Transport Ministry wants More Money for Railway Projects
Iraq's Ministry for Transport has complained that the $60 million (7o billion Iraqi dinars) that were allocated in the 2012 budget for the development and rehabilitation of the Iraqi Republic Railways Company (IRR) are not enough. "The Ministry of Transport tries to attract investment companies in order to finance its railway projects," Ministry spokesman Jawad […]
Fluor Drops Protest against $500m KBR Contract
Fluor Corporation has dropped a protest filed last month with the Government Accountability Office challenging a $500 million award to KBR for a logistics support contract in Iraq, according to a report from Bloomberg. According to the news agency, a Fluor spokesman said the company had no comment. The contract was on hold until the […]
Gulf Keystone Seeks Algeria Buyers to Focus on Iraq
Gulf Keystone's Legal and Commercial Director, Tony Peart, said the company is seeking a buyer for its 38 percent holding in Algeria’s HBH project, in addition to selling its 20 percent interest in the Akri Bijeel block in Iraqi Kurdistan. “This is a strategic decision to sell because we want to focus on larger opportunities […]
Crude Exports Resume through Ceyhan Pipeline
Iraq has reportedly resumed crude exports through its Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline at a rate of 400,000-450,000 bpd, after a suspension of six days. Iraq’s oil exports through the main oil pipeline from Kirkuk to Ceyhan in Turkey had stopped entirely due to leakage caused by erosion, according to Aswat al-Iraq. A source at North Oil Company […]
Foreign Minister Zebari Denies Kuwaiti Bribes
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari denied allegations that he or his ministry had been bribed by Kuwait in order to settle the dispute over Kuwait's new Mubarak Port, according to a report from AKnews. Although Zebari stated that these allegations would not deserve a response, he labeled the allegations as "fabricated" and "defamatory". "The Ministry […]
Iraqi Microfinance Conference Discusses Greater Outreach to Poor
Iraq’s 12 microfinance institutions in cooperation with the USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program are holding an Inclusive Financial Services Stakeholders Conference in Erbil on October 3 and 4. The theme of this year’s microfinance event will be “Transforming Inclusive Financial Services for Increasing Outreach”. The conference will bring together leaders from 12 microfinance institutions (MFIs) […]
Sheraton Considering Hotel in Erbil
Rudaw reports that a delegation from the Sheraton hotel chain recently visited Erbil to explore the possibility of building a hotel. Omed Kayfi, head of Kurdistan Region tourism department, told Rudaw, “so far ... Marriott, Hilton and Turkish Divan brands are building hotels in Erbil ... Sheraton has also visited the Kurdistan Region to assess […]
Preventive Diplomacy in Iraq
In the following video interview, former UNAMI chief Ad Melkert (2009-2011) recounts how the United Nations supported dialogue over boundary issues and assisted Iraqi politicians to find a compromise on the electoral law that laid the ground for peaceful elections in 2009. (Source: United Nations)
Capital Bank Opens first National Bank of Iraq Branch in Erbil
As part of its expansion plans across Iraqi provinces, and in an effort to offer premium banking services and facilities to its corporate clients, Capital Bank announced the opening of its first National Bank of Iraq (NBIRQ) branch in Erbil. Through its acquisition of a controlling 72% share in the National Bank of Iraq (NBIRQ), […]
Groundstar Concludes Operations at Qara Dagh; Shares Plunge
Groundstar Resources has announces that the consortium has concluded operations at the Qara Dagh -1 exploration well; the company's shares closed down 28% on Friday. The well has been drilled to a total depth of 4,196 meters, the maximum depth possible with current casing and drilling equipment, ending in the basal section of the Upper […]
Korea's Daewoo in Iraqi Steel Talks
Azzaman reports that the Ministry of Industry and Minerals has asked South Korean firm Daewoo to rehabilitate its steel industry, which has been idle for more than three decades. Iraq had built one of the Middle East’s largest steel complexes, called the State Company for Iron and Steel, near the port of Umm Qasr, about […]
Lord Guthrie Joins Gulf Keystone
Gulf Keystone has appointed General the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, GCB LVO OBE DL, as a Non-Executive Director. Lord Charles Ronald Llewelyn Guthrie, 72, served in the British Army from 1957 to 2001. From 1997 to 2001 he was Chief of the Defence Staff and the Principal Military Adviser to two Prime Ministers and three […]