Shell Planned Shut-Down at Majnoon
Shell has reportedly begun a planned three-day production shutdown at Iraq's Majnoon oilfield for upgrades and maintenance. The field, which is currently producing around 65,000 barrels per day (bpd), is expected to restart output on Wednesday, a company spokesman said. Majnoon is one of the fields awarded to international companies as part of the OPEC […]
British MPs: Kurdistan a Success Story in the Making
British MPs yesterday launched a report on their most recent fact-finding visit to the Kurdistan Region at a press conference in the UK parliament. The MPs concluded that although Kurdistan has to urgently overcome some defects, it is an inspiring success story in the making which deserves stronger support. Meg Munn, the Co-Chair of the […]
Trade Bank of Iraq "Operating Normally"
According to a report from Reuters, the new president of the Trade Bank of Iraq said on Monday that the bank is operating normally and expansion plans are moving ahead, its new president said on Monday to allay fears of correspondent banks after its former chief fled amid allegations of financial irregularities. To allay fears […]
Storm Continues over New Kuwaiti Port
Construction of a port near Iraq's coast is moving ahead as scheduled despite increasingly vocal opposition from Baghdad, government engineers said this week, according to a report in The National. Iraqis say the Mubarak al Kabeer port being built by Kuwait on Boubyan [Bubyan] Island will strangle their own shipping industry by blocking access to […]
Kuwait, Iraq Clash Intensifies Over Nuclear Project
In addition to the dispute between Iraq and Kuwait regarding the new Mubarak port in Kuwait, the two countries are also reported to be in conflict about the planned siting of nuclear reactors. Press TV reports that the head of the Kuwaiti national committee for nuclear power, Ahmad Bisharah, has said that Kuwait is planning […]
Political Shadow Remains Over Key Bank
The following article was published in the latest edition of Inside Iraqi Politics, and it is reproduced here with the publisher’s permission. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Full Text of Inside Iraqi Politics Issue No. 18 (PDF) Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s […]
Foreign Office Minister for Energy addresses Iraq Petroleum Conference
Foreign Office Minister Lord Howell said that Iraq's natural resources have the potential to help tackle the world's energy challenge when he spoke at the Iraq Petroleum Conference. Speaker: Foreign Office Minister Lord Howell Event: Iraq Petroleum Conference Location: London Ladies and Gentlemen I am delighted to be back at the Iraq petroleum conference addressing […]
Agricultural Working Group: Strategies to Reduce Poverty and Unemployment in Iraq
By Layth Mahdi, Agricultural Advisor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Iraqi agriculture production and productivity has been on a linear decline since 2003. Despite this, it remains the second-largest contributor to Iraqi GDP after oil revenues. It has the potential […]
Tourism Minister Plans to Boost Eco-Tourism
The Minister of Tourism, Liwaa Sumaisem, has announced plans to develop Iraq’s tourism sector – currently dominated by religious tourism - to include archeological and eco-tourism. He told AKnews that a law will soon be passed empowering the ministry to develop the nature reserves and visitor centers at the country’s archeological sites. The holy cities […]
Ex-Army Major admits to Taking Bribes
A former U.S. Army major has admitted that he took $250,000 in bribes from two companies that wanted contracts to supply the military with bottled water in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Westlaw Journals. Derrick L. Shoemake, aged 49, admitted accepting the bribes while serving as a contracting officer’s representative in Kuwait between October 2004 […]
Iraq May Not Use Full Oil Capacity
Iraq is planning to produce 12 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) by the year 2017, through contracts signed with the world’s largest oil and energy companies, Iraq’s Deputy Prime-Minister, in charge of Energy Affairs said on Saturday. According to Aswat al-Iraq, Hussein al-Shahristani said in a speech he delivered at the 3rd […]
Iraq to Trim Bloated Cabinet
Premier Nouri Al-Maliki announced on Sunday that the number of ministries has become a real burden on the work of the state. "This fact appeared after the 100-day period", he said in a letter sent to parliament. Al-Maliki proposed a two-stage procedure, the first of which will see 29 ministries retained. "So, as a result, […]