IHEC Retracts Resignation
By John Lee. It was news that stunned many observers, but was met with resignation by others expecting chaos surrounding April's general elections in Iraq: Last week, Iraq's entire Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) resigned en masse. That decision was blamed by the commission on "political interference" over a proposal by the judiciary to disqualify […]
ISIS Shifts Tactics in Fallujah
By Mushreq Abbas for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Three months after the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) decided to avoid public appearances and maintain a low profile in Fallujah, the group put on a military parade in the center of the city to […]
Iraqis Hone Skills To Preserve Heritage
By John Lee. The University of Arizona’s Drachman Institute is conducting an education program in heritage conservation through the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage, funded by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The goal of the program is to build Iraqi museum professionals’ capabilities for preserving the country’s rich cultural heritage. Faculty from the College of […]
Taqa to Invest $300m in Atrush
By John Lee. Taqa (Arabic for "energy") has released it's full results for 2013, announcing that the company has secured regulatory approval for the development plan of the Atrush field in Iraq. The first oil production at Atrush is expected in 2015 (see Iraq section below.) For the full report on Taqa's 2013 results, including their […]
Budget Delay Hits KRG Banks
By John Lee. The delay in adopting Iraq's federal budget, in large part due to the dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government over oil exports and revenues, has reduced banking activity in the KRG by up to 25%, according to Adham Karim Darwesh. Darwesh, the manager of the Erbil branch of the Central Bank […]
Analysis of IHEC Resignation
The following was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On Tuesday, the members of the Iraqi electoral commission IHEC collectively presented their […]
Afren Announce Full Year Results
By John Lee. Afren have announced their full year results for 2013, highlighting what they describe as record revenues and cash flows, production ahead of guidance, continued exploration success and significant balance sheet strength. Included here are the company results for their work in the Kurdish region of Iraq. You can see more detail on […]
Iraq's Oil Income Surges
By John Lee. Iraq's oil income is set to jump in April, boosted by the continued discount on Basra Light as of February last year, and increased shipments to Asia. February saw a record 3.6 million bpd in exports, setting a 3 decade record for Iraq. According to Bloomberg, who interviewed analyst Alexander Poegl of JBC Energy […]
Our Publisher Retires
By Padraig O'Hannelly. As many of our email subscribers will already be aware, our Publisher, Antony Wakeham, will retire at the end of March. In fact it is not the first time that Antony has retired – having completed a long and successful career in publishing, he was coaxed back to spearhead the development of […]
US Supports IHEC, On Time Elections
By John Lee. The United States fully supports Iraq’s democracy and democratic institutions as defined and established in the Iraqi Constitution, specifically Article 102, which provides for the independence and neutrality of the Independent High Electoral Commission. Ensuring that upcoming parliamentary elections are held on schedule is of the utmost importance and we commend the […]
Turkish Energy Minister: We're Waiting to Export KRG Oil
By John Lee. Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz (pictured) has remarked at a press conference that the country is ready to export oil from storage tanks at Ceyhan, once they have reached their capacity of 2.5 million barrels. Baghdad is currently opposed to such a move, and minister Yildiz has expressed a desire for the […]
Ayatollah Sistani For Nobel Peace Prize?
By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Journalist Colin Freeman wrote a March 4 article for The Telegraph's blog titled, “Forget Obama and the EU. The man who should really have the Nobel Peace Prize is an obscure Iraqi cleric." In it, he offered up […]