The latest news from Iraq – oil, gas, business and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By John Lee. Fox News have reported that the former commander of US forces in Iraq, General Lloyd Austin (pictured, far right) has met with Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad. The two men were discussing the changing nature of US-Iraq security cooperation in the face of the ongoing offensive of the Islamic State of Iraq […]
By John Lee. China expert Simone Van Nieuwenhuizen has written an opinion piece for The Diplomat, a foreign affairs journal that covers events in Asia. She argues that it would be in China's interests to do more for Iraq. In the piece, Van Niewenhuizen notes that not only has China been threatened by the Islamic State of […]
By John Lee. The Pentagon--home to the US Department of Defence--has announced that there are now a total of 7 countries arming Kurdish forces in Iraq. A spokesman said those nations were Britain, Canada, Albania, Croatia, Denmark, Italy and France. Germany may soon follow. In a sign of the sudden onset of the crisis, a […]
By Patrick Schmidt. Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani has announced coming reforms for the Kurdish security forces, most famous for the Peshmerga. The reforms would bring all units under a single unified command. In the past, the Minister of the Peshmerga did not have control over all troops, and the force was in some cases […]
By John Lee. Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi has issued a statement saying that government formation is going well and that on the security front, all militias loyal to the government must come under government control. The remarks are another sign of the PM's departure from the governing style of Nouri-al-Maliki, who originally appeared tough on […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The British government announced Sunday the dispatch of an official special military envoy to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). General Sir Simon Mayall will assume the title of “Government Security Envoy.” “He will travel to Iraq next week to meet with political leaders in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil […]
By Patrick Schmidt. According to a statement released by the Ministry of Oil, Iraq exported 75.7 million barrels of oil in July. This figure means that an average of 2.5 million barrels were exported per day and would mark a five percent increase in exports since July 2013. Iraq earned $7.74 billion worth of revenue […]
By John Lee. The Guardian has recently run a feature on Garsdale Design, a family business based in Yorkshire, England, who have been working on projects in Iraq since 2007. The business is led by father and son team Eliot and Derrick, who have used cutting edge 3d modelling software to make plans for cities in […]
By John Lee. The BBC's Jim Muir has reported from the front lines at Bakarta in the Kurdish region of Iraq, where Kurdish Peshmerga troops have retaken villages lost to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Interestingly, Muir reports from a hill on the front lines that the Kurds seized from ISIL, […]
By John Lee. Iraq was once the consumer of some 20% of Jordan's exports, but since the border between the two countries is now all but closed, this trade has dropped off dramatically. Al Jazeera has reported that the number of trucks crossing the border between the two countries has fallen from an average of 500 […]
By John Lee. It has been the site of a dramatic siege since the June offensive of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) which seized large swathes of northern Iraq. Baiji refinery was vital for refined fuel products for much of the north of the country, and initially the Iraqi army unit […]
By Patrick Schmidt. The Kurdish Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami (pictured) announced that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has sold 7 million barrels of oil on the international market. He remains confident that the KRG will win the ability to sell oil in the US markets. Currently, the KRG produces 300,000 barrels of oil per […]
