gas Plant. Musaab Mudarris, the spokesman for the ministry, said the construction of the four new stations with a capacity of 125 megawatts (MW) […]
Iraq will host its first Arab League Summit in two decades on March 29 despite ongoing unrest in the Middle East, a foreign ministry official said. The summit is seen as crucial for Iraq's reintegration into the Arab world and comes at a critical time in the region following popular protests that have unseated Tunisia […]
By Chris Bowers, British Consul General in Erbil. This article was originally published by Rudaw, and is re-published with permission by Iraq Business News. It has been an interesting few weeks in Kurdistan – though I think I could have safely written that each week that I have been here so far – as society […]
The Ministry of Planning and Development has reported that the inflation rate increased by 2% in January, bringing the rate to 5.8%. Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi told AKnews that the reasons behind the high inflation rate are higher rents and increases in the prices of imported food. The Ministry of Planning and Development in Iraq suggested […]
The following article was published on Wednesday 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. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq […]
Iraqi oil output will double in the next decade, not quadruple as in initial government targets, but the country could still test Saudi Arabia's influence in OPEC, oil major Shell said on Monday. In its energy scenarios to 2050, published for the first time since 2008, Shell said Iraq was a key uncertainty in the […]
The Electricity Ministry says it needs $8 billion [9.6 trillion Iraqi dinars] this year to pay its debts and finance current and new projects. The sum amounts to nearly 10 percent of the country’s budget, reports Azzaman. “The sum is needed to pay the ministry’s debts and finance new projects to revive the power sector,” […]
