America's New Ambassador to Iraq
America's new ambassador to Iraq, James Jeffrey, arrived in Baghdad last week and presented his diplomatic credentials to President Jalal Talabani. He replaces Christopher Hill, who retired after a 16-month stint in the post, and a 33-year career in the diplomatic service. Unlike Hill, Jeffrey already has wide experience in this part of the world, […]
Weekly Security Update for 26th Aug 2010
National Overview The total number of hostile incidents reported nationally increased for the third week in a row, seeing a significant rise in the number of recorded incidents in Baghdad and slight rises in the north and north central regions. The west and south east regions remained the same, in terms of numbers of incidents, […]
$4m of Gas Wasted Daily in Basra
A senior official at Shell said that Iraq is losing $50 dollars per second, more than $4 million a day, as a result of flaring the gas associated with oil production in the province of Basra. The company's Vice-President for the Middle East and North Africa, Mounir Bouaziz, reportedly said his company was currently awaiting […]
Banks Urge Privatisation of State Lenders
AFP reports that Iraq's privately-owned banks have called for the country's state-owned lenders to be privatised, to break up a near monopoly in lending by politicians whose actions remain stuck in the Saddam-era. Although foreign cash has flowed in since the US-led invasion of 2003, ministers still opt to use government banks to do business […]
Refinery Boss Resigns Following Threats
Dr. Ali al-Obaidi, who has been in charge of Iraq's Baiji refinery since 2007, has reportedly resigned from his position, having successfully slashed the level of theft from the facility. He had initially been installed as part of a joint U.S.-Iraqi corruption crisis team. According to Iraq Oil Report, the man credited with reducing theft […]
Basra International Oil & Gas Conference
Basra International Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition 25–28 November 2010 International Exhibition Center, Basra – IRAQ Our participants has passed 100! Why Exhibit Have a key role in rebuilding of Iraqi Oil & Gas Sector. Build a network of new and productive business contacts and establish local partnerships which is important to do business in […]
Chinese Cars, French Trucks to be Assembled in Iraq
Aswat al-Iraq reports that the Iraqi Industry Ministry has reached agreement with a Chinese producer to assemble 10,000 Chinese cars in Iraq. The ministry is also currently in negotiations with a French producer to assemble trucks in Iraq. IBN believes the truck-maker to be Renault. “This should be the first step toward establishing an automotive […]
Outsiders take fall for insiders' violations
On August 8, the Iraq Securities Commission (ISC) announced that a total of 18 companies would be suspended for failing to submit their 2009 financials. Of these, 6 had already been suspended for never having submitted 2008 financials. (See the table for a complete list of the companies.) As of August 25, only four of […]
Zeros Will Not be Removed from Iraqi Currency
There has been much speculation in recent months that the Iraqi dinar would be re-based, knocking off the last three zeros. The lastest news is that Iraq will not in fact remove the zeros from its currency, because it will not resolve inflation and will create opportunities for corruption, reports AKnews, citing a senior source […]
KBR Wins Maysan Refinery Contracts
KBR (NYSE: KBR) today announced that it has been awarded two contracts by the Republic of Iraq Ministry of Oil through the South Refineries Company. KBR will provide licensing and basic engineering services for the construction of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) and Solvent Deasphalting (SDA) units at the planned grassroots Maissan Refinery in Maissan [Maysan], […]
Kuwait Signs Oil Pact with Iraq
Kuwait has signed an agreement to share oil from cross-border fields with Iraq and is waiting for its northern neighbour to reciprocate, the emirate’s oil minister has said, according to a report from The National. The deal could help to smooth the often thorny relationship between the two countries 20 years after Saddam Hussein’s armies […]
The Next Baghdad Boom
By Jody Ray Bennett for ISN Security Watch In hopes of making good on a campaign promise just months before the November elections, President Barack Obama successfully oversaw the last of combat troops depart from Iraq just a few weeks shy of the 31 August deadline. While 50,000 soldiers will remain in Iraq as ‘advisors,’ […]