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Iraq Ranks 112th in World Happiness Report

By John Lee. Iraq has ranked 112th out of 158 countries in the latest World Happiness Report. The report, produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), contains analysis from leading experts in the fields of economics, neuroscience, national statistics, and describes how measurements of subjective well-being can be used effectively to assess national progress. […]

UNESCO, IJS Work Together for Press Freedom

Celebrating World Press Freedom in Baghdad, UNESCO and the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate (IJS) agreed to strengthen their cooperation to foster freedom of expression, develop the media sector and provide universal access to information and knowledge in Iraq. To this effect, IJS President Moaiyad al-Lami and UNESCO Representative to Iraq Axel Plathe (pictured) signed an agreement […]

Canada Outlines Assistance Programme

By John Lee. The Government of Canada has said it is committed to supporting Iraq in addressing the development challenges that it faces as a result of the barbaric and murderous rampage of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, ISIL, IS). To this end, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, pictured here on his […]

WesternZagros Operational and Corporate Update

WesternZagros Resources has provided an operational update for its Garmian Block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and a corporate update. Hasira-1 Well The Hasira-1 well is in the process of being suspended after conducting a cased-hole testing program in the high pressure Mio-Oligocene oil reservoir. During this test the wellbore experienced a considerable influx […]

Move to Private Sector Vital For Progress

The financial losses being made by Iraq’s state owned enterprises are “not acceptable” and the Government is pushing through new legislation to prioritise the growth of the private sector, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff told a high-level business conference in Baghdad last week. Speaking at the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) event in the […]

Dana Gas Production Up

By John Lee. As part of its Q1 2015 Report, Dana Gas has given the following update on its operations in Iraqi Kurdistan: In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Company saw its quarterly share of production (40%) in the Khor Mor Field marginally increase by 3.7% to 30,400 boepd (Q1 2014: 29,300 boepd) while […]

IWPR Iraq Director Killed in Baghdad

Ammar Al Shahbander, long-standing Chief of Mission in Iraq for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), has been killed in a car bomb attack in the busy commercial area of Karrada in Baghdad. It is believed that up to 17 people were killed in twin bomb blasts in the area. Emad al-Sharaa, also […]

Ancient Market at Heart of Modern Baghdad

By Wassim Bassem for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Souk al-Shorja is Baghdad's oldest market. It was established in the late Abbasid period about A.D. 750 and was first called Souk al-Rayahin then Souk al-Attarin. It is part of the historic area that includes […]

World Bank to Help Regions Recaptured from IS

By John Lee. The World Bank is seeking to finance development projects in areas recaptured from Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) militants, according to a report from Reuters. Regional vice president Hafez Ghanem (pictured) told the news agency he would also meet with Iraqi officials to discuss ways to help the government tackle its budget […]

EU Warns of Donor Fatigue

By John Lee. Jean-Louis de Brouwer, head of the European Union's humanitarian aid department, warned on Thursday that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating rapidly, while the world is preoccupied with crises elsewhere. He told The Associated Press that the number of displaced people in Iraq has quadrupled in the past year and shows no […]

Iraq Oil Exports Hit Record

By John Lee. Iraq's oil exports hit a record 3.08 million bpd in April, according to Reuters, up from 2.98 mln bpd in the previous month, Exports from the southern terminals reached 2.627 million bpd, while exports from the north via the Kurdistan pipeline were 450,000 bpd. At an average price of $51.70 per barrel, […]