By Simon Kent. Shi'a cleric Moqtada al Sadr has again challenged the media image of himself as a radical "firebrand" by demanding the release of the 17 Turkish construction workers kidnapped in early September. The cleric has long had a reputation for violent anti government, anti-western and sectarian politics, after running the militias the Jaish […]
By Simon Kent. The director of licensing at Iraq's Ministry of Oil, Abdul Mahdy Al-Ameedi, has written a letter to IOCs asking them for conservative spending plans for 2016 in light of the ongoing oil price rout. The low oil prices seen since last year have limited Iraq's ability to pay companies to meet production […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq is planning a 26% rise in exports of Basra Light and Basra Heavy grades of oil, according to data seen by Bloomberg. The targets are 55 cargoes of Basra Light and 26 cargoes of Basra Heavy respectively. This would mean an increase from 90.5 million barrels exported in September, up to 114 […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's Ministry of Migration has announced that without a surge in extra funding, the country will struggle to accommodate and provide for over 1.5 million Syrian refugees and Iraqi "internally displaced people" (IDPs) both within Iraq and the Kurdish autonomous north. Iraq's refugees are divided with the Kurdish region hosting about 46% […]
By Simon Kent. Kurdish Peshmerga forces have secured 10 villages around the town of Daquq, located not far from the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. In the operation--supported by Coalition aircraft--the forces lost 13 men to enemy action, including roadside bombs and "explosive rigged cars." It is another sign that, when supported by air strikes, […]
By Simon Kent. Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has announced the appointment of an Ambassador and the forthcoming opening of a Qatari embassy in Baghdad. It is a sign of thawing relations between the GCC nation and Iraq, which deteriorated after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. Relations did not significantly improve after 2003, […]
By Robert Tollast. Iran will be supplying an extra 10 million cubic metres of gas per day to Iraq under a modification of a deal that originally allowed for 25 million cubic metres per day. This is a continuation of a deal in 2013 where Iran would supply gas to Iraqi power plants, Tasnim news agency reports. […]
By Robert Tollast. A militia group calling itself "Firqat al Mawt" or "Death Division" has released a video (still shown above) of 18 Turkish construction workers who were kidnapped from their living quarters near Sadr City. The men were in Iraq working on the construction of a football stadium, in an area with high unemployment and […]
By Simon Kent. Two days after the beginning of Iraq's entry into the Eurobond market, in which the country hopes to raise up to $6 billion, Iraq has announced it is seeking a $500 million loan from the Jeddah based Islamic Development Bank (IDB.) However, according to a source in the Iraqi govt. the sum […]
By Simon Kent. G4S Risk Management has announced that it has won a new contract to provide security services to Basra Gas Company (BGC) for three years commencing January 2016 with a total contract value of $187 million. The exercise of a two-year extension option would bring the total value to $270 million. BGC operates […]
By Simon Kent. The US Department of Defence has announced that a further 18 air strikes have hit ISIS in Iraq in the past 24 hrs. While it is hard to assess the significance of the recent strikes in the wider campaign, a couple of the announced aerial attacks stand out, possibly indicative of the […]
By Simon Kent. Business intelligence and market survey company Reportbuyer have released an overview of Iraq's growing healthcare sector, focusing on surgical procedures and related appliances. The report profiles the major industry players involved in Iraq's health sector, noting, "Despite experiencing frequent insurgency attacks and unrest, Iraq is emerging as an economic player and a regional powerhouse. […]
