Genel Energy in talks on Iraq Oilfield

Genel Energy, the oil and gas company headed by Tony Hayward (pictured), the former BP chief executive, has confirmed that it is in talks about a deal that would expand its presence in Iraq's energy industry. The company issued the following statement on Wednesday: "Genel Energy plc notes the press speculation with regard to the […]

Gulf States Support Kuwait on Mubarak Port

The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council said they support Kuwait in its dispute with Baghdad over the construction of the Mubarak port. The leaders declared at the conclusion of their regular summit in Riyadh that Mubarak port will ve established on Kuwaiti land and within its territorial waters as per the borders drawn by […]

Weekly Security Update for 21st December 2011

Levels of violence fell in Iraq over the past week, with attacks concentrated in Mosul, Baghdad and Kirkuk. There was a scattering of incidents throughout the central provinces and a notable bombing attack on oil and gas infrastructure in Basrah province. Bomb attacks left at least 15 people dead and 77 injured, a decline from […]

Baker Hughes Wins $640m Iraqi Drilling Deal

Baker Hughes (BHI) has secured a $640 million contract to drill 60 wells at Iraq's southern Zubair oil field, according to a report from Dow Jones. Iraqi government spokesman Ali Al Dabbagh reportedly said on Tuesday that the Iraqi government and the consortium led by Italy's Eni had awarded the contract to an unnamed U.S. […]

GKP's Shaikan-6 Appraisal Well Spuds

Gulf Keystone has announced that the Shaikan-6 appraisal well has spudded on the Shaikan block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on 16th December 2011. Shaikan-6 is the fourth deep appraisal well to be drilled on the Company's major oil discovery with independently audited gross oil-in-place volumes of between 8 billion barrels and 13.4 billion […]

Flydubai adds two new Iraqi routes

Flydubai has added two additional Iraqi destinations to its network with flights to Baghdad and Najaf due to start in the New Year. The new routes bring flydubai's network to 48 destinations across 27 countries in the Gulf, Middle East, Africa, Indian Sub-Continent, Asia and the fringes of Europe. Flydubai launched services to Iraq in […]

Dutch Govt Posts First Diplomat to Kurdistan

The Netherlands’ Deputy Head of Mission to Iraq, Mr Lars Tummers, today announced that the Dutch government has decided to station a diplomat in the Kurdistan Region. In his meeting with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Head of Foreign Relations Minister Falah Mustafa, Deputy Tummers said that the Dutch Foreign Ministry has decided to upgrade its […]

The Hashemi Arrest Warrant

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 Opportunity: Food Testing Labs

Iraq's National Investment Commission (NIC) has announced an investment opportunity to establish new Foodstuff Testing Laboratories at the border crossing points. The labs will control all foodstuffs entering Iraq, and should be constructed according to special specifications that ensure the safe storage of all kinds of foodstuffs. They will be constructed according to investment law […]

Iraq December Oil Exports up 1.9%

Iraq increased its oil exports 1.9 percent in December to an average of 2.175 million barrels a day, according to a report from Bloomberg. The country may export at an average 2.6 million barrels a day next year, Falah Al-Amri, director of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), said in an interview. Iraq exported 2.135 […]

China's CMEC Wins $1.2bn Power Project

China Machinery Engineering Corp (CMEC) signed a $1.19 billion contract to build a 1,260-megawatt power station in Iraq, according to Gulf News. The Beijing-based company will install the natural-gas-fired plant in the Salahuddin governorate north of the Iraqi capital within 45 months, Mussab Serri, an Electricity Ministry spokesman, said in an interview during the signing ceremony […]