Iraq to Offer Kirkuk Refinery for Bidding by End-2012
Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) will offer the construction of the Kirkuk oil refinery to international companies on a build, operate and own (BOO) basis in December 2012, according to a report from Steel Guru. The report quotes Mr Salar Ameen, deputy chairman of the National Investment Commission (NIC) as saying that "feasibility […]
Foreign Firms to Build Multi-Billion-Dollar Housing Projects in Basra
Basra will soon become the scene of multi-billion dollar construction projects to be implemented by major foreign firms, according to a statement issued by Basra Investment Commission. According to a report from Azzaman, most of these projects will be in the city of Basra, giving it more than 70,000 new, modern apartments for low-income groups, […]
Malaysia Resumes Flights to Iraq after 25 Years
Flights between Iraq and Malaysia have resumed after a gap of 25 years, with the opening of a new scheduled air service on Saturday. Alsumaria News reports that Iraqi Airways will operate a weekly return service between Baghdad International Airport and the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Iraq's Ministry of Transport said that "Iraqi Airways plans to open […]
Italian, Ukrainian, French Firms Consider Investment in Babil
Babil Investment Commission [Babylon Investment Commission] has announced that a group of Italian, Ukrainian and French companies are interested in investing in the province. The deputy chairman of the Investment Commission, Abbas al-Tai, told Alsumaria News that the companies are considering construction and industrial projects, and that "the Commission has provided all the necessary facilities to […]
200MW Power Station Opened in Missan
Iraq's Minister for Electricity, Kareem Aftan al-Jumaili, has opened a new 200MW power station in Missan province, according to a report from AKnews. The new diesel-fueled station, to the north of Amara, was built by the South Korean company STX at a reported cost of $220 million (260 billion Iraqi dinars). According to a spokesperson for […]
Spotlight on Iraq as Maliki Threatens Election
The next general election in Iraq is not due until 2014, but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned on Wednesday that he will call for early elections if the protracted negotiations over power sharing break down. If he could persuade more than half of the parliament to vote themselves out of a job and back on the […]
Iraq to Raise Gulf Crude Exports by 14% in 1H-July
Bloomberg reports that Iraq will increase its daily exports of Basrah Light crude from the Persian Gulf by 14 percent in the first half of July, compared with shipments in the previous two weeks. Eighteen cargoes are scheduled to be shipped from the al-Basrah Oil Terminal (pictured), unchanged from the second half of this month, […]
How to Dissolve the Iraqi Parliament
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 Business News. […]
Iraq’s Crude Production Hits 20-Year High
Bloomberg reports that Iraq’s crude output rose to its highest level in 20 years, as CNPC's Halfaya oilfield ramped up production. Abdel Ilah Qassem al-Amir, a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs Hussain al-Shahristani, told Bloomberg on Tuesday that output exceeded 3.07 million bpd. The Director General of the Missan Oil Company said […]
Cameron Awarded $100m Contract at Rumaila
Cameron, a leading provider of flow equipment products, systems and services to worldwide oil, gas and process industries, has been awarded a supply contract valued at about $100 million by the Rumaila Operating Organization (ROO) in Iraq. The ROO is a joint venture between the state owned South Oil Company (SOC), BP and the China […]
ABB wins $75m Order to Reinforce Transmission Grid in Iraq
ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order worth around $75 million from the Ministry of Electricity of Iraq to extend an existing transmission substation in the Southern part of the country. The 400/132 kV (kilovolt) Amara substation will connect a new 500 megawatt (MW) gas based power plant as well […]
Kurdistan Announces 5 New Power Plants
The KRG's minister of electricity, Yassen Shekh Abubakir Mawati [Yasin Sheikh Abu Bakir Muhammad Mawati] (pictured), has announced the creation of five hydro-electric and gas power plants in the region: Three hydro-electric power plants at Deraluk-Rashawa Dam, Mandawa-Kopala and Taqtaq; Two gas power plants with 200-megawatt capacity each in Qaladze and Harir. (Source: AKnews)