US Firms form Iraq Oil Services Group
By John Lee. North America Western Asia Holdings (NAWAH), U.S. Steel Tubular Products, a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, and MRC Global Inc. have announced an alliance to bring critical oil well equipment into the natural resources-rich region of southern Iraq. The consortium will serve an international lineup of leading oil and gas companies […]
GKP Arranges $250m Debt Financing
By John Lee. Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) announced today that it has priced a debt offering of US$250 million. The privately placed debt securities, offered in accordance with Reg S/144A to institutional investors in Europe, the US and Asia, consists of three-year senior unsecured notes carrying a coupon of 13% per annum and freely tradeable […]
Iraq's First Pizza Hut Opens
By John Lee. Yum! Brands has announced the opening of the first Pizza Hut in Iraq with franchise partner, Al Kout Food Company. The new restaurant in the popular Majidi Mall in Erbil features "a full casual dine-in experience for Iraqi consumers with a vibrant, youthful design and seating for 120 people. The menu is […]
Emergency Message for US Community in Iraq
On the eve of the anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime on April 9, 2003, the U.S. Embassy advises U.S. citizens to restrict movements around Baghdad, including travel through Baghdad International Airport. U.S. government and Embassy-affiliated personnel are restricting their use of the Baghdad International Airport through April 12. Beyond this date, American […]
Policemen Killed in Suicide Attack
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. A car bomb set off by a suicide attacker at a checkpoint in the city of Tuz Khurmatu in Iraq killed four policemen, while attacks were also carried out in Baiji and Tikrit in […]
Stocks Brace for Iraqi Election
By Mark DeWeaver. This hasn’t been a particularly good year for Iraqi stocks. So far the Rabee Securities Index (RSISX) is down 3% year-to-date and off 8% from its recent high on January 28. The ISX index has been dropping all year. It’s now down 5% year-to-date. Uncertainty in the run up to Iraq’s April […]
Shell's First Crude from Majnoon
Shell announced today that the Majnoon oilfield it operates in partnership with South Oil Company (SOC), Petronas and Missan Oil in Southern Iraq has successfully exported its first shipment of crude oil to Shell trading, a significant milestone for the oilfield. The achievement comes as production at the Majnoon oilfield has reached a current average […]
GKP Investors Relax
By John Lee. The Telegraph reports that an encouraging update on its fund-raising plans provided some much needed cheer for Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) on the stock market. The Kurdistan-focused oil producer had slumped in recent weeks, amid speculation that the company’s key bond sale was running into trouble. The company announced last month that […]
Dragon Oil Spuds Iraqi Well
By John Lee. Dubai's Dragon Oil reports that it has spudded an exploration well using a drilling rig from the Iraqi Drilling Company. The well is targeting two prospective reservoirs, and testing is expected to take place in 2H 2014. The consortium consists of Dragon Oil (30 percent) and Kuwait Energy Corporation (70 percent and […]
Iraq Stock Market Report
Advertising Feature Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 3rd April 2014). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,822 (+0.5%)/ $1,942 (+0.8%) (weekly change). The number of week traded shares was 21.2bn and the weekly trading […]
Jumping Ship? Defections Ahead of the Elections
By Reidar Visser. The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford. It is reproduced here with the author’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Jumping Ship? Defections from Maliki ahead of the Iraqi Parliamentary Elections […]
First Mass Vaccination Since Polio Found in Iraq
Polio vaccination campaigns commenced in Syria, Iraq and Egypt today, aiming to reach more than 20 million children over the next five days. For Iraq, this will be the first nationwide vaccination campaign since a case of polio was confirmed by the Ministry of Health on 30 March in a six-month-old boy from Rusafa, northern […]