Afren Updates on Kurdistan Operations
By John Lee. As part of its half-year results, Afren has issued the following update on its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan: Barda Rash Approximately 18,800 barrels of oil were held in storage during 1H 2013. Preliminary crude oil sales to the local market have commenced with initial sales of 1,300 bopd achieved since 8 July […]
WesternZagros Plunges on Kurdamir Results
By John Lee. Shares in WesternZagros Resources closed 27 percent down on Wednesday following what the company described as "unexpected results" from its Kurdamir-3 well. The company has completed the first two drill stem tests (DST #1 and DST #2) on the Kurdamir-3 well in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The first Kurdamir-3 test, DST […]
Money Laundering Estimated "in the Billions"
By Omar al-Shaher for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Political and economic Iraqi circles confirm the presence of extensive money-laundering operations in Iraq. Weak monitoring systems and political conflicts of interest, however, prevent the exposure of these operations. These same […]
UK to Engage in Syrian Refugee Crisis
Today Minister Falah Mustafa received a delegation from Department for International Development (DFID) to establish a mechanism for their support towards the Syrian refugees in Kurdistan Region. DFID currently has working teams in Jordan, Lebanon and in London to provide humanitarian assistance. They also provided assistance to the Kurdish people in 1991 following the creation […]
Video: Syrian Refugees Arrive in Iraq
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Syrian Kurds continue to come across the border into northern Iraq. Some 31 thousand have made the journey since the border was opened on Thursday of last week. They are being housed in […]
Maliki Heads to India for Investment
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is to visit India on Thursday to push for investment in reconstruction, reports AFP. The four-day trip to New Delhi and Mumbai, with a delegation of ministers and business leaders, follows the visit of India Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily to Baghdad last month. But the prospects of luring foreign investment to […]
Qatar Airways Launches 5th Iraqi Destination
Qatar Airways launched flights on Wednesday to its fifth destination in the Republic of Iraq, Sulaymaniyah, increasing the airline’s frequency across Iraq from 16 to 20 flights each week. The new services, which will operate four-times-a-week non-stop from the airline’s Doha hub, brings the carrier’s global network to 129 destinations worldwide. The Doha – Sulaymaniyah route […]
Travelport Opens Erbil Office
Travelport, a leading distribution services and e-commerce provider for the global travel industry, has continued its Middle East expansion with the opening of a new office in Erbil. The new commercial hub underlines the importance of Iraq as an important investment region for Travelport and now serves the travel agent community in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and […]
Over 1 Million Displaced Iraqis Face Tough Future
On the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, the United Nations in Iraq is raising awareness of the plight of the 1.1 million Iraqis who are registered as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), driven to flee because of eviction, urbanization, conflict or political strife. “IDPs are among Iraq’s most vulnerable populations,” said Jacqueline Badcock, United Nations Deputy […]
Weekly Security Update 14 - 21 August 2013
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW The tempo of violence this week off dropped considerably fewer high impact attacks and shootings taking place. There has however remained a daily churn of low level shootings and assassinations that remains commonplace in everyday Iraq. The main interest points from the reporting period have in fact come […]
Don't Choke Iraq's Revenue
This week's bomb attack on the freight port of Umm Qasr was something new, but it appears to be an extension of the terrorist strategy of targeting Iraq's commercial infrastructure. Seen in the context of the growing number of attacks on northern pipelines – at least 37 attacks in the past 2 months alone – […]
DNO Reports Record Output at Tawke
DNO International today announced second quarter 2013 net profit of NOK 280 million on operating revenue of NOK 764 million. Production climbed by nearly a third to 38,720 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) on a company working interest basis from 29,061 boepd in the first quarter of 2013 and 23,234 boepd a year […]