Afren Jumps on Kurdistan Oil Find

Shares in Afren jumped more than 10% in early trading, before falling back slightly, following the company's announcement that the high impact Simrit-2 exploration well, located on the Ain Sifni PSC in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has discovered a significant oil accumulation based on the results of drilling, wireline logs and sidewall core sampling. […]

Iraq On Target for Record Oil Exports in April

Reuters reports that Iraq's oil exports from its southern ports have jumped by 190,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April, indicating that shipments are heading for another post-war record. Exports from the al-Basra oil terminal (ABOT), Khor al-Amaya, and the new single-point mooring (SPM) on the Gulf have averaged a combined 2.11 million bpd in […]

Bell Helicopters Wins $15m Contract in Iraq

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), was awarded a contract by US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Alabama for the procurement of contractor logistics support for 30 Bell 407 helicopters in service with the Iraqi Army. The award valued at more than $15 million allows Bell Helicopter to provide logistics support of 24 Bell […]

UAE to Provide Floating Power Plants in Basra

Iraq has signed a contract to buy 250 megawatts of electricity from UAE's Oilfield Services. Under the two-year deal, the company will provide two power plants docked on ships in Basra. The ships are expected to reach the port within a few weeks, and the plants will be connected to the grid by 31st July, […]

Sweden to Open Trade Offices in Kurdistan

AKnews reports that Sweden is planning to open trade offices in Erbil, as well as an institute to help Iraqis address unemployment, in an attempt to broaden trade relations with both the region and Iraq. The announcement came in a press conference for the Swedish Trade Minister Eva Björling who is in Erbil on a visit. […]

Iraq to Order Eight Cargo Vessels

Iraq will offer contracts for the construction of eight cargo ships over the next four years in an effort to expand its fleet, reports Bloomberg. The government also expects to take delivery of a $14 million cargo vessel in the next two weeks. The vessel, built by the Avic Dingheng Shipbuilding Company of China, is […]

As Paul Bremmer Wanted Them To Be

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. […]

Dunia Weekly Iraq Market Tracker

Advertising Feature Iraq Business News is delighted to bring you the latest Iraq Market Tracker report from Dunia Frontier Consultants. The market tracker highlights the activities and market performance of a basket of publicly traded firms who derive a significant percentage of their revenues from operations in Iraq, but are traded on foreign exchanges: a […]

Iraq Violence in the First Quarter of 2012

AKE has analysed violence taking place in Iraq over the first quarter of 2012 (January – March). At least 724 people were killed over the period, although the true figure is likely to be higher, given that AKE figures are collated on a ‘spot’ basis, i.e. they are taken within 24 hours of a violent […]

New Iraqi Oil Prices for May

Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) has adjusted its official selling prices for its Basra Light and Kirkuk crude grades for May. In common with some other countries, Iraq’s oil is priced relative to regional benchmark prices: For shipments to US, contracts are priced are relative to the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI); Shipments to […]

Iraq Launches New State-Owned Islamic Bank

Iraq's Cabinet has approved the establishment of a first state-owned Islamic bank in the country, said Mudher Saleh, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iraq. This will bring to 12 the number of Islamic banks in Iraq. Two of the country's six state-owned banks, Rafidain Bank and Rasheed Bank, opened Islamic banking units earlier […]