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By John Cookson. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Today's audacious jihadist attack on Mosul by Al Qaeda affiliate ISIS must surely be a massive wake up call in Washington that Iraq needs urgent help.

Hundreds of jihadists seized key government offices, banks and the airport in Iraq's second city. Prison doors were smashed open and up to a 1,000 inmates released.

In a damning indictment of Iraqi security forces, army and police officers abandoned their vehicles and uniforms and fled as ISIS forces went on the rampage.

ISIS already effectively controls Al Anbar governorate including Fallujah where it declared an Islamist state. This week saw deadly bombings of Kurdish targets in Diyala. ISIS is increasingly active in Salah-al din. And now Ninevah's capital is its latest target.

Caretaker Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called for an emergency session of parliament on Thursday and by then Iraqi security forces will surely have regained some control of Mosul, where ISIS fighters may just have overreached themselves.

However the fact ISIS is so motivated, so well equipped and battle-hardened to even attempt to take Mosul is a huge blow not only to Baghdad, but also to the morale of Iraqi security forces and of course the long-suffering Iraqi people.

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

Iraq has a long history of conflict and rapprochement between Sunni and Shiite clerics, which has played a major role in the sectarian conflict or cohesion among the country’s sects. This factor, among with other political and social factors, has defined the historical conflict in Iraq.

The main problem is that Sunni and Shiite clerics are unable to achieve a real rapprochement and establish a network of communication that can be used to reach a solution or alleviate tensions. Instead, they have fueled the conflict in many instances due to the lack of formal communication.

Researchers can find many types of communication in the history of Shiite and Sunni clerics in Iraq. For instance, Shiite clerics have been taught by Sunni teachers and vice versa, and peaceful and calm discussion and dialogue councils have been established. However, friendly relations turned into conflict and enmity as soon as political complications set in between the two sects. What is joined by cultural relations can be separated by political disputes overnight. When political disputes come into play, they spark religious conflicts and make each party evil in the eyes of the other. Mutual accusations fly and all communication is cut off.

By John Lee.

Saudi citizens caught traveling to Iraq will face a fine of SR10,000 ($2,700) and a three-year travel ban, according to a report from Arab News.

Col. Salman Al-Muhaya, director of the Saudi travel section at the Passport Department, said:

“There are exceptional cases where Saudis may be allowed to travel ... based on specific regulations. In Iraq, for instance, certain procedures must be followed by Saudis that have to be cleared by ad hoc committees in certain areas.”

(Source: Arab News)

(Flag image via Shutterstock)

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

Iraqis have long repeatedly said that political decisions are taken outside the country, and that regional and international agreements specify the trajectory of new governments. As soon as the results of last month’s elections were announced, all attention was channeled to outside powers to know the real result.

Political events are not isolated but instead are highly interrelated. One cannot disregard the influence of Iran on major Shiite powers, that of Turkey on Iraqi Kurdistan and some Sunni factions and that of Saudi Arabia on some Sunni powers. Certainly, one also cannot talk about an Iraqi policy away from the role and influence of Washington.

The scenarios of the 2006 and 2010 elections are expected to repeat again this year. Iraqi political forces will likely push the crisis deeper and cling to their positions, while refusing to make concessions. Without hesitation, they will push the political process to the brink, thus creating a perfect environment for foreign interference, as these powers will not hesitate to call for this intervention.

Iraqi political culture still gives foreign powers roles that these powers did not even think about playing. Political conflicts include foreign influences as part of a game, according to which Iraqi parties empower themselves and weaken their rivals.

For example, some political and media circles talked about Washington not supporting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s quest for a third mandate or of a “political majority” forming the government. Other circles said that Iran supports a third term, while others believed that Iran and Washington support Maliki. Another group, however, said that neither country supported Maliki.

By John Lee.

Growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) to Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan should overtake the "expansion of flows" to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by 2019, according to a new report from London's Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) and the ICAEW.

The report focuses on the GCC member countries (United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait), plus Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon (abbreviated to GCC+5).

It emphasised that Iraq, Iran and Egypt, despite being among the most volatile economies in the region, are attractive due to the sheer number of potential consumers they represent.

For the vast majority of countries in the Middle East, commodities make up more than half of their total goods exports by value, say the authors. The sum is as high as 99.2% in Iraq, where many other export industries have been disrupted by conflict and ongoing violence.

In Iraq, economic growth is forecast to accelerate to 6.5 per cent this year, moving up to 8.6 per cent by 2016, despite increasing violence. Since the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003, western and Asian oil majors have vied for a slice of lucrative energy contracts.

The full report -- ICAEW Economic Insight: Middle East Quarterly briefing Q2 2014 -- can be downloaded here.

(Sources: ICAEW)

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

With the world's eyes focused on the recent Iraqi elections, little attention is being paid to the major changes taking place in Iraq's banking and finance industry.

As part of an effort to liberalize the economy, in the first three months of 2014, the Iraqi Central Bank granted approval to 15 Arab and international banks to open branches in Baghdad, with additional branches expected to open soon. There is also a notable drive to grow and promote the stock markets, with senior Iraqi government officials and representatives from the country's two stock exchanges hosting a two-day forum in Dubai May 14-15 in a bid to court regional investors.

The Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) is currently in the process of upgrading to the latest Nasdaq trading platform after signing an agreement with Nasdaq OMX in June 2013. The new platform, currently used by more than 25 exchanges globally, is capable of supporting multiple asset classes, although the ISX concentrates mainly on cash equities. [fxtm trading platform]

"We will complete the implementation at the end of June, and it will go live at the beginning of July," said Taha Ahmed al-Rubaye, chief executive of the ISX. "We are working hard to modernize the exchange."

The ISX is also assisting the Erbil Stock Exchange (ESX), the first exchange in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, in setting up its Nasdaq trading system. It is due to be fully implemented in July, and the ESX hopes to see around five to 10 listings by the end of 2014, including a major telecom company. The ESX has $8 million in initial capitalization and 56 shareholders, primarily from the private sector.

By John Lee.

Johnson Controls, a global multi-industrial company, will supply "YORK" HVAC equipment and building automation solutions for five, 400-bed hospitals in Iraq.

The order includes 21 YORK® YK centrifugal chillers, cooling towers, air handling units, and fan coil units. The technologies are designed to work together to deliver more energy and operational savings.

Claude Allain, vice president and general manager of the Middle East for Johnson Controls, said:

“Johnson Controls helps hospitals around the world deliver better patient care in more energy efficient facilities. Our technologies, including HVAC equipment, lighting and fire alarm systems, communicate with each other to keep patient rooms comfortable and safe ...

"These technologies save energy and reduce operating costs which allows these hospitals to put additional funding into other critical needs.”

 Dr. Marcus Schumacher, vice president for operations and engineering, Middle East, added:

“Variable speed drives (VSDs) on these YORK® chillers reduce power consumption by 20 to 30 percent and increase product durability ...

"The chillers use advanced automatic tube cleaning technology that improves heat transfer and operational efficiency, run on environmentally friendly HFC-R134a refrigerant and can operate under extreme entering condenser water temperatures that would cause many other makes of chillers to shut down.”

Johnson Controls serves the market with offices in UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Oman, and Bahrain. The company operates in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon through a joint venture, Al Salem Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls also maintains a wide network of distribution partners and is a preferred supplier for several real estate development and district cooling service companies.

(Source: Johnson Controls)

By John Lee.

NES Global Talent, the manpower solutions provider, has opened a second office in Iraq.

The new Erbil operation in Iraqi Kurdistan will act as a business hub for activity across the wider region, meaning it is on the ground to support its contractors and key clients and able to make the most of the opportunities available across Kurdistan.

Vikram Nanda, NES Global Talent Operations Manager in Iraq, said:

“Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the hottest spots globally for the oil and gas industry. The size of the oil market has attracted many leading operators and huge amounts of investment.

"Currently, the majority of companies are at exploration stage and once this turns to production the need for manpower will increase significantly. We will be best placed when this happens.

“In northern Iraq and Kurdistan we are seeing a great deal of growth in operation and drilling services, with in-demand disciplines including subsurface, project services and operations and maintenance while in southern Iraq, existing oilfields such as Rumaila are also going from strength to strength and creating more and more job opportunities.”

The Erbil office is managed locally by NES Global Talent Recruitment Manager Glyn Evans, who has more than 15 years’ oil and gas recruitment experience. The company plans to make more hires in Iraq and Dubai throughout the coming year.

Darren Grainger (pictured), Regional Director - Middle East at NES Global Talent, added:

“In northern Iraq and Kurdistan we are seeing a great deal of growth in operation and drilling services and as the skills shortage intensifies, the role of companies such as NES Global Talent becomes increasingly important.

“Our global network of offices has been opened strategically within oil and gas hubs, such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to mirror the geographical footprint of our key clients, meaning we can deliver the challenging staffing projects that others cannot.”

(Source: NES Global Talent)

Robert Tollast is a consultant at Noorbridge, a Helsinki based consultancy with staff in London and Nasiriyah, Iraq. He has written extensively on security, politics and economic issues in Iraq for various publications, and is currently researching a modern history of Iraq with support from The Middle East Forum. email: [email protected] twitter: @roberttollast

To understand the situation of Iraq’s health system today, it is necessary to look at the extraordinary challenges Iraq has faced as a society in the last 30 years.

 During the 1970s it appeared as if Saddam’s move to nationalise Iraq’s oil industry was paying off. The country's GDP quadrupled in the first decade under Ba’athist rule, and living standards were rising rapidly.

By the following decade the country's health sector (already improving steadily by 1968) was one of the leading in the region, buoyed by improving education standards and massive investment. Per capita GDP in 1980 was approximately $4700. Iraqis therefore could (and did) spend on pharmaceuticals and could expect reasonably good free healthcare.

Two wars changed that situation beyond recognition. By the end of the 1980s, the Iran-Iraq war had left the country $80bn in debt, while sustaining an army (and reserve) of up to 1 million troops became the priority: approximately 5% of the population were members of the world’s 4th largest army in 1990. With weapons taking precedence over hospitals, the first cracks in Iraq’s health system appeared. An Iraqi girl recently recalled to me how her birth in 1988 nearly caused the death of her mother because the hospital was in “a terrible state” and many doctors had already left the country.

By John Lee.

[UPDATE: Further to the press release shown below, the Kurdistan Regional Government has issued a statement refuting the company’s claims to have a deal to refine crude oil from Genel Energy‘s Taq Taq oil field.

Genel Energy has also denied any knowledge of, or dealings with, Black Diamond and Rezhwan.

The full text of the KRG statement can be viewed here: https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2014/04/17/false-claims-made-by-black-diamond-rezhwan/.]

The Black Diamond Oil Company has issued a press release in which it claims to make gross profits of $180,000 per day refining crude oil from the Taq Taq oilfield. The full text of the press release is shown below:

Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdistan region opened the doors to a joint venture refinery operation between Black Diamond Oil Co. and the Rezhwan Co.

The new oil refinery will start refining Taq Taq crude oil next week with 1,500 tons being refined on a daily bases.

It was further decided that both companies had agreed that Black Diamond would increase the daily output of the refinery with a production of 3000 tons per day starting in May 2014.

The refinery near the Kurdish capital Erbil will be operated by the private Kurdish group Rezhwan Co., which will process the crude from purchasing above ground reserves in Taq Taq.

Black Diamond will purchase the crude directly from the Taq Taq field, in central Iraq 50 miles east-southeast of Erbil, is the Kurdistan region’s largest oil producing field, notes operator Genel Energy PLC.

Proved and probable reserves total 607 million BBL of the currently estimated 1.7 billion BBL of oil in place, and the field is delivering 80,000-100,000 b/d, all of it by truck for the moment. Production averaged 75,500 b/d in 2012 compared with 66,000 b/d in 2011.

The TT-22 Taq Taq Deep exploratory well that targets a gross un-risked resource of 250 million BBL of oil equivalent in Jurassic and Triassic reservoirs is due to spud shortly. Projected total depth is 5,400 m. The Jurassic-Triassic interval tested gas from a well drilled in the mid-1970s at Taq Taq.