BP President of Iraq on Progress of Rumaila Development

22 June 2010 (Source: PressReleaseNetwork.com) For the first time in more than three decades, two oil and gas exploration license bidding rounds took place in Iraq in 2009. The first round saw a consortium consisting of the UK's BP and China's CNPC spearheading IOC activities as they won the first 20 year service contract to […]

Iraq’s Oil Sales Reach $4.3bn in May

(Source: Aswat al Iraq) Iraq’s oil sales in May registered $4.3 billion, through exporting 58.7 million barrels at a price of $73.8 per barrel, the oil ministry said on Monday, according to a report from Aswat al-Iraq news agency. Iraq’s oil sales last April registered 53 million barrels, valued at $4.2bn, at an average price […]

Is Iraq Reverting to Square One?

By Tariq Abdell, Founder & Chairman, Mesopotamia Insight. Iraq's recent upsurge of violence, fueled by political impasse and regional geopolitics - Notably Iran's Mullacracy suicidal ambitions, could easily undermine its fragile democracy and, thus, plunging the country into a vicious downward spiral. The ongoing ignominious political ploys are creating a toxic environment compelling the majority […]

The plateau: How to cope with prolonged insecurity in Iraq

For those who have followed Iraqi security on a daily basis since 2003, if not before, the current security situation in Iraq is nothing short of a miracle. In the dark days of 2006, the daily listing of violent incidents was 150 or 200-long, and we all knew that much of the sectarian cleansing was […]

Oil Firms ‘plough ahead’ and Ignore Politics to Invest in Iraq’s South

Rumaila, the workhorse of Iraq’s oil industry and its largest producing oilfield, is buzzing with activity as executives, engineers and drillers begin a massive overhaul to nearly triple its million barrels per day output.At the airport in Basra, capital of southern Iraq, officials struggle to process the unprecedented numbers arriving to join the country’s nascent […]

Iraq Using Alternative Energy Sources to Boost Production

It is interesting to see Iraq is also using alternative energy sources in its goal of boosting production, although Cleary production from such sources is dwarfed by output from the oil sector. As the UN United Nations Environment Programme reported last year, investment in various types of sustainable energy, including solar power, continues to grow, […]

Skype Sees Growth In Middle East

Internet calling service Skype Ltd. said Tuesday that it continues to see growth opportunities in the Middle East despite being banned in parts of the area and is optimistic about the company's growth potential in Asia. "There are a couple of governments that officially banned Skype...but what we see in most of the developing world […]

Water Management Project Starts in Karbala

The Iraqi Water Resources Ministry  began work on Tuesday to implement a water management project in Karbala province. “The project is to be executed by the ministry’s staff,” the ministry said in a release as received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. It said that the project is funded by Iraq with ID5 billion, but executed […]