Iraq Welcomes Chinese
Iraq is keen to see China play a bigger role in the reconstruction of the war-torn country, the country's top envoy to Beijing has said. "After 2003, China has supported us very much and reduced Iraqi debts by 80 percent, which is greatly appreciated," Iraqi Ambassador Mohammad Sabir Ismail told China Daily in an interview […]
No Time Fixed for Dinar Rebase
The Central Bank of Iraq is planning to rebase the Iraqi dinar but hasn't decided yet on the timing of the move, the bank said in a statement Monday. "The Central Bank affirms its commitment to its strategic projects, particularly knocking three zeroes from the Iraqi dinar," the statement said. "Despite the technical and logistical […]
2007 Final Account of Iraqi Government Released
The Board of Supreme Audit on Monday said it has released the final account of the Iraqi government for the year 2007 after all amendments had been made to it. “Amendment have been made to the remarks and notes with regards to budget revenues and an accumulated surplus of 52.6 trillion Iraqi dinars…,” according to […]
Gulf Keystone Placing Raises £16m
Gulf Keystone Petroleum on Monday raised £16m in a stopgap share placing to fund drilling costs in Iraq after the default of its partner in Iraq last week writes Miles Johnson in the Financial Times. Gulf Keystone said last week it would have to pay $40m to the Kurdistan government within three months after the […]
New Super-Port and Rail Link to Rival Suez Canal
Reuters reports that Iraq will next month invite foreign firms to submit bids for the planned construction of a $6 billion port south of Basra, which together with a new rail system will create a regional transport conduit to rival the Suez Canal. Iraq is also seeking investors to build 8,000 km (4,970 miles) of […]
International Companies in New Housing Projects
As the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works said it will “will allocate land for building residential units at a nominal price”, new housing projects have just been announced in several Iraqi cities, helping to satisfy the huge demand for new accommodation in the country. A contract has been signed with a British firm to […]
Consultants Sought for UNDP Project
UNDP Iraq is seeking the services of an experienced and reputable international consultant company to provide the required services for the development of an integrated water and sanitation master plan. The project will also include strengthening relevant human resources capacity in relevant fields (development and updating of the water and sanitation master plan). The documents […]
Two Turkish Ships to Supply Basra with 250 Megawatts of Electricity
A Turkish barge for electricity generation is scheduled to arrive on Monday in the port of Basra, and will supply power to the national grid. The Minister of Electricity Karim Wahid said in an interview that the barge will be installed at the port of Umm Qasr, while a second barge will arrive on 15th […]
MOL Makes Discovery in Akri-Bijeel Block in Kurdistan
Hungarian oil and gas group MOL has made a discovery in Akri-Bijeel Block in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The testing results are promising, it said in a statement on 10 March, Portfolio Hungary reported. According to the official announcement: “Gulf Keystone is pleased to announce that Kalegran Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of MOL Hungarian Oil […]
Is Iraq returning to its secular roots
What I see as a good sign emerging from the latest elections is the fact that Iraqis are seriously thinking of national interests. This is what counts regardless of who wins.
Election Watch – Partial Results from All Constituencies
The BBC reports that partial results are now in from all 18 provinces, and Nouri al-Maliki has strengthened his lead over main rival Iyad Allawi. His State of Law coalition is leading in seven provinces, including Baghdad and Basra. Baghdad is the largest constituency, with 70 seats from the total of 325. The Iraqi National […]
Upper Quartile to run Oil and Gas Trade Mission to Basra and Baghdad
The current infrastructure and the services sectors are unable to respond to the immediate requirements of lifting production to circa 12 million barrels of oil a day and the systematic dismantling of the private sector leaves no prospect of increasing capacity quickly.