Foreign Staff Evacuated from Basra Gas Company
By John Lee. Shell has reportedly evacuated its foreign staff who had been working at the Basra Gas Company (BGC). BGC executives told Reuters that around 60 staff were flown out on Wednesday after workers who had been laid off staged a protest. Shell has a 44-percent stake in the $17-billion, 25-year BGC project, with […]
KRG "to Privatise Electricity Sector"
By John Lee. Kurdistan's Council of Ministers has reportedly approved a proposal from the KRG's Ministry of Electricity to privatize the Region's electricity sector. Ministry official Mohammed Ahmed told Rudaw on Wednesday: "The government and the people will both benefit from it as it will help reduce a significant amount of stolen electricity." More here. […]
GB Auto to Distribute MG Cars in Iraq
By John Lee. Egypt-based GB Auto (Ghabbour Group) has been appointed as the distributor of the Chinese-owned MG car brand in Iraq. According to Trade Arabia, the new partnership will see six MG showrooms opened across the country, in Erbil, Baghdad (on 62 St and at Baghdad Mall), Duhok, Sulaymaniyah and Basrah. Operations are expected […]
Iraq's New PM Taking Things Slow
By Renad Mansour, for Foreign Policy. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraq's New Prime Minister Is Taking Things Slow After nearly 20 years of political chaos in Baghdad, Mustafa al-Kadhimi is trying incremental reform. Despite this dire context, the new […]
Cabinet to Pay May Salaries of State Employees
Cabinet announces Eid holiday, authorises payment of May salaries of state employees The Cabinet held its regular meeting in Baghdad on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. At the start of the meeting, the Prime Minister told the Cabinet that the government is determined to overcome the security, economic and health challenges facing the […]
Iraq Reopens 2 Border Crossings with Iran
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi received a phone call from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani May 11 asking him to accelerate the procedures for reopening the border between the two countries for trade. "We are […]
PM Al-Kadhimi: Iraqi Treasury was Almost Empty
Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi: Iraq is greater than the challenges facing it Prime Minister Mustafa Al-ccalled for national unity as he outlined the difficulties facing the country, saying that Iraq is greater than the challenges facing it. In an article published on Monday, Prime Minister Al-Kadhimi said that he wanted to put before the Iraqi people, […]
COVID-19: ICRC Response in Iraq
By John Lee. The first Covid-19 case in Iraq was officially confirmed on 24 February 2020, and as figures continue to rise across the country, authorities are adopting increasingly stringent measures to avert further spread of the virus. While these important measures can help contain the outbreak, they are also creating serious additional challenges for […]
Parts of Baghdad in Full Lockdown due to COVID-19
By Al-Monitor staff. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Parts of Iraqi capital go under full lockdown after jump in virus cases Parts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, will go under a full lockdown after a jump in coronavirus cases, Iraqi Health Minister Hassan […]
Petrel Resources considers Opportunities in Iraq
By John Lee. Petrel Resources has announced that it is interested in the 'fresh opportunities' in Iraq thrown up by the turbulent oil price and political events of recent months. In a statement, the company said that its Iraqi Director, Riadh Ani, is coordinating discussions with the Ministry of Oil in Baghdad to take advantage […]
Iraq Denies Plans to Shut al-Ahdab Field
By John Lee. Iraq's oil ministry has denied a report from Bloomberg that it plans to shut down the al-Ahdab oil field in Wasit due to protests. In a statement the Ministry said the protests near the field are not related to the oil industry, but to the administration of the province. (Source: Ministry of […]
Iraq's Economy on the Precipice - Reform Needed
Iraq's economy is on the precipice - reforming the energy sector is a key part of the solution The publication of the following commentary follows a conversation between the IEA's Executive Director, Dr Fatih Birol (pictured), and Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi of Iraq, who recently took office. It examines one of the key topics of […]