The latest news from Baghdad – security updates, business, construction projects and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By John Lee. The Italian Industry Ministry has issued a letter to refineries and traders, warning of legal action that may be taken by Iraq's State Oil Marketing Company in the event of purchasing oil from the Kurdish region. At the time of writing, the cargo vessel United Leadership was moored in the Mediterranean, laden with […]
By John Lee. Michael Knights, a Fellow at the Washington Institute of Near East Policy, has spoken to the Anadolu news agency about problems and opportunities with Iraq's energy sector. In the piece, entitled Iraq Potentially Turkey's Biggest Energy Supplier, Knights discusses the lack of institutional and human capacity which has hindered some of Iraq's more ambitious […]
By John Lee. Al Shorfa has reported an announcement by the provincial governor of Baghdad Riyadh al-Adhadh that infrastructure projects worth 200 billion dinars ($172 million) will be launched shortly in the towns surrounding Baghdad. While the provincial governor announced the news, it is notable that Baghdad's controversial mayor Naim Abub al-Kaabi has come under fire in […]
By John Lee. Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz (pictured) has hinted that his country will not sell oil from the port of Ceyhan until there has been an agreement between Baghdad and Erbil. Minister Yildiz noted that the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TPAO) does not currently need to move the Iraqi oil in storage, although the […]
By John Lee The BBC's Kevin Conolly has published an illuminating piece about the mentality of Baghdad residents who live day to day with the risk of violence. Citing what others have compared to the "blitz spirit" of Londoners during the German air raids in WW2, Conolly describes life in and around Baghdad's famous Mutanabbi […]
By John Lee. Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz (pictured) has announced that Turkey is ready to market oil from the Kurdish region, currently stored at the port of Ceyhan. Beginning May 2nd, Turkey will market some 1.5 million barrels of oil from storage tanks (which are nearing full capacity) and minister Yildiz said this would […]
This article was originally published by Niqash. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. As a province, Baghdad has the biggest population and therefore gets the biggest share of representative seats in Iraq’s Parliament. And unlike in other provinces, the population is far from […]
By John Lee. On 20th March, 2014, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani announced a KRG goodwill initiative to make a contribution to Iraq oil export to give the ongoing negotiations with Baghdad the maximum chance of success. The Prime Minister stated that the contribution to oil export from the KRG would be 100,000 barrels per day, […]
By John Lee. The delay in adopting Iraq's federal budget, in large part due to the dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government over oil exports and revenues, has reduced banking activity in the KRG by up to 25%, according to Adham Karim Darwesh. Darwesh, the manager of the Erbil branch of the Central Bank […]
By John Lee. A couple of fashion stories went largely undetected this week as Baghdad held no less than 2 fashion events showcasing homegrown designer talent. The first was held at the Palestine Hotel and was a cat walk show featuring pret a porter dresses from Iraqi designer Mona Sultan. For those unacquainted with fashion terminology (like this […]
By John Lee. Baghdad governor Ali al-Tamimi has announced the completion of a plan for 1500 new housing units in the Baghdad governorate. The moves comes as the Iraqi government recently announced it would be falling short of its target of 2.5 million new housing units to meet demand. Housing and Construction minister Mohammed al-Darraji […]
By John Lee. China's Dongfang Electric Corp. has completed the first of 10 high speed, desert modified diesel trains at a ceremony attended by Iraq's ambassador to China, Railway Gazette reports. The trains were ordered in 2012, a year after Iraq announced plans for a Basra to Baghdad high speed rail route, an initiative that does not […]
