Iraq to Spend $130bn on Energy Infrastructure
By John Lee. Iraq plans to spend $130 billion on the country’s upstream sector over the next five years, according to a report from Bloomberg. Speaking at a conference in Basra, Oil Minister Abdel-Kareem al-Luaibi [Elaibi] (pictured) said the expenditure will be necessary to help raise production capacity to 9 million barrels a day (bpd). […]
Iran, Kurdistan Start Direct Flights
By John Lee. Direct flights have been launched between Iran's Western city of Oroumiyeh [Urmia] and Erbil in Iraq Kurdistan. The Director of Oroumiyeh International Airport, Kamal Parhizgar, said the flights would be scheduled on Sundays and Thursdays. (Source: PUKmedia)
IBBC Welcomes Private Sector Jobs Initiative
The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) has welcomed a new initiative to boost the Iraqi jobs market. A weekend conference in Basrah - sponsored by the Ministry of Oil and supported by Shell - has been investigating how to revitalise the Iraqi private sector by ensuring contracts with oil majors went to local firms. Oil […]
Italy Considers Kurdistan "Gateway to Iraq"
By John Lee. Italy’s new ambassador to Iraq, Massimo Marotti (shown here presenting his credentials to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hoshyar Zebari, in January), has said that Italy considers the Kurdistan Region as the “gateway” to Iraq. On a recent visit to Erbil, he said: "Trade between the Kurdistan Region and Italy has reached $4 billion […]
Video: Iraq War cost US over $2 Trillion
From Iran’s PressTV. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Americans are still paying for the Iraq War that lasted nearly a decade. And costs are still expected to surge. When the conflict started ten years ago this month, it was expected to […]
Video: Kurdistan Among the Success Stories
From Jewish News One. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. As the world discusses the legacy of the Iraq war on the 10 year anniversary of the US-led invasion, one group that appears to have clearly benefited from the conflict is Iraq's […]
Video: The Iraq War, 10 Years On
From AFP. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. It's a war that cost the US over 4,400 lives, 32,000 injuries and more than $800 billion. Ten years on, Americans look back on the war in Iraq and ponder if it was all […]
500 CSOs Unite on Vision for Kurdistan
Representatives of 500 CSOs have presented their vision for an agreement between public authorities and civil society in the Kurdistan region of Iraq following four months of consultations. The draft agreement, which will serve as a basis for upcoming discussions with Parliament and Government, is intended to improve cooperation between public authorities and civil society […]
ShaMaran Full Year Results
ShaMaran Petroleum has announced its financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2012. Unless otherwise stated all currency amounts indicated as “$” in this news release are expressed in thousands of United States Dollars. Highlights The Company announced on February 4, 2013 an increase of 35% in Best Estimate 2C Contingent Resources […]
US, Iraq Agree to Improve Min. of Oil Transparency
The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil on March 17. This agreement outlines U.S. support for the Ministry to improve the effectiveness and transparency of its operations. Held at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the signing ceremony was attended […]
Kirkuk: No solution, Time to Go It Alone?
By Saleh Elias. 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. The people of Kirkuk won’t be voting in the Iraqi elections because of ongoing issues about whom the area belongs to. Frustrated, some are saying Kirkuk […]
Video: Al-Sadr Protests Iraqi Sectarianism
From Jewish News One. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Thousands have gathered in the Iraqi capital Baghdad to join the powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in protest against sectarianism and to demand the resignation of the country's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki: […]