KBR Faces New Investigation
By John Lee. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has requested that Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) disclose volumes of internal documents relating to a confidentiality agreement staff were asked to sign which allegedly violates US law. According to The Washington Post the allegations suggest that an agreement staff were asked to sign required them […]
Call For International Archaeologists
By John Lee. Liwa’ Smaysim, the Iraqi Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, has stated that Iraq has plans to organize a major conference later this year for all local and foreign excavation teams in order to explore latest technologies in archaeological excavations. He also indicated that the ministry hopes that this gathering will be the […]
Why Two Exchange Rates?
By Mark DeWeaver. Since the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) began changing the rules for its USD auctions in 2012, Iraq has been operating a de facto dual exchange rate system. (There’s a summary of some of the CBI’s recent rule changes on pages 12-14 of this report from Sansar Capital.) For those with access […]
Did Baghdad Reject Nechirvan's Offer?
By John Lee. Reuters has reported an unnamed Iraqi government source describing what is supposedly the real reason for the delay in exporting 100,000 bpd from the Kurdish Regional Government to Turkey. As part of an interim deal , this oil was intended to be exported through the Iraqi state pipeline network. The oil represents a […]
Weekly Security Update 25 - 31 Mar 2014
By Constellis Consulting www.constellis-consulting.com As the campaign for the upcoming parliamentary elections is set to start on April 01, Iraq’s political environment was marked by inter-party competition and developments which could threaten the organisation of the votes. On 25 March, the board of the Independent Electoral Commission (IHEC) resigned to protest against political and judicial interference, after the […]
Iraqi Art Goes Global
By John Lee. Britain's South London Gallery has put on a diverse display of contemporary Iraqi art, to excellent reviews such as this one in London's Evening Standard. Events magazine Time Out also praised the exhibition. The exhibition, entitled Welcome to Iraq was first displayed last year at the Venice Biennale. Art critic Ben Luke noted how the show's […]
Election Campaigning Begins
By John Lee. Election campaigning began formally today across Iraq, Asharq al-Awsat reports. Perhaps optimistically, they suggest this marks the end of the crisis with the Independent High Electoral Commission, following their return to work last week. Campaign posters and billboards already adorn many parts of Baghdad, as seen in this Al Arabiya slideshow. Radio Free Iraq […]
Kirkuk-Ceyhan Pipeline Repair Causes Delay
By John Lee. On 20th March, 2014, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani announced a KRG goodwill initiative to make a contribution to Iraq oil export to give the ongoing negotiations with Baghdad the maximum chance of success. The Prime Minister stated that the contribution to oil export from the KRG would be 100,000 barrels per day, […]
APRIL FOOL: IBN Reporter Wins Award
By Nora Lenderby. Iraq Business News is pleased to announce that our intrepid reporter John Lee has been honoured with an award from the Goldman-Rothschild Institute for Monetary Efficiency. Although no formal announcement has been made, we understand that the award relates to the maintenance of monetary stability in Iraq. At first Mr Lee was […]
Abu Risha Condemns Bridge Attacks
By John Lee. Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, head of one side of the anti-Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham "Sons of Anbar" movement has condemned a series of attacks on bridges in the province trying to cut it off from the rest of Iraq. The Sheikh was typically defiant in his recent statement: "The Islamic […]
Samsung Sign $840m ENI Zubair Deal
By John Lee. Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd. has officially announced that it was awarded the North (Hammar Mishrif) New Degassing Station Facilities contract for the ENI Zubair Oil Field Development project in Iraq, worth $840 million. The signing ceremony was attended by Samsung Engineering’s President & CEO Mr.Park Choong-Heum, South Oil Company’s Director General Mr. Dheyaa Jaafar […]
West Qurna 2 Begins Production
By John Lee. Iraq's giant oil field West Qurna 2, with a minimum 14 billion barrels of recoverable reserves, began production on Saturday as Lukoil opened spigots to put 140,000 barrels a day onto the market. By the end of the year the field is set to produce 400,000 bpd, putting Iraq on track for […]