The latest news from Iraq – oil, gas, business and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News
By Simon Kent. Qayyarah's oilfields are still on fire weeks after the self declared Islamic State set them on fire as part of a scorched earth strategy during their retreat. The terrorists also poured oil from Qayyarah into the Tigris and set it alight in an attempt to burn a makeshift Iraqi Army bridge. Before […]
By Simon Kent. Kurdish and Iraqi officials are still thrashing out details of a more sustainable and far reaching oil revenue and exports deal, following the resumption of federal oil exports into the Kurdish pipeline from Kirkuk. Last week, 100,000 bpd of Kirkuk crude from Baba Gorgor, Jambour and Khabbaz, three fields in the giant Kirkuk […]
By Simon Kent. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem met with Iraqi PM Haidar al-Abadi to discuss border security, Reuters reports. Currently, all of Iraq's border on the Syrian side is either held by Kurdish forces or the self declared Islamic State, with Iraqi forces gradually approaching Al Qaim, the last border town held by the […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's embattled Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi (pictured) a Sunni from Mosul, has been voted out of his position following a no confidence motion in parliament. The vote comes after mounting pressure on the Minister, following accusations that he was responsible for over billing scandals and favored defense contracts for friends and political allies. […]
By Omar al Jaffal for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Iraqi parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri issued a warning against involving the tribes in political disputes Aug. 14. His warning came a few days after the tribes affiliated with Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi […]
By Simon Kent. Battling through an apocalyptic landscape of black smoke from burning oil, (fighters from the self declared Islamic State hoped this would hinder air strikes) Iraqi soldiers have reached the center of Qayyarah. Snipers held up the advance, before soldiers were able to capture a government compound. Qayyarah is just 60 km south […]
By Simon Kent. Coalition aircraft conducted 4 air strikes against the self declared Islamic State over the past 24 hrs, with "tactical units" being targeted near Ramadi and Hit in Anbar, a front of the Iraqi government and local anti-IS tribes. Another strike hit a tactical unit near Sinjar, which is close to Kurdish Peshmerga […]
By Simon Kent. Prime Minister Haidar al Abadi (pictured) has remarked that the resumption of pumping oil into the Kurdish export pipeline from Kirkuk--from 70,000 bpd to an expected 150,000 bpd, is due to preserving the reservoir in one of the world's oldest oilfields. Previously oil was being re-injected by the federal North Oil Company […]
By Simon Kent. Two Iraqi brothers have constructed a robot dubbed "Alrobot" ("the robot") to send into battle against the self declared Islamic State. The slick looking vehicle, the size of a small beach buggy, has an approximately 1 kilometer range and is controlled via laptop. If deployed, it would be among the first generation […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's Oil Minister Jabbar Ali al Luaibi has met with IOCs and asked them to do their utmost to increase production in Iraq's southern fields, which has fluctuated in 2016. The announcement, relayed by Ministry of Oil spokesman Asim Jihad, comes over a month before a meeting on the 26th of September […]
By Simon Kent. Newly appointed Minister of Oil Jabbar Ali al Luaibi has announced that the government's plan to review contracts with IOCs is still in effect. Iraq has long been seeking contracts which reflect lower prices, since the technical service contracts (TSCs) signed in 2009 remunerate IOCs for a fixed per barrel fee. This […]
By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. On July 26, the Iraqi government announced that the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) will be converted into “an independent military formation affiliated with the armed forces’ commander-in-chief.” The Shiite force […]
