Tag Archives | Kurdistan News

The latest news from Kurdistan – security updates, reconstruction and more – brought to you by Iraq Business News.

6,000 New Teachers Needed in Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Region’s minister of education has requested an additional 6,000 teachers and staff in 2011, almost twice the number recruited in 2010. Speaking to AKnews, Safin Dizayee said the demand has been directed to the Kurdistan Council of Ministers to fill the gap in teaching staff and administration posts of new and existing schools. […]

Belarus to Build Tractor Factory in Kurdistan

According to a report from AKnews, the Belarusian government is planning to build a factory to make tractors, trucks, and agricultural machinery in Iraqi Kurdistan. A delegation of Belarusian investors and businessmen, led by the Belarusian Industry minister, announced the plan on Wednesday at a meeting with Erbil's governor, Nawzad Hadi. The foreign delegation made […]

KRG and Iran to Agree Visa Waiver Program?

According to a report from Press TV, Iran and Iraq's Kurdistan may agree a visa waiver scheme to facilitate cross-border travels as part of a program of increased cooperation between the two sides. To facilitate cross-border travel for both Iranians and the citizens of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, and to encourage trade and […]

Heritage Oil Discovers Gas in Kurdistan, Shares Fall

Shares in Heritage Oil fell 17% this morning following their announcement of a major gas find in Kurdistan. [UPDATE: the shares ended the day down 29%] While the discovery is very significant, the market was hoping for oil rather than gas, leading to a share sell-off. The full text of the announcement follows: Heritage Oil […]

Kurdistan Confirms Oil Export Agreement

Further to our report last week that oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan will resume at the start of February, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has issued a statement confirming the agreement, and addressing the conflict with Baghdad over the budget. The full statement is shown below: Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Barham Salih (pictured) this week […]

UK 'to Issue 2-Yr Visas' for Kurdistan Businessmen

The spokesman for the Kurdistan Region’s investors said the UK government is planning to issue two-year visas for businessmen from Iraqi Kurdistan, adding that the British government also seeks to open a branch of its banks in the Region as well as introducing assurance [insurance] and consultancy companies. According to the report from AKnews, the […]

Iraq to Pay Expenses to Oil Firms in Kurdish Region

The Iraqi oil ministry has agreed with its Kurdish counterpart to pay exploration costs and expenses to the foreign firms working in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, according to a report from Reuters. Spokesman Asim Jihad told the agency that the State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) will be responsible for payments to the companies, which […]

Weekly Security Update for 19th January 2011

Overview Levels of violence fell last week, but the past 48 hours have seen three suicide attacks in the central provinces, killing dozens and injuring over 200. As with the recent spate in assassinations in the centre of the country, the main target of the suicide bombers were state employees and members of the Iraqi […]

Kurdistan Oil Exports to Resume in February

Reuters reports that Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq has agreed with Baghdad to resume oil exports from the start of February, the Kurdish prime minister Barham Salih (pictured) said, taking the two sides closer to resolving bitter disputes over oil and land. Around 40 companies, such as Norway's DNO, have invested in Kurdistan, but […]

Former Austrian Chancellor: EU Should Source Energy in Kurdistan

In a recent interview on EU's energy security with World Security Network Foundation (WSN), former Austrian Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel (pictured) said that Europe should also diversify sources of energy supply by looking, for instance, to the Kurdish Region of Iraq. Europe is heavily dependent on Russia for its energy supply, especially natural gas, which […]

Update on Qara Dagh Exploration Well in Kurdistan

Vast Exploration and Groundstar Resources have issued an update on the drilling progress of the Qara Dagh - 1 Exploration Well. Since the last update on December 13, 2010 the well has been drilled down to 2,522 meters, and over the past several days, an intermediate 9 5/8 inch casing string has been successfully set […]