Iraq -- Accentuating the Positive
By Padraig O'Hannelly. Yesterday in London, the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) held its annual conference, this year under the banner: "Iraq -- Accentuating the Positive". And in contrast to the prevailing media depiction of Iraq, the tone was indeed very positive, with a full house of senior executives, diplomats and public officials sharing their […]
Haider al Abadi: Bringing Strategy to the Table
By Robert Tollast. “How is electricity?”, I asked. “Excellent” replied Marwan, a young student of Physics at the University of Dhi Qar. Marwan (not his real name) is studying wireless transmission, and one of his lecturers is currently in Leicester studying with a British Council initiative to bolster the academic capacity of Iraqi universities. Will […]
IOCs seek Independent Water Facilities
By John Lee. International oil companies (IOCs) in southern Iraq are seeking to push ahead with their own water injection facilities to meet production targets, according to a report from Platts. Malaysia's Petronas, operator of the Gharraf [Garraf] oil field, is the latest to ask the Ministry of Oil for permission to build a standalone […]
Iraq Develops Industrial Zones
The successful completion of the project “Enhancing investments to Iraq through industrial zone development”, implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), was marked at an event in Amman today. Funded by the Government of Italy, the project assisted the Government of Iraq in developing industrial zones that provide a favourable business environment for […]
Talisman Energy Updates on Topkhana
By John Lee. In its third-quarter results on Tuesday, Talisman Energy gave the following update on its operations in Iraq: In the Topkhana Block, the extensive well testing of the T-2 well has been completed. The results were consistent with the results of the long-term K-2 well test, in terms of fluid rates and composition, […]
World Bank Delegation to visit Iraq
By John Lee. The Iraqi Finance Ministry has announced that the World Bank plans to send a high-level delegation to Baghdad in the near future. NINA that the Finance Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, met with the World Bank's representative in Iraq, Robert Boujoda, to discuss cooperation between the government and the World Bank. Tthey also reviewed […]
Oil Exports Bring in $6.2bn in Oct
By John Lee. Iraq's exports of 76.282 million barrels of crude oil in October brought in $6.241 billion [7.3 trillion Iraqi dinars] in revenues, according to the Iraqi Oil Ministry. AIN reports that Iraq averaged exports of 2.461 million bpd for the month at an average selling price of $81.82 dollars a barrel. These exports […]
Iraq 128th in Prosperity Index
By John Lee. Iraq has risen two places in the Legatum Institute's latest Prosperity Index, ranking in 128th place out of the 142 countries measured. The index ranks countries in eight categories including economic success, opportunity, health, and personal freedom. Norway finishes highest on the annual Prosperity Index for the sixth year in a row […]
Education, Culture Key to Iraqi Peace and Stability
The future of Iraq hinges on the education of its youth and the preservation of its cultural heritage, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) affirmed during an official trip to the war-torn Middle Eastern country. “Education is a human rights imperative for you and for all Iraq – it […]
Military Intervention Alone Won't Stop Terrorism
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. The rejection of US, regional or international intervention in Iraq is a subject that has almost become more interesting in Iraq than the fight against the Islamic State (IS). The politicians, the […]
Weekly Security Update, 28 October - 03 November 2014
By Anne-Laure Barbosa at Edinburgh International Anbar excluded, casualty figures released by the UN stated that at least 1,273 people were killed and another 2,010 injured in ISIS-related violence across Iraq. Taking into account the areas where ISIS are in full control, these figures are likely to be much higher and the data published by the […]
KRG to Boost Oil Pipeline Capacity
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraqi Kurdistan plans to increase the capacity of its oil pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan to 700,000 bpd. Work to upgrade the line is expected to boost the flow from 280,000 bpd at present to 400,000 bpd by year-end, eventually reaching the design maximum of 700,000 bpd. A […]