The latest news from Kurdistan – security updates, reconstruction and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.
Minister Falah Mustafa, Head of KRG Department of Foreign Relations today received Mr. Kentaro Sonoura, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and his accompanying delegation to discuss latest developments and bilateral ties. Minister Mustafa briefed the Vice-Minister on the military, humanitarian, and economic challenges facing the Kurdistan Region as well as the political process […]
Kurdistan Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, chaired a meeting to discuss and assess the state of airports and flights in the Kurdistan Region. The meeting was attended by KRG Ministers of Interior, Natural Resources, Planning, Transportation and the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations and the Government Spokesperson along with the Governor […]
By John Lee. ShaMaran Petroleum reports updates to estimated reserves and contingent resources for the Atrush block as of December 31, 2014. The reserves and contingent resources estimates were provided by McDaniel & Associates Consultants Ltd. ("McDaniel"), the Company's independent qualified resources evaluator, and were prepared in accordance with standards set out in the Canadian […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has completely rejected what it calls "the false and malicious allegations of misuse of funds made against the KRG and the Minister of Natural Resources" by an opposition MP in the Republic of South Korea and which were published by the Korea Times. Korean MP Chun Soon-ok […]
By John Lee. Pumping of crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey has reportedly been halted since Monday. An official at Turkey's state pipeline operator Botas said told Reuters that there had been a theft on the pipeline and that repairs would take around one to two days. (Source: Reuters)
By John Lee. DNO, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, produced its first 100 million barrels of oil at its flagship Tawke field in February. Executive Chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani told a conference in Oslo: "Output will pick up at Tawke this spring with the expansion of the field's capacity to 200,000 barrels per day." A […]
By John Lee. BasNews quotes the Head of the Kurdistan Restaurant and Hoteliers Association, Hersh Ahmad, as saying that 74 of the region's 2,500 hotels have closed down in Erbil recently: “The main reason is the fight against the Islamic State (IS) ... And those which still operate have fired 50% of their staff, increasing […]
By John Lee. Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz said today that agreements with Iraqi administrations open the door for Turkish oil exploration in Iraqi Kurdistan: "We have agreements with Baghdad and [the government in] northern Iraq ... In the frame of these agreements, we will explore for oil there ... "There can be an additional […]
By John Lee. Roza Othman, a member of the Natural Resources Committee in the Kurdistan Parliament, has said that the KRG will sign a contract with Iran to import gas and electricity. The imported electricity and gas will be for civilians, and the gas will be delivered by pipeline. The Head of the Parliamentary Committee […]
The first day of the Erbil Business Conference highlighted the interest of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to attract investment and to operate within the principles of open markets whilst battling the perception that it is a dangerous place to operate. The Conference started with a speech by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan, Nerchivan […]
By John Lee. The tanker which was blocked for months by a Baghdad legal challenge from unloading its 1 million barrels of Kurdish crude oil in Texas, has reportedly delivered its cargo to Israel. The United Kalavyrta [United Kalavrvta, United Kalvrvta] (pictured) spent several months off the coast of Texas after Baghdad tried to have […]
The World Bank Group and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)-Iraq, have launched a social protection program of support to promote equity in living standards and reduce vulnerability. The program is aligned with the government’s efforts to develop a comprehensive social protection system and contributes to the goals of KRGs Vision 2020 of “freedom, health, welfare, […]
