Iraq Sweetens Deal for Foreign Investors in Refineries
Iraq's parliament, in a bid to lure foreign investors to build new refineries, on Wednesday approved legal amendments to set a 5 percent discount on crude sold to refiners, according to a report from Reuters. Currently Iraq offers crude to refinery investors at a 1 percent discount to the world price, but the new discount, […]
UK Business in Kurdistan
By Chris Bowers, British Consul General in Erbil. This article was originally published by Rudaw, and is re-published with permission by Iraq Business News. Imagine a visitor who arrives at Erbil International Airport. He passes a car showroom and heads to a hotel. He flicks a switch and is pleased to see the room illuminated […]
Iraq Insurance Industry Looks to Secure its Future
“Without a change in the law, Iraq’s insurance industry is at risk of standing still”, says CEO of AAIB Insurance Brokers. AAIB Insurance Brokers, Iraq’s leading international insurance broker, together with Marsh, the world’s largest insurance broker, hosted an Insurance Conference in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, on 27 April. The event brought together over 40 […]
West Qurna Oilfield Hits 300,000 BPD
Iraq's South Oil Company said on Tuesday that productivity at the West Qurna-1 oil field increased to 300,000 barrels per day, and stressed that the productivity of the field will rise at the end of the current year to 400,000 barrels per day. ExxonMobil, which along with Shell has the contract to develop West Qurna […]
Sterling Energy - Interim Management Statement
Sterling Energy Plc has issued its Interim Management Statement for the period beginning 1 January 2011. HIGHLIGHTS Sangaw North-1 exploration well is drilling ahead at 3,760m. Production, net to Sterling from the Chinguetti field, averaged 629 bopd for the first quarter 2011 (Q1 2010: 714 bopd) Adjusted EBITDA in first quarter of $0.6 million (Q1 […]
Iraq Seeks Investment in Three Refineries
A senior official in the Iraqi Ministry of Oil said on Wednesday that investors are being invited to contribute to the development of three large Iraqi oil refineries with an overall production capacity of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to a report from Aknews. Undersecretary for refinery affairs, Ahmed al-Shammaa, told AKnews that the […]
Iraq's Kalimat May IPO Next Year
According to a report from Reuters, Iraqi telecom operator Kalimat plans to invest $250 million in 2011, and to launch an initial public offering (IPO) next year. The company's chief executive, Wilson Varghese, said the planned IPO should help the company to expand as it eyes a nationwide rollout of services by the end of […]
More Than 200 Foreign Companies in Basra Exhibition
More than 200 foreign companies participated in last weekend's 2nd Basra International Exhibition for General Trade. Most of the companies were Turkish, with others coming from Iraq and Germany. The exhibition, which was sponsored by the Governor of Basra, the Ministry of Trade and BIC, was attended by a number of the Iraqi officials, representatives […]
Mosul Bank plans merger of convenience
On April 24, the ISX website reported that Mosul Bank (BMFI) will hold a general assembly meeting on May 22 to discuss a possible merger with Union Bank (BUOI). A capital increase via a rights and bonus issue is also on the agenda. The evident objective of such a merger would be to satisfy the […]
Record Iraqi Oil Exports in March
Iraq's oil ministry has reported record oil income for the the month of March. Because of rising oil prices combined with a third consecutive month of exports in excess of two million barrels per day (bpd), Iraq exported a total of 66.9 million barrels of oil last month, generating $7.167 billion in income at an […]
FDI Report - Iraq Nearly Triples FDI Projects
Iraq Business News' media partners at fDi Intelligence, by the Financial Times, have issued their new "Global Outlook Report 2011". The report finds that foreign direct investment projects into Iraq increased by 175% in 2010, albeit from a very low base. Iraq attracted 7% of FDI into the Middle East region in 2010, up from […]
Iraq's Journalist Protection Law Needs to be Reviewed
By the Centre for Law and Democracy. A Journalist Protection Law, prepared by the Iraqi Syndicate of Journalists and endorsed by the government of Iraq, has been laid before the Iraqi Parliament for its consideration. A Note on the draft Law prepared by CLD highlights the important protections for journalists included in the draft Law. […]