Managing a Crisis
Crisis management When it was announced that the Arab League summit would take place in Baghdad, many leaders expressed concerns for the safety of the event. Now, several months later, the tables have turned in the Middle East, and some of those leaders are facing a much more hazardous situation at home. It has been […]
Weekly Security Update for 26th March 2011
Overview Levels of violence crept up once again in Iraq last week. What is of concern is that this violence was attributed almost entirely to terrorists and militants, whereas recent weeks saw an increase in violence related to civil unrest. Protests subsided (to a degree) last week but more hostile elements, capable of inflicting far […]
Are Iraqi banks a buy?
On March 11, Rabee Securities came out with the first-ever sector report on ISX-listed companies. The report, which could be thought of as something of a milestone for the Iraqi market, is on the banks—the most heavily weighted sector in terms of both trading volume and market cap. For me the main takeaway was that […]
Eni Interested in Investing in Nassiriyah Oilfield
Italy’s energy giant Eni is still interested in investing in the Nassiriya oilfield, Italy's ambassador to Iraq has said. Ambassador Gerardo Caranti was visiting Iraq to evaluate the progress of several projects and to study future suggestions. "We have several projects in Iraq at a cost of more than $2 billion," he told Aswat al-Iraq […]
Bulgarian Companies Check Out Wassit
The chairman of the Wassit Investment Commission said that a number of Bulgarian companies visited the governorate on Thursday to discuss investment opportunities. Sadeq Howeidi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Friday that the delegation discussed agriculture and industrial sectors, and signed a memorandum of understanding with the province relating to the medial sector. They […]
Agriculture Business Best Handled by Private Sector
By Ronald P Verdonk, Agricultural Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. At this point in late March/early April, Iraq would benefit from additional moisture in order for its winter wheat to fill out and further develop. Already, given the regional drop in precipitation through the growing season compared to a year ago, irrigation supplies […]
Iraq Nominates ex-Minister as FAO Director-General
Iraq has officially nominated its former Minister for Water Resources, Abdul-Latif Jamal Rashid (pictured), for the post of the Director-General of the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Saudi-based al-Sharq al-Awsat (Middle-East) Newspaper reported on Wednesday. The newspaper quoted Rashid as saying that his nomination for the post had been addressed in an official […]
Iraq's Ambitious Plan to Boost Oil Output
The Iraqi oil minister said his office is planning to raise oil production volume to 6.5 million barrels per day (bpd) over the next four years. Abdul-Kareem Lueibi [Luaibi, Elaibi] told a press conference that the ministry expects to raise the volume to 2.75m bpd in 2011, 3.3m in 2012, 4.5m in 2013, and 6.5 […]
$6.25 Billion to Build 50 New Power Plants
Iraq plans to sign power plant contracts valued at $6.25bn [7.3 trillion Iraqi dinars] next week with Caterpillar and other companies, according to Arabian Business. Caterpillar, Man SE of Germany and at least one South Korean company will build 50 new power stations, each capable of generating 100 megawatts, Electricity Minister Raad Shallal said on […]
Sterling Energy Update on Drilling at Sangaw
Sterling Energy (AIM: SEY) has provided an update this morning for the Sterling-operated Sangaw North block in Kurdistan (53.33% working interest). Sangaw North #1 Well The side-tracked wellbore of Sangaw North #1 well has been drilled to a depth of 3,360 metres, into the top of the Jurassic formations and at a depth above where […]
Gulf Keystone's Bekhme-1 Exploration Well has Spudded
Gulf Keystone has announced that the Bekhme-1 Exploration Well has spudded on the Akri-Bijeel block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Monday, 21st March 2011. Bekhme-1 is the second exploration well to be drilled on the Akri-Bijeel block, 20 km to the north-east from the Bijell‑1 discovery well (Operator's P50 estimate of 2.4 billion barrels […]
Iraq – Knowledge is Power!
At Iraq Business News, we realise how important it is for our readers to have access to the best possible information on Iraq and the industries that operate there. So to keep you informed, in addition to our website and weekly newsletter, we have put together a selection of the best Iraq-related business reports, some […]