Zhenhua Backs Out of Iraq Venture; PPL to Proceed Alone
The Chinese firm Zhenhua has decided not to partner with Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) in a bid for an exploration block in Iraq due to security issues, the Express Tribune reports. "The News", however, reports that Zhenhua walked out on the deal because a re-drawing of the boundary of the Bloc-9 meant "the opportunity became […]
Wheat Prices Surge on Iraq Purchases
Wheat prices surged on Wednesday after Iraq said it bought 400,000 metric tons from the U.S., Australia, Russia, Romania and Kazakhstan. The contracts are for delivery in July and August, a spokesman for the grain board told Bloomberg. (Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)
Weekly Security Update for 17th May 2012
Levels of violence fell slightly in Iraq last week. At least 27 people were killed and 73 injured in nationwide incidents. A total of 19 non-suicide bomb attacks left 16 people dead and 55 injured. This constitutes a lower than normal figure for the country, although the decline is likely to be temporary. Two further […]
Investment Commission Website Hijacked
It might not seem so important in a country faced with such major post-conflict challenges, but getting the basics of communication right should be a necessary function of any government department or state agency. A key element of communication has to be the website, but it is remarkable how many Iraqi government websites are out […]
South Korea’s Hanwah to Sign $7bn Iraq Housing Project
Sami al-Araji, chairman of Iraq’s National Investment Commission (NIC), has told Bloomberg that Iraq will soon sign a $7 billion agreement with South Korea’s Hanwha Engineering & Construction Corporation [Hanwah] to build 100,000 housing units in the country. The commission is also due to sign a contract with the UAE-based Bloom Properties to build 40,000 […]
Iran Khodro to Make 30,000 Cars in Iraq This Year
Bloomberg reports that Iran Khodro, the country’s largest carmaker, plans to manufacture 30,000 cars at its production site in Iraq this year. The company is delivering components to the plant for assembly, mostly for the Samand sedan model (pictured). Operations at the plant, which has received investment from a local partner, started in 2011, the […]
Gazprom to Start Pumping from Badrah early-2013
Russia’s Gazprom Neft is expecting to start exporting from its East Badrah oil field in Wasit [Wassit] province early next year, according to AKnews. Alexander V Kolomatsky, Project director for the Middle East at Gazprom, said the company had initially planned to reach the 15,000 bpd level by the last quarter of 2013 because the […]
Mosul Uni Links Up with Northern Irish Bioscience Institute
The University of Mosul has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Northern Ireland's Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) to increase collaboration and student exchange in areas such as food sciences. AFBI provides expert diagnostic and analytical testing services to the Northern Ireland agri-food industry, and to clients abroad, and the Belfast Telegraph reports that […]
Tehran, Baghdad to Resume Talks on Joint Oil Projects
Iran and Iraq will start new round of talks in Tehran on 26th May on issues such as developing the Sohrab joint oilfield and establishing a joint oil company, Iran's Mehr News Agency reports. The managing director of the National Iranian Central Oilfields Company, Mehdi Fakour, said that eight drilling rigs are currently in operation […]
Hashemi Trial Begins amid Signs the Iraqi Constitution Is Dying
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. […]
Hill International Wins $3.3m Stadium Contract
Hill International, the global leader in managing construction risk, announced on Monday that it has been awarded a contract by the Iraq Ministry of Youth and Sports to provide project management services in connection with construction of the new Al Risafa Sports Stadium in Baghdad, Iraq. The three-year contract has an estimated value to Hill […]
Iraq to Import Electricity from UAE
Iraq is to import 250 megawatts of electricity from the United Arab Emirates in a bid to alleviate the country's electricity shortage. Electricity Ministry Spokesperson, Musaab al-Mudarres, said the power will be supplied by UAE's Oilfield Services at a price of 7.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. According to the report from Aknews, the spokesman added that […]