The latest news from Iraq – oil, gas, business and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
Iraq’s oil wealth is massive, with significant economic potential for years to come. Unfortunately, development is being hampered by endemic violence and ongoing instability. However, the main reserves are not evenly distributed around the country and neither is the violence. By avoiding the violent hotspots companies can still make significant profits with minimal exposure to […]
Iraq is to get high-speed trains linking the provinces, a senior official at the Ministry of Transport said. Talking to Aknews, deputy transport minister Bangin Rekani explained their desire for extensive railways and 240km/h trains. The plans have been presented to the cabinet for approval. The railways, which will provide a huge boost to the Iraqi […]
The Iraqi Planning and Development Ministry is to create four million new jobs by 2015, minister Ali Shukri said today. Speaking to AKnews, he said the jobs would be both public and private sector and will bring down the poverty rate from 23% to 16%. Private-sector employment is hampered by limited rights, such as a lack of […]
Mohammed Saleh, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, highlighted his fears for Iraqi revenues due to the second leg of the financial crisis in the U.S.A., which was kickstarted by a credit-rating downgrade. With oil prices moving between $80 and $90, they are down from the $100 to $115 range they were trading in […]
June revenue fell to less than $9m, the Directorate General of Customs reported. This is down more than two-thirds from US$27m in the same period last year. The office believes that changes to regulations that require quality-control certificates on imports, supplied by just two government contractors, has caused backlogs at border crossings, and reduced customs income. […]
Hillwood International Energy, an independent oil and gas explorer from Dallas, Texas, and Marathon Oil Corporation, another independent, based in Houston, Texas, have gauged a large oil discovery on the Sarsang block north of Dohuk on the Zagros fold belt in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to the Oil & Gas Journal. The total flow rates in the […]
Khalil Bin Abdullah Al Khonj, chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) met Habib Yousr Al Hashmi, the Chairman of the Iraqi Businessmen Union, on Tuesday, according to Oman Tribune. Al Khonji talked about exchanging visits and delegations to enhance trade and investment between the two countries, and in both the private and public […]
Levels of violence neither escalated nor decreased significantly in Iraq over the past week, although thankfully conditions are currently quieter than earlier in the summer. Across the country there were no reported kidnappings or suicide bombings, which is a welcome change from normality. It is likely that militants are lying low at present, partly because […]
Iraqi politician Ayad Jamal ad-Din was injured in a rocket attack on his home earlier in the week. The weapon, believed to have been fired from southern Baghdad, slammed into his house in the normally quiet district of Jadriyah. He may be the latest victim of a string of attacks targeting politicians, mid-level ministry employees […]
The Iraq Future Energy Conference will be hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, from 26th September to 29th September. There is a full programme to demonstrate how energy and infrastructure companies can take a piece of the projects worth tens of billions of US dollars. Attendees can learn about the Ministry of Oil's four-year plan ending in […]
Levels of violence rose slightly in Iraq over the past week although conditions remain quieter than much of the year so far. Fewer than 50 people were killed, which is a moderate figure by Iraqi standards, albeit still abhorrently high. A notable number of the dead and injured were caught up in a double suicide […]
Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Naser al-Subah, have been talking directly by telephone to try to prevent a diplomatic crisis from worsening. A spokesperson for Maliki said on Monday that Kuwait had shown "more flexibility" in ongoing discussions over a new Kuwaiti port. Mubarak Port, due to be completed in 2016, […]
