Al-Maliki Opens International Book Fair in Baghdad
By John Lee. His Excellency Prime Minister Nouri Kamil Al-Maliki opened the International Book Fair at Baghdad International Fair on Thursday. The Prime Minister said in a press conference: "The Iraqi culture and Iraqi intellectuals are the priorities of our attention today, this is a considerable development compared to the time of the former regime, […]
Foreign Minister Meets Serbian and Greek Ambassadors
By John Lee. Iraq's Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, met the Serbian Ambassador to Iraq, Radisav Petrovic, on Wednesday. During the meeting, Minister Zebari called on the Serbian investment companies to contribute in Iraq's reconstruction. The Undersecretary for Policy Planning and Bilateral Relations, Head of the Europe Department, and the Minister's Office Manager also attended the […]
Iraq - Kurdish Military Stand Off: and the Winner is…
By Roman Zagros. 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. Recently tensions between Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan have run high, complete with a military stand-off. The crisis seems to have been defused now. But if it […]
Kobler: Speak with One Voice to Curb Violence Against Women
By Martin Kobler, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Iraq. The frightful story of young Malala Yousafzai has shocked the world over the last weeks. This 15-year-old Pakistani girl almost lost her life because she spoke out for the right of girls to go to school. Like many others, I was shaken […]
You'd have to be Stupid Not to Make Money in Iraq
By John Lee. If we gave a prize for the best quote of the week, this week's top contender would be Sami Haddad, the general manager of Lebanon's Byblos Bank, which is expanding its presence in Iraq. "You would have to be stupid not to make money [in Iraq]", he said. And of course banking […]
Russia's LUKoil "Exported Kurdish Oil"
By John Lee. Reuters reports that LUKoil, Russian’s biggest non-state oil producer, which is believed to be considering buying ExxonMobil's stake in the West Qurna-1 oil field, has bought oil from Kurdistan in defiance of Baghdad. Baghdad has long insisted it has the sole right to export oil, but LUKoil's Geneva-based trading arm Litasco has […]
WorleyParsons Wins West Qurna-2 Contract
WorleyParsons has been awarded a three year contract by LukOil Mid-East Limited to provide project management services for West Qurna-2 oil field development project in Iraq. WorleyParsons will provide project management, technical and construction supervision personnel to support the West Qurna-2 engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities. WorleyParsons will also develop a Project Management System […]
Iraq Seals 2013 Gasoil Deal with Vitol, BP
By John Lee. Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has finalised a deal to buy up to 1.097 million tonnes of gasoil for delivery next year from BP and Swiss trader Vitol, according to Reuters. The company has agreed to pay a premium of $7.99 a barrel above Middle East quotes on a delivered basis, […]
LUKoil Still Considering West Qurna-1
By John Lee. Russian’s LUKoil is said to be studying documents on Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oil field, with a view to possibly taking over ExxonMobil's stake. Bloomberg quotes Chief Executive Officer Vagit Alekperov (pictured) as saying that the company will make a decision on possible participation in the project by the end of the year. […]
US Marks Intl Day for Elimination of Violence against Women
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad hosted a roundtable discussion with a group of Iraqi government and civil society leaders on November 26 on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Around the world, violence against women and girls continues to be a serious problem, and women’s rights activists remain […]
A Kinder, Gentler CBI?
By Mark DeWeaver. On October 16, Prime Minister Maliki removed the head of the central bank, Sinan al-Shabibi, accusing him of mismanagement and currency manipulation. (There’s more on this story here, here, and here.) This move was widely seen as a power grab by the prime minister and a grave threat to the CBI’s independence. […]
Weekly Security Update
By Gary Sandiford, Olive Group’s Dubai based assessments manager. Olive Group is a leading provider of security and technology solutions and has operated continuously in Iraq since 2003. 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 […]