Tag Archives | Iraq

The latest news from Iraq – oil, gas, business and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News

Iraq Shaping New Oil Production Plans

By Simon Kent. Iraq is developing a new strategy for its southern oil fields in relation to the ongoing Common Sea Water Supply Facility project, which opened bidding for completion last year. ExxonMobil and PetroChina were approached to invest in the critical strategic water injection project, which has been long delayed. In a statement to Reuters, […]

Abadi Thanks British Role in Ramadi Fight

By Simon Kent. Iraqi PM Haider al Abadi (pictured) has thanked the role that the British Royal Air Force played in supporting Iraqi troops during the battle of Ramadi. Iraq's western city of almost half a million people fell to ISIS, also known as Daesh, in May this year. The defeat for Iraqi forces was a […]

Assessing the War on ISIS

By Mona Alami for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Islamic State’s control over large swaths of land in Iraq and Syria is slowly diminishing, as it is being aggressively pummeled by local and international forces, such as Kurdish and Iraqi […]

Iraq May Reopen the Yanbu Pipeline

By Simon Kent. Following the news earlier this month that Saudi Arabia is reopening their embassy in Baghdad, an un-named official in Iraq's Ministry of Oil has suggested there may be a plan to reopen the Yanbu pipeline from Iraq to Saudi Arabia. Speaking to Baghdad paper Al Sabah, the official said that Iraq was […]

Oil, Rail Expansion Dominate China Talks

By Simon Kent. Iraqi PM Haider al Abadi recently met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss high level strategic projects for both countries to cooperate on. The major discussions focused on a plan for Iraq's State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) and Chinese state run refiner Sinopec to coordinate the shipment, refining and marketing of […]

Kurdish Regional Government Fights Reform Battle

By Simon Kent. The Kurdish Regional Government has announced a plan to implement a series of economic reforms in the face of a growing recession. Currently, the region has debt of up to $18 billion, a crisis made far worse by expenditures in the war against ISIS, the collapse in oil prices and a bloated […]

Baghdad Christmas Celebrations Have Deeper Meaning

By Simon Kent. Christmas has been celebrated in Baghdad for centuries, but over time the small Christian minority has been dwindling at an alarming rate, especially since they have been singled out by ISIS. There are now thought to be only half a million Christians left in Iraq, out of a population that was once […]

Foreign Minister Jafaari Visits Kuwait

By Simon Kent. Iraqi Foreign Minister and former PM Ibrahim al Jafaari (pictured) is on an official visit to Kuwait, and has heralded improving relations between the two countries. In a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah al Khaled, Jafaari noted increasing bilateral trade and a planned scheme where Iraq will supply gas to Kuwait. He […]

US General: "Conventional" War Can Defeat ISIS

By Simon Kent. US General Sean McFarland, remembered by historians of the Iraq war for stabilizing the restive town of Tal Afar, has returned to lead the mission against ISIS in Iraq. In an interview with the BBC, the general explained how ISIS were a different enemy to their predecessors that the US faced in […]

WesternZagros Reviews Financing

By Simon Kent. WesternZagros Resources has announced that an agreement has been reached with its major shareholder, Crest Energy International to defer the latest first drawdown notice date under the first tranche of its US$200 million unsecured credit facility from the original date of January 1, 2016 to May 1, 2016. The Company felt it […]

Baghdad Hails First Miss Iraq Since 1972

By Simon Kent. For the first time since 1972, Baghdad has held its first beauty pageant for the title of "Miss Iraq." The winner, Shaymaa Abdelrahman, a 20 year old from the contested city of Kirkuk, said that she would use her new found public profile to launch education initiatives for children displaced by fighting in […]

China, Iraq, Plan Historic Oil Cooperation

By Simon Kent. There is growing speculation over a planned energy initiative between Iraq and China, with both Iraqi PM Haider al Abadi and oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi travelling to China for "deep discussions" on the proposal. According to The Wall Street Journal, Unipec, the trading branch of Chinese state refiner Sinopec, will be working with […]