Spudding of Shaikan-10 Development Well
Gulf Keystone has announced that further to the approval of the Field Development Plan for the Shaikan field, a world class commercial discovery, announced on 26 June 2013, the Company has commenced its development drilling programme with the spudding of Shaikan-10. In parallel, production operations from the newly commissioned Shaikan production facility ("PF-1") are scheduled […]
Failed Banking System Prompts Iraqis to Hoard Gold
By Abdel Hamid Zebari for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. There is an old Arabic saying that "gold is both for decoration and storing." Currently, Iraqis, particularly residents of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, are taking these words to heart. […]
Italy to Upgrade Diplomatic Presence
The newly arrived Italian Consul in Erbil, Dr Carmelo Ficarra, met with Minister Falah Mustafa to discuss ways of building upon his predecessor’s success. Italy has a Consular Office in Erbil, which is due to be upgraded to a fully-fledged Consulate later this year. In welcoming him to Kurdistan, Minister Mustafa encouraged him to use […]
Dutch Delegation Visits Kurdistan
The Dutch Minister for Migration and State Secretary of Security and Justice, Mr Fred Teeven, met with Minister Falah Mustafa as part of his visit to the Kurdistan Region to discuss bilateral ties. The visit is part of an effort to further strengthen ties between Kurdistan and the Netherlands. Minister Mustafa expressed his appreciation to […]
What are Egypt's Lessons for Iraq?
By Mustafa al-Kadhimi for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The June 30 events in Egypt deserve to be carefully and attentively interpreted at all levels, as far as Iraq is concerned. The rapid political change in Egypt did not take […]
Currency Class War: Damaged Dinar Notes
By Waheed Ghanim. This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Currency Class War: Damaged Dinar Notes result in Bribery, Injustice Exchange shops, bank cashiers and savvy housewives are doing big business as they deal with Iraq’s […]
The Fragmentation of the Political Landscape
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 […]
Total Cleared of Iraqi Corruption
By John Lee. A Paris court has cleared oil company Total, its chief executive Christophe de Margerie (pictured), and over a dozen other defendants of corruption charges related to the UN's oil-for-food programme in Iraq. The former interior minister Charles Pasqua, the Swiss oil trader Vitol, and a former French ambassador to the UN, were […]
Wyndham Opens First Hotel in Iraq
Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,380 hotels and part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), has announced its entrance into Iraq with the opening of the newly-built, 71-room Ramada Sulaymaniyah Salim Street in Kurdistan. The hotel opened on the same day as the Ramada Plaza Beirut Raouche in Beirut, Lebanon. […]
India "Interested in Importing LNG from Iraq"
By John Lee. Reuters reports that India said it is interested in importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iraq, with imports of the cleaner fuel becoming attractive after New Delhi decided to raise prices of locally produced gas from April 2014. Iraq has emerged as the second-biggest crude oil supplier to India after supplies from […]
JPMorgan Expands Iraqi Business
By John Lee. JPMorgan Chase is the latest international bank after Citigroup and Standard Chartered to expand business in Iraq, reports Bloomberg. The company has just signed a one-year agreement to help the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) finance imports of goods and services, John Gibbons, managing director and EMEA regional executive, told the news […]
Iraq Free of Chapter 7: The Good and Bad
By Nawzad Mahmoud and Miran Hussein. This article was originally published by Rudaw, and is re-published by Iraq Business News with their kind permission. The lifting of the United Nations’ Chapter 7 sanctions against Iraq is receiving mixed reaction among Iraqis, with some welcoming the move and others worried about its impact, given existing ethnic, […]