Tanker Backlog Builds at Basra Port

By John Lee. A backlog of over 30 oil tankers, two-thirds of them supertankers (VLCC), has built up outside Basra post, and shippers face delays of up to three weeks because of bad weather and possible oil quality issues, according to a report from Reuters. Shipping industry sources said the problems could delay or limit […]

Video: Tikrit Liberated after Mth-Long Battle

From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq said security and allied forces backed by US-led coalition aircraft "liberated" the city of Tikrit on Tuesday, its biggest victory yet in the fight against Islamic State jihadists:

Nearly 1,000 Iraqis Killed in March

According to casualty figures released today by UNAMI, a total of 997 Iraqis were killed and another 2,172 were injured in acts of terrorism and violence in March*. The number of civilians killed was 729 (including 42 civilian police), and the number of civilians injured was 1,785 (including 98 civilian police). A further 268 members […]

GKP Slides on Share Placement

By John Lee. Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) closed the day down 9.9 percent, following the announcement that the company has successfully raised $40.7 million through a conditional placing of shares at a price of 32 pence per share, a 21 percent discount to the previous market close. The shares were placed through Mirabaud […]

Edinburgh International Achieves PSC.1 Accreditation

Edinburgh International (EI), a leading provider of security and risk management solutions worldwide and a member company of Constellis Group, today announced that it has received ASIS International's accreditation for Quality of Private Security Contractor Operations, known as ANSI/ASIS PSC.1-2012. Edinburgh International is the first Constellis Group company to attain the PSC.1 accreditation, which builds […]

New Project to Protect Iraqi Cultural Heritage

New UNESCO project launched in Baghdad to protect Iraqi cultural heritage "Today, we show our solidarity in the face of unprecedented cultural cleansing, cultural eradication and cultural looting ... And we pledge our commitment to do everything we can to halt this cultural cleansing”, said UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, at the launch of the new […]

Weekly Security Update: 24 - 30 March 2015

 National Overview US involvement in Tikrit air campaign sparks discord within Shia PMU factions, as regional issues overshadow ongoing anti-ISIS offensive. Since Thursday 26 March, key players in Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU) alliance, including the Iranian-backed Badr Organization, Asaib al-Haq and Kitaib Hezbollah are understood to have withdrawn from the Tikrit theatre in protest […]

Iraq Owes Oil Companies $20bn

By John Lee. The Deputy Minister for gas refineries at the Ministry of Oil, Fayaz Hassan, has told reporters that Iraq owes almost $20 billion (24 trillion Iraqi dinars) to foreign oil companies working in the country. BasNews quotes him as saying that the Iraqi Oil Ministry has met with the Finance Ministry and Central […]

Textron Wins $52m Drone Contract

By John Lee. Maryland-based Textron Systems has been awarded a $51,762,329 conract for performance based logistics and operational support for Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft systems for the Army and Marine Corps. The Work will be performed in Maryland, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and the estimated completion date is 31st October, 2015. (Source: US Dept of Defense)

OFFTEC Opens First Branch in Iraq

Jordanian-based OFFTEC, a subsidiary of OFFTEC Holding Group, announced the opening of its first branch in Iraq. Located in the city of Erbil, the new branch further builds on OFFTEC 's growing network, which encompasses multiple branches across Jordan, Palestine and Sudan, all of which specialize in the provision of innovative business and technology services […]