Genel Donates $20m to University in Kurdistan
The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani [Sulaymaniah] (AUIS) announced today that it is the beneficiary of a generous donation from Genel Energy. The bequest of $20 million USD, which was facilitated by the Kurdistan Regional Government and is part of Genel’s commitments to enhance the infrastructure of the Kurdistan Region, enables AUIS to continue to […]
More Progress on "Chapter VII" Issues
By John Lee. KUNA reports that the UN Security Council has acknowledged progress achieved by Iraq in implementing its UN obligations towards Kuwait, and will move some related issues from Chapter VII to VI of UN Charter when it meets on the matter next month. Mark Lyall-Grant (pictured), British Ambassador to UN and rotating UNSC […]
Qatar Airways Launches 4th Destination in Iraq
By John Lee. Qatar Airways has launched flights to Basra, its fourth destination in Iraq. The new services, operating four-times-a-week non-stop from the airline's Doha hub, takes the carrier's global network to 128 destinations worldwide. The launch also marks the rapid expansion by Qatar Airways in Iraq since the middle of 2012 when it began […]
130,000 Tourists Enter Iraq in May
By John Lee. The Iraqi Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has announced that more than 130,000 tourists entered Iraq in May. According to Aswat al Iraq, the tourists mainly visited the holy shrines in Karbala, Najaf (pictured), Baghdad and Samarra. Approximately 12,000 tourists came from "Arab and foreign countries", while the rest came from Iran […]
Who's Winning the Battle for Iraq's Oil?
Who is the biggest winner from the recovery in Iraqi oil production? Denise Natali, a Middle East expert at the National Defense University in Washington, told the New York Times: “The Chinese are the biggest beneficiary of this post-Saddam oil boom in Iraq ... They need energy, and they want to get into the market.” […]
Weekly Security Update 29 May - 06 June
By Tom Walker, Director, Assaye Risk COUNTRY OVERVIEW Despite recent levels of heightened violence and multiple catastrophic attacks over the past weeks Iraq was somewhat spared similar events during this reporting period. As a result we have seen a correspondingly lower number of fatalities across the country with 89 killed, down 154 on last weeks […]
Technip Wins Contract for Karbala Refinery
Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) has awarded French company Technip a significant contract for project management consultancy (PMC) services for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) phase of the Karbala refinery. This award follows the front-end engineering design (FEED) executed by Technip in 2010. The scope of work will cover two phases: phase […]
Zain Takes Step towards IPO
By John Lee. Zain Iraq has moved a step closer to launching its mandatory initial public offering (IPO), by establishing a new holding company in Iraq through which it will list 25 percent of its shares on the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) towards the end of the year. The new company, named Al-Khatem Telecommunications, floated […]
WesternZagros Appoints New VP
WesternZagros Resources has announced the appointment of Ms. Mary Benassi to the position of Vice President, Human Resources. In this role, Ms. Benassi will report to the CEO and be responsible for WesternZagros's overall Human Resources function. Specific focus will include the development of a strategy that builds human resource and organizational capacity to effectively […]
Clyde & Co Launches Middle East Deal Study
Clyde & Co launched its inaugural Middle East Deal Study at an exclusive event hosted at the Ritz Carlton recently. The study, the first of its kind in the region, analyses data from 86 of the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and Joint Venture (JV) transactions the firm worked on in the region during 2012. The […]
New UK Trade Mission to Erbil
The UK's Middle East Association (MEA), in partnership with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), will be leading a trade delegation to Iraqi Kurdistan this September (22nd-27th) to coincide with the ninth Erbil International Trade Fair, Iraq’s largest general trade exhibition. Mission participants will have the opportunity to exhibit at […]
Video: Iraq to Lower Oil Targets
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's top energy official tells AFP his country is re-negotiating all of the oilfield contracts agreed in 2009 to lower the peak production target and spread output over a longer period of time: