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By Saad Salloum for Al Monitor. Any opinions here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

Three Iraqi Caucasus tribes are uniting to seek recognition under the Iraqi Constitution. The Circassians, Chechens and Dagestanis want to unify their communities under one national name, “Caucasus,” much like the Christians of Iraq did when they formed the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council political party in 2007.

The tribes seek formal recognition in the constitution to guarantee equal rights and legal protection from violence against minorities. On Nov. 24, the nongovernmental organization Masarat for Cultural and Media Development (MCMD) hosted a meeting of representatives of the three groups in the Sulaimaniyah governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

There, they asked to be included among Iraqi minorities and officially declared their demands. MCMD is preparing a draft law regarding rights for minorities that it will submit to parliament.

Ahmed Kataw, the leader of Circassians in Iraq, spoke to Al-Monitor about these demands, saying:

“The Iraqi Constitution should recognize the Iraqi Caucasus tribes — Circassians, Chechens and Dagestanis — like the rest of the officially recognized minorities. Their names should be included within the Iraqi minorities protected under the draft law. … We want to make sure the Caucasian minorities are represented in the parliament according to the quota system, by virtue of which other minorities are represented.”

The Caucasus tribes were late presenting their demands to MCMD because, they said, they were unable to form a political party to represent them at the official level, and there were disagreements about selecting leaders to convey these demands.

By John Lee.

In its third-quarter and nine-month results announced on Monday, Russia's Lukoil reports that its capital expenditures for the first nine months of 2016 were 19.1 percent lower than in the corresponding period of 2015.

This decrease partly attributed to moving to the maintenance oil production stage at the West Qurna-2 project in Iraq.

But the company's results were also impacted by a decrease in the compensation amount from West Qurna-2

(Source: Lukoil)

By John Lee.

Iraqi oil minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi] met with the CEO of Gazprom, Alexander Dukov, and his entourage and discussed with him mutual cooperation and the development of the oil industry in Iraq.

The minister said it is necessary to increase oil and gas production at Badra oil field, and praised the efforts of the Russian company.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

By Hal Miran, Editor-in-Chief, Bite.Tech.

It might be surprising to know that the region of the Middle East has become a blossoming entrepreneurial, tech startup hub. From Jordan to Lebanon and Iran to Egypt, the region has made significant progress with innovation driving tech startup growth. Israel has more startups per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Iraq has been the notable absentee from this tech ecosystem growth. Over the last 18 months Bite.Tech has dedicated time researching the Iraqi tech ecosystem, along with a group of committed, talented writers and entrepreneurs. We believe that we are on the verge of imminent breakthroughs and of establishing our own strong tech ecosystem here in Iraq.

When most people think of our country, they think of the wars and the ensuing conflict that crippled the country. But this is only very recent history in the country that gave birth to one of the greatest commerce and trade regions the world has ever known. It is a country steeped in the history of human civilisation.

Now, Iraqis are hopeful of leaving the recent issues that have plagued the country in the past and to harness its considerable resources to drive economic recovery.

One key area for this to happen is the fostering of a tech entrepreneurial community. In the last few years, a large group of tech entrepreneurs has emerged, who have created the beginnings of an Iraqi tech ecosystem from scratch. And it is now beginning to show signs of advancing beyond its primary stage.

The Blossoming Iraqi Tech Startup Space

The impact of the conflict witnessed in the country since 2003 has led to a dearth of foreign investment. It has also badly affected the education system. This has led to a lack of capital and of talent, respectively. Up to now, the tech startup community has had to be innovative and adaptable to deal with problems in financing, infrastructure and human resources.

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

Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi called on Egyptian companies to participate in oil investment contracts. He said during a meeting with the Egyptian ambassador in Baghdad, Hassan Ahmed Darwish, “It is necessary to strengthen relations between Iraq and Egypt, especially in the oil business.”

On the same day, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spoke with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over the phone to discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries and to unite efforts in the fight against terrorism.

Although Abadi was preoccupied with the battle of Mosul, that did not prevent him from contacting Sisi, which underlines Egypt's importance for Iraq as well as the significance of improving the Iraqi-Egyptian relationship in light of the current Saudi-Egyptian tension.

The meeting and phone call came a week after the Riyadh-Cairo relationship suffered a blow following Egypt voting in favor of the Russian project on the Syrian crisis. The fact that Iraq quickly communicated with the Egyptian government implies an Iraqi desire to rearrange its ties at the Arab level.

Iraq’s inclination to strengthen the relationship with Egypt in the oil business was met with an Egyptian desire to do the same, especially since the latter is experiencing some tension with Saudi Arabia. Thus, Iraq seems like a good option as an oil-rich country to resort to.

Iraq, which is also not on good terms with Saudi Arabia, wants to invest in the crisis between Riyadh and Cairo and give Egypt a chance to prevent its economic conditions from deteriorating now that its former ally, Saudi Arabia, is out of the picture. Thus, Iraq gains an important Arab country like Egypt and benefits from Saudi Arabia’s loss of such an important Arab ally.

By John Lee.

Iraq's Ministry of Oil has requested proposals from international oil companies interestsed in developing a number of small- and medium-sized oil fields.

The fields concerned are:

• Sindebad (Basra governorate);
• Umm Qasr [Um Qaser] (Basra governorate);
• Rachi (Basra governorate);
• Abu Khema (Basra governorate);
• Kumait (Missan governorate);
• Noor (Missan governorate);
• Umara (Missan governorate);
• Dema (Missan governorate);
• Dujaila (Missan governorate);
• Mid-Euphrates fields (Mergan, Kifl, West Kifl).

The companies already qualified to bid are:

• China Zhenhua Oil Company (China)
• Dragon Oil (UAE)
• Edison (Italy)
• Glencore Exploration (Switzerland)
• Gulfsands Petroleum (UK)
• Inpex (Japan)
• Itochu (Japan)
• Japex (Japan)
• JOGMEC (Japan)
• JX Nippon (Japan)
• Kuwait Energy (Kuwait)
• Mitsui Oil Exploration (MOECO) (Japan)
• Mubadala Oil (UAE)
• OSJC Rosneft (Russia)
• Pertamina (Indonesia)
• PetroVietnam (Vietnam)
• PTTEP (Thailand)
• SNGN Romgaz (Romania)
• Crescent Petroleum (UAE)

Tenders from non-qualified companies will also be considered.

More information here, here and here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

By Wilson Fache for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. 

On Oct. 10, the Iraqi president approved a law passed by the parliament to provide comprehensive support to doctors in order to prevent the massive emigration in this sector and encourage overseas doctors to return to Iraq.

Yet it is not known to what extent the law will achieve its goals and how the Iraqi government will implement it.

A growing number of Iraqi doctors are departing their war-torn country despite a shortage of medical professionals, namely because of threats to their personal safety, a lack of career prospects and unbearable working conditions.

The situation in remote areas such as Dahuk province in the north of Iraqi Kurdistan is worse, as doctors face more challenges and less support. The large number of Iraqis and foreigners who are displaced in Dahuk make health-care conditions there seem out of control.

In Dahuk, the imbalance between the number of doctors and patients has become excruciating as nearly half a million Syrian refugees and Iraqis displaced by the Islamic State (IS) onslaught in Iraq have found shelter in this area, while the number of physicians has been steadily decreasing as more and more choose to emigrate.

“The lack of doctors is an issue for Iraq as a whole … but [in] Dahuk [we are] suffering more than anywhere else,” Dr. Nezar Ismet, the director of Dahuk's Health Ministry, told al-Monitor. “We are trying not to shut down any hospital,” he added, “but we are hardly managing because of the lack of human resources.”

By John Lee.

Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) has announced the appointment of David H Thomas and Garrett Soden to its board as Non-Executive Directors with immediate effect.

The company said in a statement:

David H Thomas is a highly experienced oil and gas professional, having held a number of board level, senior executive and international management roles in a career spanning over 35 years. He started his career as a petroleum engineer with Conoco UK, working in the North Sea and Dubai before moving into reservoir engineering and operational asset management positions.

Subsequently, he joined LASMO where he became the Group General Manager Operations and, following the company's acquisition, held three consecutive Regional Vice President roles with Eni SpA including managing the North Sea, Russia/Asia/Australia and West Africa asset portfolios. David's subsequent Board directorships have included positions with several London and Canadian listed companies including President and COO of Centurion Energy, CEO of Melrose Resources and COO with Petroceltic International.

Most recently, in mid-2015 he briefly served on a caretaker Board at Afren and was subsequently retained by the company's administrators to provide business stability and industry advice. David has a BSc in Mining Engineering from Nottingham University and an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College.

Garrett Soden has worked with the Lundin Group of Companies since 2007 as a senior executive and board member. He is a director of Panoro Energy ASA, a Norwegian oil and gas E&P company focused on West Africa. He is also a director of Etrion Corporation, a Canadian solar power producer with assets in Italy, Chile and Japan. Garrett is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RusForest AB, a Swedish forestry company with interests in Russia.

He is the former Chief Financial Officer of both Etrion and PetroFalcon Corporation, a Canadian oil and gas E&P company focused on Venezuela. Garrett previously worked at Lehman Brothers in equity research and at Salomon Brothers in mergers and acquisitions. He also previously served as Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Energy.  He holds a BSc honors degree from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Appointment of Corporate Broker

The Board of Gulf Keystone is also pleased to announce that it has appointed Canaccord Genuity Limited as the Company's sole corporate broker with immediate effect.

Commenting on today's announcement, Keith Lough, Chairman said:

"Throughout the restructuring we have focused on balancing the interests of all of GKP's stakeholders.  Given the challenging set of circumstances that we faced, I am pleased with the outcome of what has been a long and complex process.  With its restructured balance sheet, the Company is now in a far stronger position than it has been for several years and we can look forward to continuing to develop Shaikan and rebuilding value for all stakeholders."

"I would like to thank Cuth McDowell for his significant contribution since joining the Board in December 2015 and to welcome both David Thomas and Garrett Soden to the GKP Board. They bring a wealth of relevant experience to the Company and we look forward to their contribution at this exciting time. On behalf of the Board I would also like to welcome Canaccord Genuity as the Company's corporate broker."

(Source: GKP)

By John Lee.

Reuters reports that Glencore is seeking to increase oil trading with Libya, Iran and Iraq to beat what looks to be a much tougher trading environment compared with last year.

Alex Beard, the company's global head of oil, told the Reuters Commodities Summit that Glencore would be seeking to trade more crude from the Middle East, including Iraq and Iran, as well as from Libya and Russia.

(Source: Reuters)