Article 140: The Elephant at the Negotiating Table
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Article 140: The Elephant At The Negotiating Table As Kurds and Iraqis Reach Oil Deal Over the past week or so, there have been many congratulatory articles written about the […]
SOMO Denies OPEC Price War
By John Lee. The State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has denied that it is waging a price war against other oil producers. The company recently slashed price to its Asian customers due to what it described as "changes in the market" but has denied that this was an attempt to undercut other members of the […]
Petronas "Can make it Work" in Iraq
By John Lee. The upstream international vice-president of Malaysia's Petronas, Sharbini Suhaili, has reportedly said that Petronas was the largest international oil company in Iraq, and that the assets returns were promising despite numerous challenges. "There are always challenges. "We can make it work and we are working well with our partners." (Source: AsiaOne) (Picture: Halfaya […]
Iraq Seeks to Delay Kuwait Reparations
By John Lee. Iraq's Finance Minister, Hoshyar Zebari (pictured), has told Reuters that he is trying to postpone the final $4.6 billion installment of reparations for its 1990-91 occupation of Kuwait. To fund its reparations commitments, Iraq pays 5 percent of its crude oil exports to the U.N. Compensation Commission (UNCC). So far, nearly all […]
Video: Pilgrims Flock to Karbala
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Shiite Muslims are flocking to the Imam al-Hussein shrine in Karbala in preparation for the Arbaeen religious festival marking the 40th day after Ashura which commemorates the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson:
Bigger Discount for Heavy Basra Crude
By John Lee. Iraq is reported to be giving bigger discounts for heavy crude from Basra from January. The State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) recently abandoned plans to split its "Basra Light" grade into two grades, light and heavy. Reuters says this latest move is aimed at pacifying buyers who have had to deal with […]
$3bn Power Plant for Bismaya
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Mass Global will partly finance a $3-billion power plant in Bismaya. The gas-fired, 3,000-megawatt plant is being built by Turkey's Enka Insaat, whose chairman Sinan Tara said it would be financed partly from Mass Global's equity and partly from Iraqi lenders. The project will be built in two phases […]
Video: Zebari says "Mosul is Key"
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari says ISIL is now on the defensive, although they are still in control of Mosul. Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf reports from Baghdad:
Defenders of Baghdad Turn to Crime
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Kidnappers In Uniform? Defenders Of Baghdad Turn To Crime For Cash There’s been a rise in crime and kidnapping in Baghdad and it seems that perpetrators are often in military […]
Video: Battle Rages for Balad City
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's autonomous Kurdish government says 727 of its fighters have been killed in battles with ISIL since June. ISIL has been trying to take control of strategic areas in Iraq. The latest town […]
Iraq Economy to Shrink by Less than Expected
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued its findings following a recent visit to Iraq. End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the […]
PM Abadi: Corruption as Dangerous as Terrorism
By John Lee. On a recent visit to the holy city of Karbala, Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi described the existence of "ghost" soldiers as a crime on two fronts - the theft of public money and the breach in security which led to the murders of innocent people. He described the efforts of the Ministry of […]