Dinar Exchange Rate Linked to Oil Exports, Federal Reserves
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. According to an Iraqi financial expert, the value of Iraq’s federal reserves currently amounts to about $80 billion, following the recent increase in the country’s oil exports. Nevertheless, no information was […]
Minister Zebari Meets UAE Ambassador
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari held a meeting with the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Shehhi, at the Ministry's head office on Wednesday. During the meeting, they discussed relations between the two countries and ways to develop and support them politically and economically. They also discussed recent developments in the Syrian crisis and […]
BP "Interested in Kirkuk Oil Field"
By John Lee. Oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaibi [Elaibi] has confirmed that BP is interested in getting involved in the redevelopment of the giant Kirkuk oil field, which is suffering from falling output. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, production at the field has declined to 260,000 barrels a day from 900,000 […]
Iraq "Blames Shell" for $4.6bn Lost Income
By John Lee. Iraq’s oil ministry has reportedly blamed Shell for $4.6 billion in lost revenue due to production delays, according to a letter seen by AFP . The document, dated July 21, 2013, sharply criticizes the company for shortfalls in oil extraction at Majnoon. Two separate sources with knowledge of the letter’s contents confirmed […]
Mitsubishi to Open Office in Basra
By John Lee. On September 1st, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) will open an office in Basra, the second-largest city in Iraq. MHI aims to respond swiftly to emerging large-scale social infrastructure improvement projects supported by its vast oil reserve and rapidly increasing reconstruction demand from warfare and economic sanction. The new office will function […]
Starwood Sheraton Dohuk Hotel
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has signed an agreement with Mase Co LLC, a company managed by Brilliant Role Group, to open a new-build Sheraton hotel in Dohuk, in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region in northern Iraq. Scheduled to debut early next year, the Sheraton Dohuk Hotel will be the first of four new Starwood hotels […]
Rollins Opens Franchise in Erbil
By John Lee. Consumer services company Rollins Inc. has announced that the company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Orkin, has established two international franchises: one in Erbil, Iraq and one in Trinidad and Tobago. Both Orkin Erbil and Orkin Trinidad and Tobago will offer commercial and residential pest control and termite control services. Tom Luczynski (pictured), […]
18.9% Live Below Poverty Line
By John Lee. Iraq's human rights ministry has said that more than 18 percent of the Iraqi population is living below the poverty line. This amounts to 6.4 million people, mostly in rural areas. According to the report from Aswat al-Iraq, the ministry added that while Iraq is one of the richest countries in oil […]
Second Gazprom Award for Petrofac in Iraq
Petrofac has been awarded a second contract by Gazprom Neft Badra B.V. on the Badra Oil Field, situated 160km southeast of Baghdad City in the Republic of Iraq. Worth US$95 million over three years, the contract was awarded to Petrofac's Offshore Projects & Operations (OPO) business to provide maintenance engineering, maintenance execution and support services. […]
ShaMaran Confirms Extension Of Field Area
ShaMaran Petroleum has reported the results of the Atrush-3 appraisal well ("AT-3") drilled in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The AT-3 well was spudded on 23rd March 2013 using the DQE31 drilling rig and was drilled to a total depth of 1,806m. The well is situated approximately 6.5km east of the AT-2 well and approximately […]
Students Complete Studies at LUKoil Training Center
The first group students have completed their studies in the training center of LUKOIL Overseas Mid-East Ltd., LUKOIL's operating company for West Qurna-2 project, in Basra province. 170 Iraqi nationals who have completed a 1.5 year training program were immediately assigned to different facilities of West Qurna-2 field depending on their obtained qualifications, including well […]
Court Strikes Down Law on Term Limits
By Reidar Visser. The following article was published by Reidar Visser, an historian of Iraq educated at the University of Oxford and currently based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. 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 […]