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By Simon Kent.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter has met with Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani and six of his counterparts from the GCC, to discuss the war against the so called Islamic State in Iraq.

The meeting comes ahead of a planned GCC summit this week, which Barack Obama will attend. But underlying the recent meeting were concerns that the GCC (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar) were not pulling their weight in the war.

In Iraq, one US frustration was the slowness to commit reconstruction funds, a pressing concern in Ramadi, the Sunni majority city which needs billions of dollars for reconstruction following more than a year of fighting against ISIS.

Carter was allegedly told that defense secretaries in the GCC wanted more assurance that the Iraqi government would be more inclusive of Sunnis in the political process before committing more aid. This is a worrying request since many Sunni sheikhs in Anbar and Salahaddin are already on the government side, while many Sunni politicians lack the appeal of tribal leaders and are widely seen by Sunnis as corrupt.

The US military is now apparently working on partnerships with GCC army Special Forces units, but it is unclear what the aim of such partnerships would be. GCC defense secretaries apparently expressed ongoing concerns about Iran.

(Source: ABC News)

By John Lee.

The head of Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has said the world’s major oil producers must agree to freeze production, in order to shore up flagging oil prices.

Falah Alamri said:

“They should do this deal as this is the only way to support the oil price ... Everybody needs it and Iraq supports this deal ... A deal would now be effective.”

He was speaking ahead of a meeting of ministers from Opec and non-Opec countries, scheduled for Sunday in the Qatari capital Doha.

Iraq's crude oil output rose to 4.55 million bpd in March, up from 4.46 million bpd in February; an analyst told Bloomberg that the record output may be “Iraq trying to establish a high baseline going into any freeze.”

Mr Alamri also said that Iran has the right to increase production to pre-sanctions levels.

(Sources: FT, Bloomberg)

By Mustafa Saadoun for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq is facing a new crisis with Saudi Arabia as a result of their differing points of view regarding regional issues, most notably those related to Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which was recently classified by the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a terrorist organization.

The crisis started March 11 when Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari dropped a bombshell during the Arab League meetings in Cairo. He said, “Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units and Lebanon’s Hezbollah preserved the dignity of the Arabs. Those accusing them of terrorism are the terrorists.”

The Saudi delegation withdrew from the meeting, but returned after Jaafari finished speaking.

Tense Saudi-Iranian ties were already affecting the whole region. In a Jan. 19 article by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia accused Iran of “supporting all radical and violent groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and sectarian militias in Iraq.”

At the March 11 meeting, Saudi Arabia was obviously angered by the Iraqi minister defending Hezbollah. However, Jaafari told the press later that day that his defense of Hezbollah “will not affect Iraqi-Saudi ties, and it is normal that two countries have different perspectives." Those divergent views will not harm bilateral ties between Arab parties, he added.

By Rami Khrais for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Do gas condensate exports represent new beginning for Iraq's hydrocarbon industry?

Iraq exported its first shipment of gas condensate on March 20, from the port at Khor al-Zubair to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hamed Zubai, undersecretary at the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, reported that the Iraqi Oil Marketing Co. had arranged for the 10,000-cubic-meter consignment, and the Basrah Gas Co. had successfully exported the shipment.

“Due to surplus exceeding local consumption, gas condensate exports will continue. In addition, the ministry seeks to export other types of associated gas-processing products,” Zubai said during a March 20 news conference. He did not mention potential export destinations.

“Exporting condensate opens the door for the state to secure added financial returns, driven by the fact that the global price per ton is around $350.” What does this development mean, and does it represent a new beginning for the gas industry in Iraq?

Whereas natural gas refers to gaseous hydrocarbons that accumulate in porous sedimentary rocks and consist mainly of methane, gas condensate refers to a natural gas liquid recovered from gas wells that consists mainly of pentane. Iraq is one of the world’s richest countries when it comes to natural gas.

Citing the Oil & Gas Journal, the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported that as of January 2015, Iraq had proven gas reserves of about 112 trillion cubic feet, ranking it 12th globally in total volume of reserves. The EIA estimates that about three-quarters of Iraq's natural gas resources are of the associated type, meaning that they are located deep underground and mixed with oil. In contrast, neighboring Iran and Qatar have nonassociated gas, which is not mixed with petroleum.

As part of its results statement for the twelve months to 31st December 2015, Qatar-based Ooredoo gave the following update for its Asiacell mobile telecom operation in Iraq:

"Asiacell was impacted by the security situation in Iraq and aggressive pricing competition in the first half of the year. Consequently, revenue was down 22% to QAR 4,884 million in 2015 from QAR 6,298 million in 2014.

"Its customer base was 10.8 million, down from 12.3 million in 2014. EBITDA decreased to QAR 2,136 million in 2015 from QAR 2,939 million in 2014. Net Profit stood at QAR 159 million in 2015 (QAR 1,031 million in 2014) due to lower EBITDA and higher depreciation and amortization expenses on the back of 3G investments.#

"Shutdowns across Asiacell's network impacted active subscriber numbers and revenue. However, a number of areas were also liberated throughout the year with Asiacell beginning to see some return of revenue in areas such as Tikrit city.

"The aggressive pricing competition characterizing the first half of the year alleviated in the second half of the year and Asiacell successfully launched a series of regional pricing initiatives. In Q4 2015, Asiacell began to increase its customer base with a 2% improvement compared to Q3 2015.

"Asiacell obtained its 3G license in 2014 and started 3G services from 1 January 2015. As a result, the company achieved double-digit growth in data revenues in 2015 compared to 2014."

(Source: Ooredoo)

(Picture: Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al Thani, Group CEO, Ooredoo)

As the U.S.-led coalition’s air campaign to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq and Syria brings its capabilities to the fight, joint interoperability continues to degrade the terrorist organization, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command said today.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who also serves as Combined Forces Air Component commander for Operation Inherent Resolve, briefed Pentagon reporters on progress in the coalition’s counter-ISIL air operations via teleconference from an air operations center in Al Udeid, Qatar.

The interoperability among the coalition nations is built upon “years of combined training and multilateral exercises [that have] been key to our continued success in the air campaign,” Brown emphasized.

“There is no doubt coalition air power has and continues to dramatically degrade [ISIL’s] ability to fight and conduct operations,” he added.

While persistent air coverage continually exploits ISIL’s weaknesses, “we are more effective today than ever before,” the general said. “We're conducting the most precise air campaign in history, and we're able to attrit [ISIL] and its capabilities any time and anywhere.”

Targeting Areas for Defeat

Targeting ISIL logistics, command and control and weapons manufacturing are some of the areas in which the coalition has had increased success, he said.

Following a first-of-its-kind meeting hosted by Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Brussels on Thursday, the defense ministers of nations involved in the coalition to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant released a statement summarizing the meeting’s outcome.

In addition to Carter, the defense ministers of Belgium, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom participated in the meeting that led to the joint statement. They were joined by senior representatives from Australia, the Czech Republic and Singapore, three nations that provide or intend to provide forces or other support to the campaign.

The statement said the ministers paid tribute to the efforts of all Iraqi security forces, including the peshmerga and Sunni tribal forces, and moderate Syrian opposition forces who are fighting ISIL and have caused numerous tactical defeats of the terror organization in recent months. The ministers said they also acknowledged the coalition force commander's assessment that these successes mark the transition of the Counter-ISIL campaign.

However, the ministers said, they also acknowledged that significant work remains to be done to ensure ISIL’s lasting defeat and the restoration of stability in Iraq and Syria. “We called on those states playing a counterproductive role in the fight … and the Syrian peace process to play a more constructive role,” the statement said.

Broad Support for Campaign Objectives

The ministers said they provided broad support for the objectives of the counter-ISIL campaign plan and reaffirmed their governments' “unwavering commitment” to work together.

By Omar al-Jaffal, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq is experiencing a resurgence in the abductions of foreigners, something that had tapered off in recent years. Three new incidents include the kidnappings of 18 Turkish workers in September, 26 Qatari hunters in December and three US citizens in January.

Following the US occupation of Iraq in April 2003, Iraq became a ripe environment for the kidnapping of Arab and foreign diplomats, as well as foreign laborers. In 2004, Egyptian and Iranian diplomats were kidnapped by unidentified militants and the Islamic Army in Iraq, respectively. Yet negotiations with the abducting groups led to their release.

The same year saw the kidnapping of foreign workers whose companies were forced to leave Iraq because they received constant threats; one example is Turkish goods transfer company Atahan, which closed its doors after one of its workers was kidnapped.

Iraq was unable to protect its citizens and foreign laborers working on its territory.

Although abductions abated during the second term of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (2010-2014), suicide bombings continued as armed groups grew amid the Iraqi authorities’ failure to eliminate them. Kidnappings strongly re-emerged after the Islamic State (IS) took control of one-third of the country in June 2014.

In the recent kidnappings, the 18 Turkish workers in Baghdad were taken as they worked on building a sports facility east of the capital. A group known as the Death Squad claimed responsibility. The group had a clear political agenda: In a video released Sept. 11, the group called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to lift the siege imposed on two Shiite villages in northern Syria. The Death Squad is a Shiite group whose supporters have yet to be revealed.

Under the ongoing Warm Winter 2015-2016 campaign in several countries, and with a budget of QR 11 million, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has completed a large-scale winterization project in Al-Anbar Governorate.

Posted in Security Comments Off on Qatar Winterization Project for Displaced Iraqis