Iraq May Reopen the Yanbu Pipeline
By Simon Kent. Following the news earlier this month that Saudi Arabia is reopening their embassy in Baghdad, an un-named official in Iraq's Ministry of Oil has suggested there may be a plan to reopen the Yanbu pipeline from Iraq to Saudi Arabia. Speaking to Baghdad paper Al Sabah, the official said that Iraq was […]
Oil, Rail Expansion Dominate China Talks
By Simon Kent. Iraqi PM Haider al Abadi recently met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss high level strategic projects for both countries to cooperate on. The major discussions focused on a plan for Iraq's State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) and Chinese state run refiner Sinopec to coordinate the shipment, refining and marketing of […]
Kurdish Regional Government Fights Reform Battle
By Simon Kent. The Kurdish Regional Government has announced a plan to implement a series of economic reforms in the face of a growing recession. Currently, the region has debt of up to $18 billion, a crisis made far worse by expenditures in the war against ISIS, the collapse in oil prices and a bloated […]
Baghdad Christmas Celebrations Have Deeper Meaning
By Simon Kent. Christmas has been celebrated in Baghdad for centuries, but over time the small Christian minority has been dwindling at an alarming rate, especially since they have been singled out by ISIS. There are now thought to be only half a million Christians left in Iraq, out of a population that was once […]
Foreign Minister Jafaari Visits Kuwait
By Simon Kent. Iraqi Foreign Minister and former PM Ibrahim al Jafaari (pictured) is on an official visit to Kuwait, and has heralded improving relations between the two countries. In a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah al Khaled, Jafaari noted increasing bilateral trade and a planned scheme where Iraq will supply gas to Kuwait. He […]
US General: "Conventional" War Can Defeat ISIS
By Simon Kent. US General Sean McFarland, remembered by historians of the Iraq war for stabilizing the restive town of Tal Afar, has returned to lead the mission against ISIS in Iraq. In an interview with the BBC, the general explained how ISIS were a different enemy to their predecessors that the US faced in […]
Iraqi Lab Produces Resilient Date Palms
By Simon Kent. Biologists at the University of Basra have produced lab grown date palms which they say can better endure disease and problems of salinity and climate change which have decimated a once thriving date industry. Iraq used to produce over a million tons of dates a year, until war and other adverse conditions […]
WesternZagros Reviews Financing
By Simon Kent. WesternZagros Resources has announced that an agreement has been reached with its major shareholder, Crest Energy International to defer the latest first drawdown notice date under the first tranche of its US$200 million unsecured credit facility from the original date of January 1, 2016 to May 1, 2016. The Company felt it […]
Baghdad Hails First Miss Iraq Since 1972
By Simon Kent. For the first time since 1972, Baghdad has held its first beauty pageant for the title of "Miss Iraq." The winner, Shaymaa Abdelrahman, a 20 year old from the contested city of Kirkuk, said that she would use her new found public profile to launch education initiatives for children displaced by fighting in […]
China, Iraq, Plan Historic Oil Cooperation
By Simon Kent. There is growing speculation over a planned energy initiative between Iraq and China, with both Iraqi PM Haider al Abadi and oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi travelling to China for "deep discussions" on the proposal. According to The Wall Street Journal, Unipec, the trading branch of Chinese state refiner Sinopec, will be working with […]
Liberation of Ramadi Imminent
By Simon Kent. It was the victory of the so called "Islamic State," also known as Daesh, that shocked the world. Ramadi, capital of Anbar province and home to half a million Sunnis, fell to ISIS over the spring despite repeated proclamations from the Obama administration that the war against the terrorists was going well. […]
IEITI Annual Report: Progress, but Improvement Still Needed
By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Iraq Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (IEITI) succeeded in launching its fifth annual Report 2013 on 10th December 2015, almost three weeks earlier than its previous report. Moreover, IEITI plans to issue […]