A Daawa Militia? The Appearance of Fursan Dawlat al-Qanun
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. […]
Gulf Keystone "Worth More than $2.3 Billion"
Shares in Gulf Keystone were up nearly 8% in early trading on the London Stock Exchange, following a Sunday Times newspaper report that it looking to sell itself for up to 1.4 billion pounds ($2.3 billion). The company issued the following statement on Monday morning, saying that press estimates significantly undervalued the company: Gulf Keystone notes […]
WesternZagros Spuds Mil Qasim-1 Well
WesternZagros Resources has started drilling operations at the Mil Qasim-1 well on the Garmian Block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Mil Qasim-1 is located three kilometers to the south-east of the Company's Sarqala-1 discovery well. Mil Qasim-1 is targeting the prospective Upper Fars interval that exhibited numerous oil shows, including oil to surface in […]
New Draft Oil Law - Expert Analysis
On Sunday 28th August the Council of Ministers approved the draft oil and gas law prepared by the Ministry of Oil, considering it the only text that represent the council's view, and treating all other previous versions as invalid. Also the council decided to send the proposed draft to the parliament and request to table […]
Will they, won’t they ……. US Troops in Iraq
By Gavin Jones, Director of Iraq Business News, and Partner at consultancy firm Upper Quartile. This article was originally published on the Emerging Economics blog. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The US administration has declared again that it is “on track” […]
German Firm Builds $200m Hospital near Mosul
AKnews reports that a German company has started work on a $200 million hospital in the al-Qayara district of Nineveh, 30 km south of the provincial capital Mosul. A Nineveh health official told the agency that the 600-bed hospital will serve the surrounding area which is in "desparate need" of medical facilities. Currently, people in […]
Baghdad to Provide 360 Local Generators
Baghdad provincial council announced on Thursday that it has allocated 50 billion Iraqi dinars ($40 million) from its budget to purchase 360 electricity generators to be distributed throughout the capital in order to reduce the acute shortage of energy, noting that these generators, with the help of civil generators, will provide 2200 MW for the […]
Committee Names Most Corrupt Ministries
The electricity, trade, defense and interior ministries have been identified as the most corrupt of the country's ministries, the Integrity Committee in parliament. Iraq's Integrity Commission has announced that it has opened an investigation into corruption in the Iraqi Defense Ministry AKnews reports that the investigation relates to all of the department's dealings since 2003, […]
Polluted Waterways could End Agriculture around Sulaymaniyah
Once the farms around the city of Sulaymaniyah provided all of the fruit and vegetables locals needed. Now climate change, pollution and illegal dumping in local waterways are forcing farmers out. “We can no longer grow vegetables here, that time has come to an end,” lamented farmer Mohammed Aziz. “The water is so dirty that […]
Iraq to Increase Oil Exports to Jordan by 50%
Iraq has agreed to increase oil exports to Jordan by 50%, according to AKnews. The Iraqi Oil Ministry has signed the agreement with its Jordanian counterpart today to increase oil exports from the Baiji [Bayji, Beiji] refinery (pictured) from 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 15,000 bpd. Falah al-Ameri, director of the State Oil Marketing […]
Antonov Aircraft 'Halts Work' on Iraqi Contract
A Ukrainian-based defence manufacturer has reportedly suspended work on a contract to supply the Iraqi military with light transport planes until it receives payment for work already done under the contract. Interfax reports that state-run Antonov has a $550 million contract to supply military equipmment, including its An-32 aircraft, to Iraq, and a spokesman said […]
Did Rockets from Iraq Target Kuwaiti Port?
Three rockets were fired in the area of the Iraq-Kuwait border on Friday. Reuters quotes an Iraqi official as saying that they landed inside Iraq and were not aimed at Kuwait or the disputed Mubarak port. "The rockets targeted the (former) Bucca prison building, which is used by foreign companies," Ali al-Maliki, head of the Basra […]