US Approves $2.4bn Iraq Tank Deal
The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Iraq for M1A1 Abrams tanks and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $2.4 billion. The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of 175 Full Track M1A1 Abrams Tanks with 120mm Gun modified and upgraded to the […]
Emirates Airline, Boeing Deliver Aid to Iraq
Emirates Airline and Boeing partnered with a US-based non-profit organization, Another Joy Foundation, to transport a consignment of critically-needed blankets and sleeping bags on board the airline’s newly delivered Boeing 777-300ER (Extended Range). This is the sixth time since 2009 that Emirates and Boeing have collaborated to transport humanitarian aid to countries to the needy in […]
A Year of Iraq's Best Bloggers
2014 has been a stellar year for our dedicated panel of Expert Bloggers. As we draw the year to a close, our newsletter this week highlights just some of their contributions from the previous twelve months. We'd like to thank all of them, and our Guest Bloggers, for their expert analysis and comment, and we […]
US Tackles ISIL Oil Trade
By Padraig O'Hannelly. The Director for the Middle East & Asia at the US State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources has said that while the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, IS) is not able to fully exploit the oilfields under its control, it could be able to produce as much as 50,000 barrels of oil a […]
DNO in Kurdistan: "We've Only Just Begun"
By Padraig O'Hannelly. DNO Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani (pictured) has given an upbeat assessment of the company's operations in Iraqi Kurdistan. Addressing CWC's Kurdistan-Iraq Oil & Gas Conference in London last week, he said that the Tawke well was on target to hit a cumulative output of 100-million barrels of oil at some point in the […]
Zebari Presents "Real" 2015 Budget
By John Lee. Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari (pictured) has taken a brutally realistic stance on the passing of Iraq's 2015 budget, Reuters reports. Zebari has previously been frank about the challenges Iraq faces and the war economy situation the country is now in. The Finance Minister noted how, "The strategy was to present a real budget - […]
Jordan to Train Iraqi Troops
By John Lee. Jordan has long been host to the training of Iraqi forces following the 2003 war, and US led training of Iraqi Special Forces continued there even after the US withdrawal from Iraq in December 2011. Until now however, the Hashemite Kingdom has not directly trained Iraqi infantry. This is about to change […]
Weekly Security Update, 16 - 22 December 2014
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) hosted a series of diplomatic missions and foreign conferences this week, as Peshmerga troops celebrated some of the most decisive military victories since the start of the ISIS counter-offensive in August 2014. While heavy fighting continues to rage across Anbar and the central territories, aid convoys to the besieged inhabitants […]
Al Kindi Society Announce January Forum
By John Lee. The Al Kindi Society for Engineers have announced they will be hosting a forum on the role of engineering in Iraq's current crisis. The event will be held at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in North London on the 10th of January. Anyone who wishes to attend must register here. For those not […]
Basra joins Revenue Sharing Talks
By John Lee. According to a 2009 revision of Iraq's Provincial Powers Act (also known as Law 21) the province of Basra is supposed to be receiving an extra $5 dollars of oil revenue per barrel produced in the province. If this was the case, the province could be receiving an income equivalent to that […]
US Gear from Afghan War Awaits Iraq Role
By John Lee. US News have reported on the presence of several thousand American armoured vehicles being serviced at a US base in Kuwait, in possible preparation for their movement into Iraq. The vehicles are primarily MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles) expensive bulletproof and IED resistant trucks that became a key tool in the US […]
BP Plans to Double Rumaila Production
By John Lee. The coming year will see BP expand drilling work and upgrades to equipment at the vast Rumaila oil field in southern Iraq, of which the company have a 50% stake. BP operate the field with PetroChina, Iraq's South Oil Company and SOMO. This work is carried out under the umbrella of the […]