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)

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 […]

Ambassadorial Lunch with Michael Aron, HMA to Iraq

The Middle East Association will host a Lunch for Mr Michael Aron, HM Ambassador to Iraq, on Monday 31st October at Bury House. Michael is a career diplomat, having joined the FCO in 1984. His early work included Iran, the UK Mission to the UN, and the European Commission. He has held a number of […]

Iraq Stock Market Report

Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 29th September 2011). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,660 / $1,841, -0.4% (weekly change). The number of weekly traded shares was 4.1bn and the weekly trading volume was […]

TEDxBaghdad - Making the Impossible Possible

TEDxBaghdad will Make the Impossible Possible when it brings some of the country's - and world's - brightest minds to Baghdad's Al-Rasheed Hotel to imagine the Iraq of the future. Through a series of talks and performances by a diverse array of talent, TEDxBaghdad will inspire a new Iraqi narrative in the wake of war […]