Weekly Security Update
Overview Olive Groups Iraq statistics are drawn from multiple sources, including media reporting and direct liaison with in country assets. Included within the statistics are a minority sub-set of serious incidents which may not be purely attributable to insurgent/terrorist groups, such as murder, kidnappings and organised crime activities. The total number of reported incidents in […]
Iraq Discovers Another Billion Barrels of Oil
By John Lee. Iraq has announced that it has discovered deposits of crude oil equivalent to one billion barrels of oil, following the first exploration work by state-owned firms in almost 30 years. The new oil find in Maysan [Missan] province, near the border with Iran, and could potentially make a significant addition to Baghdad's […]
Maliki Holds Talks with Exxon Boss
By John Lee. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki held talks with ExxonMobil chief Rex Tillerson (pictured) on Monday. AFP reports that the meeting was the first between the two since the firm signed an oil exploration agreement with Kurdistan in October 2011, a move which angered Baghdad, which has said the company must choose between its deals with […]
China May Build New $650m Iraq Oil Pipeline
By John Lee. The China Petroleum Pipeline (CPP) company is said to be close to winning a $650-million contract to build a pipeline linking the southern oilfields in Maysan province to the al-Fao [al Faw] storage depots. The chief of state-run Maysan Oil Company, Ali Maarij, told Reuters, that the line will expand the export […]
Deputy Governor of CBI Released
By John Lee. The Iraqi authorities have reportedly released the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Mohamed Salih, who has been detained for more than month on charges related to corruption. In October, Prime Minister Maliki removed the head of the central bank, Sinan al-Shabibi, accusing him of mismanagement and currency manipulation. He […]
West Quran 2 Contract Terms Revised
By John Lee. The Chairman of Russia's LUKoil, Vagit Alekperov, has signed an amendment to the contract to develop the West Qurna-2 oil field with the South Oil Company (SOC). According to the amendment, the 18.75 percent share of the project formerly owned by the Norwegian company Statoil is to be taken over by LUKoil, […]
New Report: Drilling & Oilfield Services Market
Advertising Feature Douglas-Westwood conducts comprehensive industry study into Iraq and Kurdistan Drilling and Oilfield Services market 2012-2016 The potential scale of the Iraqi oil sector is unprecedented in modern times, and represents a significant opportunity for the drilling and oilfield service industry. However, limited historical information, coupled with the highly complex political situation make accessing […]
Afren Shares Up on Trading Statement
By John Lee. Afren plc's trading statement and operations update includes the following review of its activities in Iraqi Kurdistan. Shares in the company closed up 2.7 percent: Barda Rash Having commenced an extensive testing programme at the BR-1 well in July 2012 and establishing oil rates in excess of 6,000 bopd of 28° to […]
Questions About Practices of Private Iraqi Banks
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. Privately held Iraqi banks have almost entirely relinquished their traditional functions — such as giving out loans, lending credit and issuing letters of credit — due to default risks. Instead, they are […]
US, Iraq to Improve Iraqi Agriculture
The U.S. Embassy, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), met from January 15 to January 17 to help Iraq improve its agricultural sector through the U.S.-funded Harmonized Support for Agricultural Development (HSAD) project. This project will improve agricultural investment opportunities and efficiency and introduce modern […]
Pres Barzani Hosts Annual Diplomatic Corps Mtg
President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, hosted foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations based in Erbil last week to discuss the latest political and economic developments in Kurdistan and in Iraq and to reflect on 2012. The annual gathering, attended by Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of KRG Department of Foreign Relations, touched on […]
S. Korea's LS Industrial wins $67m Deal
By John Lee. South Korea's LS Industrial Systems has won a $67-million deal to build power distribution control centres for the Iraqi government. Under the deal with the Ministry of Electricity, the company will build seven distribution control centers across the country by early 2015. According to the report from Electric Light and Power, the centres […]