Iraq and Kuwait to Share Border Oilfields
Kuwait and Iraq have reached an initial agreement on sharing border oilfields, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Abdullah al-Sabah said on Wednesday, according to a report from Reuters. 'They [the two countries] have agreed in principle. We have signed it from Kuwait's side. They [Iraq] will be signing it maybe this week or next week,' […]
DNO Raises Funds, Directors Buy Shares
DNO International ASA, the first foreign company to pump oil in Iraq since the 1970s, has raised 360 million Norwegian kroner ($60 million) to fund exploration drilling and license acquisitions. DNO sold 45 million shares at 8 kroner each, a 5.8 percent discount from the previous closing price. The offering was oversubscribed, the company said. […]
Iraq Boycotts Nobel Prize Ceremony
Iraq is among the countries reportedly boycotting the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. A Nobel official said that China has been putting unprecedented pressure on a number of countries to stay away from the prize-giving ceremony. This year's prize has been won by Liu Xiaobo, who is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for […]
Iraqi Trade Ministry Introduces Income-based Rationing
The Iraqi trade Ministry has announced that the ration card, known as the Public Distribution System, will now operate on a sliding-scale dependent on a citizen’s income. Walid al-Helo told AKnews that the ministry is trying to combat poverty in Iraq by expanding the scope of the system despite international pressure on the country to […]
Heritage Oil Gains on Kurdistan Update
Shares in Heritage Oil Plc (LSE: HOIL), the independent upstream exploration and production company with operation in Iraqi Kurdistan, were up more than 5% this morning after the company issued an Interim Management Statement for the periond July 2010 to 17 November 2010. Highlights The Miran West-2 well, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has […]
Weekly Security Update for 18th Nov 2010
Overview Security measures are currently heightened in Iraq for 'Eid ul-Adha, and this will likely remain the case until the weekend. Checkpoint searches will be tighter while many official offices will be closed. Public discussions on the government-formation process will also be interrupted until 21 November. Despite the increased security measures, however, militants will still […]
The Biggest Increase in Oil Capacity in History
The balance of risk and reward for investing in Iraq's vast oil reserves is changing, according to a report by Turner Investments. The report, called Oil in Iraq: A Profitable Gamble? considers safety risk for oil company employees and their families, risks to operations from bombs and landmines, and political risks ranging from a line of […]
Optimism Despite Iraq's New Government
National Alliance MP Hadi Al Amiri is holding the media responsible for creating tension over the government formation talks. I think that Iraq's politicians managed that well enough without us. The distrust continues, with Ayad Allawi, former prime minister, whose Iraqiya bloc won the most votes in the March elections now saying that the result […]
Investment in Kurdistan Tops $13bn
Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Barham Salih, visited major investment projects that are underway in Sulaymaniyah, the most populous city in the region. At a foundation stone-laying ceremony for Majidi Mall, a major retail building project, prime minister Salih said that direct investment in the Kurdistan Region has surpassed US$13bn. Investment won't stop there: […]
$10m Tourist Resort in Iraq
A tourist resort has been opened this week in central Amara, 150km north of Basra, at a cost of more than 12 billion dinars, reports Aswat al-Iraq. It is part of a 2007 plan to construct a tourist town in the southern city, which is better known for its marshes and Mesopotamian sites. “Adan tourist resort […]
Trade with Turkey Triples
Committees don't just sit around in Iraq. On 19th October the Iraqi government created a committee to increase business and economic relations with Turkey. Now, a member of the committee has said that the two countries are going to increase commercial exchange up to $12bn in 2011, reports AKNews. This is a more than three-fold increase on previous […]
Australia supports Iraq WTO membership
An Iraqi ministry has said that Australia supports its quest for World Trade Organisation membership, according to NINA. WTO membership will significantly boost investment in Iraq as well as increasing its access to goods and services due to fewer restrictions from WTO member countries. WTO membership takes almost as long to attain as agreement at a UN […]