By Simon Kent. Aberdeen based oil and gas company MOL Group have reduced their planned investments at Akri Bijell in the Kurdish region of Iraq, Rigzone reports. The new plans will see one well operational at 2200 bpd, while Bijell 4 and Bijell 6 appraisal wells encountered more geological complexity than envisaged. MOL have struggled in the region […]
By Simon Kent. The New York Times has reported on a Turkish incursion in the mountains of Northern Iraq to destroy Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) positions. The incursion comes in response to a recent IED attack inside Turkey which killed 14 police officers in a mini bus. The raids--20 military strikes according to the report--have […]
By Simon Kent. The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) has released a statement saying it has put aside $75 million to pay three IOCs, Genel Energy, DNO and Gulf Keystone. The announcement follows payment disruption to the IOCs from the ongoing Baghdad--Erbil revenues and exports dispute. Additionally, the KRG has pledged regular payments, welcome news to the […]
By Simon Kent. Carlson Rezidor, the international hotel group with over 1,300 hotels in over 100 countries, has announced that it has finalized a deal for a new hotel, 3kms from Erbil International Airport. According to Gulf News, the 260-room hotel will be located in the Western suburbs and contain an all-day dining restaurant, speciality restaurant, lobby bar, […]
By Robert Tollast. The following opinions are the authors only, and do not necessarily represent the views of Iraq Business News. This article examines Iraq’s localised and national level attempts to foster pan sectarian cooperation against ISIL, looked at in the context of previous counterinsurgency campaigns fought by Britain and the US. “Our fighting against […]
By Robert Tollast. Sterling, the international Health, Safety and Environment oil and gas and construction specialists, have expanded their HSE training site in Erbil. Sterling focus on HSE consulting, building capacity to mitigate risks and environmental hazards, as well as preventing and dealing with major incidents in construction and the energy sector. The expanded centre will […]
By Simon Kent. Sources at Ceyhan have told Reuters that there is insufficient oil in the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) tanks at the port to fill planned cargoes. Both BP and Spain's Cepsa have cancelled shipments, and no oil has gone to SOMO storage for the past ten days. According to sources, this […]
By Simon Kent. Belgium has announced plans to open a consulate in Erbil, capital of the semi autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq. In a sign of deepening ties between the KRG and Belgium, the central EU nation also announced they would provide hospital treatment for injured Peshmerga soldiers. The Peshmerga are the armed forces of […]
By Simon Kent. After months of talks, the Kurdish Regional Government says it has authorisation from Baghdad to issue bonds, in a move aimed at easing growing financial pains in the semi autonomous region. According to Bloomberg, the region needs approximately $1.4 billion to balance its books. Quoting IBN blogger Robert Tollast, the report noted how the KRG […]
By Robert Tollast. Luay al-Khairullah has reason to be optimistic. As Chairman of the Dhi Qar Provincial Investment Commission, I spoke to him last year about the planned Nasiriyah Integrated Project (NIP) a 300,000 barrel a day capacity refinery not far from his home town. It's a project that will create much needed jobs and provide […]
By Robert Tollast. The following is an interview with an Iraqi finance professional with a degree in Accounting and Finance. He is also a Chartered Certified Accountant with extensive experience in Banking. He returned to Iraq in early 2013 and now works as a Portfolio Manager, travelling across Iraq but residing in the Iraqi Kurdistan. He was kind […]
By John Lee. Afren have released their Half-yearly Results for the six months ended 30 June 2014 and an update on its operations year-to-date 2014, in accordance with the reporting requirements of the EU Transparency Directive. Below is a summary of their Iraq operations and general financial results. Information contained within this release is un-audited […]
