By Simon Kent. Two recent reports point to the possibility of an imminent oil deal between Baghdad and Erbil over revenues and exports, following the breakdown of the fourth revenue and exports deal in early 2015. In an interview with Kurdish publication Rudaw, KRG spokesman Safeen Dizayee (pictured) noted that there was a positive view of new Iraqi Minister […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's new oil Minister Jabbar Al Luaibi, who was appointed April 14th, has remarked that the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and Baghdad are planning a new oil exports and revenue sharing deal to replace the one which collapsed in early 2015. According to Gulf News, Safeen Dizayee, a spokesman for the KRG also confirmed new […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's oil exports have been recorded at an average of 3.28 mbpd for July, a rise from 3.18 mbpd in June. This is good news for Iraq, although a two month fall in exports due to infrastructure problems was offset by a slight increase in the price of oil. In June, a […]
By Simon Kent. According to Judge Sedqi Salimkhan, the Integrity Commission of the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) is reviewing 21 corruption cases including an official from the Sulaimani Immigration Department who has been accused of spending funds intended for internally displaced people (refugees.) The anti-corruption initiative is part of a wave of reforms that Kurdish President […]
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 […]
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 […]
By Simon Kent. In a striking admission of the policy of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami (pictured) has described the outcome of the political deadlock with Baghdad, which has led to secret oil exports by the KRG. Quoted in Reuters, Hawrami says that following former PM Nouri-al Maliki's blocking of the KRG […]
By Simon Kent. Recently elected Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has announced a plan to increase the number of training personnel working with Kurdish Peshmerga in Northern Iraq. The number of Canadian advisers and trainers currently stands at 69. The announcement comes after Trudeau pledged to end Canadian air support to Iraqi forces fighting the so […]
By Simon Kent. Following on from France's recent escalation of bombing against the so called "Islamic State" in Syria, the UK appears to have followed suit with a similar escalation in Iraq. According to a UK Ministry of Defence briefing reported in The Huffington Post, British jets from the Royal Air Force killed at least 30 militants […]
By Simon Kent. Gulf Keystone have announced that the Shaikan field in the Kurdish region of Iraq (KRI) has now exceeded 15 million barrels of commercial production. According to the company, this amounts to a daily average production in excess of 40,000 barrels of oil gross. The oil is trucked to the Turkish border before […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's Ministry of Migration has announced that without a surge in extra funding, the country will struggle to accommodate and provide for over 1.5 million Syrian refugees and Iraqi "internally displaced people" (IDPs) both within Iraq and the Kurdish autonomous north. Iraq's refugees are divided with the Kurdish region hosting about 46% […]
By Simon Kent. Kurdish Peshmerga forces have secured 10 villages around the town of Daquq, located not far from the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. In the operation--supported by Coalition aircraft--the forces lost 13 men to enemy action, including roadside bombs and "explosive rigged cars." It is another sign that, when supported by air strikes, […]
