Weekly Security Update for 17th August 2011
Up until Monday, the past week was turning into one of the quietest so far this year, but then a series of mass casualty attacks swept the country, leaving dozens of people dead and injured. Provincial government buildings and security force installations and patrols were the most common targets of the attacks, although civilians were […]
Oil and Security
Iraq’s oil wealth is massive, with significant economic potential for years to come. Unfortunately, development is being hampered by endemic violence and ongoing instability. However, the main reserves are not evenly distributed around the country and neither is the violence. By avoiding the violent hotspots companies can still make significant profits with minimal exposure to […]
Baker Hughes, Lukoil, Sign $160m Iraq Deal
Baker Hughes will drill 23 new wells in Iraq’s largest oil field, West Qurna 2, after signing a contract with Russia’s second largest oil company, Lukoil. Baker Hughes will use five rigs using advanced technology to drill the wells to a depth exceeding 4,000 meters, the statement said. "Drilling will begin in the fourth quarter of […]
Iraq's 'Garden of Eden' an Agricultural Disaster Waiting to Happen
According to this report from NIQASH, many believe the original Garden of Eden, as described in both the Koran and Bible, is located in Basra. Increasingly though climate change, water shortages and urban sprawl mean Basra’s farmers are coming to doubt that story. War and conflict have led to the loss of many farms and […]
Replacement Chaos in the Iraqi Parliament (II)
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. […]
Insurance in Iraq: Risk and Reward
The risks of working in or supporting the upstream oil and gas industry in Iraq are widespread and significant. From security and logistics to government bureaucracy, there are barriers to business that executives at many companies with a role to play in developing Iraq's oil and gas sector feel could be insurmountable. William Wakeham, CEO […]
Iraq May Refer Kuwait's New Port to UN
Al-Iraqiya television has reported that Iraq is threatening to take the case of Kuwait's Mubarak al-Kabir Port to the United Nations if the harbour violates its maritime rights. An Iraqi Technical Delegation, led by the government’s Advisor, Thamer al-Ghadban, reportedly arrived in Kuwait on Sunday for a 2-day official visit. Bloomberg reports that Prime Minister […]
Three Firms Considered to Transport Iraq Fuel Oil to Jordan
A Jordanian transport company said on Sunday that it won the 'technical side' of a bid to transport 10,000 tons of fuel oil from Iraq to Jordan every day, within an agreement signed between the neighbouring countrries in 2006, according to the KUNA news agency. Abdussalam Al-Theyabat, owner of the Theyabat Transport and Trading corporation, […]
Integrity Commission Investigates Sugar Deal
A member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Integrity Commission has said that southern Iraq’s Basra Integrity Commission had opened an investigation about a government’s deal to purchase 100,000 tons of sugar at above the international market price. Aliyia Nuseif told Aswat al-Iraq news agency that “the Trade Ministry had signed a contract with Zahrat al-Jibal Company […]
Bulani-Mania in Iraq
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's 'Phantom' Electricity Deal Not So Ghostly?
The latest scandal at Iraq’s ministry of electricity involves multi-billion dollar “phantom deals” with a German and Canadian company. The minister of energy has been asked to resign. But according to a report from NIQASH, the real story is not as simple as it first appears. As a long, hot summer continues to overheat the […]
Getech Clinches Further Iraq Data Deal
StockMarketWire reports that Getech has clinched a further sale of the Iraq aeromagnetic dataset, following the signing of an exclusive marketing agreement with the Geological Survey of Iraq in December. The company announced its first sale of the full aeromagnetic dataset in July, and has had now made a further sale of the same dataset […]