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,’ […]
Iraq Cuts Banks’ Reserve Requirement to 15%
Iraq’s central bank has decided to cut commercial banks’ reserve requirement to 15 percent from 20 percent, in order to spur bank lending as core inflation continues to slow, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a Central Bank of Iraq official. Mudher Kasim, a senior advisor in the bank, said the central bank made the move […]
Iraq’s Oil Revenues Exceed $4bn in July
Revenue from Iraq's crude oil exports increased 3% to $4.009 billion in July, compared with $3.889 billion in June, the Iraqi oil ministry said in a statement Tuesday. It said Baghdad sold its crude oil at an average price of $71.21 a barrel in July (versus $71.10 per barrel in June). July oil revenue brought […]
Iraq Ready to Resolve Debt Dispute with Kuwait
Iraq has intensified efforts to resolve its debt problems with neighboring Kuwait, in order to end the international restrictions imposed on the country following the invasion of Kuwait two decades ago, said Iraq’s deputy foreign minister. Iraq was placed under United Nations’ Chapter 7 status in 1991 after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Speaking to AKnews, […]
Oil Production Expected to Rise 13% Next Year
Iraq expects to increase daily crude production by about 13 percent next year, an Oil Ministry official said. “We expect an increase of about 300,000 barrels per day,” Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, deputy director general at Iraq’s Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate (PCLD), said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. “This includes about 60,000 barrels per […]
Halfaya Drilling Starts in September
China's CNPC and its partners plan to start drilling new wells next month in Iraq's Halfaya oilfield as part of a plan to boost output to 70,000 barrels per day in 2011, a CNPC executive said on Tuesday, as reported by Reuters. CNPC has a 37.5 percent interest in the consortium with French oil major […]
Range Hospitality Launches 5-Star Development in Karbala
Range Hospitality, a dynamic, progressive and innovative institution focused on hospitality and real estate, has launched the Al Rawdatain Gardens development in Iraq's pilgrimage centre, Karbala, to cater to the significant shortage of accommodation. Approximately 18 million pilgrims visit Karbala during the peak seasons every year. With a current shortage of accommodation in the city, […]
Mine Advisory Group's Iraq Report, July 2010
MAG (pronounced "Mag") – Mines Advisory Group – is a neutral and impartial humanitarian organisation that clears the remnants of conflict for the benefit of communities worldwide. Summary of outputs: MAG teams released 632,966 m2 of land through a combination of electronic, hand mechanical, MDD clearance and area reduction as well as minefield cancellation; MAG […]
Rosneft Invests $630m in Crescent JV
Reuters, quoting a top Russian official, says Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft will invest $630 million in a joint project with UAE firm Crescent Petroleum to drill for gas in the Middle East. In May, Rosneft's Chairman Igor Sechin, who is also Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, said Russia was keen for projects to drill for […]