By John Lee. A high-level Iraqi delegation visiting Russia has made quite a stir this week: Arms deals worth $4.2 billion were announced, making Russia Iraq's second biggest supplier of arms after the US; A memorandum of understanding was signed for political and diplomatic cooperation between the two countries, with Iraq asking Russia’s help to […]
By John Lee. Iraq is to buy more than $4.2 billion of weapons from Russia under contracts signed in recent months, the Russian government announced on Wednesday, making it the largest weapons supplier to the Middle East country after the United States. While a spokesman for Russia's state-controlled arms exporter, Rosvooruzheniye, said it never discusses […]
By John Lee. Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) lobbied Iraq's prime minister on Wednesday to support Russian energy investment, according to a report from Reuters. At talks with Nouri al-Maliki in Moscow, he also called for Russia to strengthen its presence in the OPEC state. Gazprom Neft denied on Wednesday that it had frozen its […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hoshyar Zebari, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday for political and diplomatic cooperation. Following the signing ceremony, political and technical talks between the two sides took place on ways to develop relations between Iraq and Russia as well as exchanging […]
By John Lee. Both Russia's Gazprom Neft and the Kurdistan Regional Government have denied that the company has frozen projects in Iraqi Kurdistan. "Gazprom Neft is still working on these projects. The company keeps its interest in Kurdistan," a Gazprom Neft source told Reuters. A spokesman for the KRG said Gazprom had informed the KRG […]
Reuters reports that the Iraqi government has approved the exploration, development and production contract for Block 10 in the south of the country. Russia's LUKoil, which already has an interest in the giant West Qurna-2 oilfield, won the deal for the 5,500-square-kilometer Block 10 in Muthanna and Dhi Qar provinces in Iraq's 4th round energy […]
By John Lee. Russia's Pravda reports that Iraq may be about to buy $5 billion worth of MiG fighter jets, Russian helicopters, anti-aircraft missile systems, armored vehicles and other weapons. Between 2008 and 2011 Baghdad purchased Russian weapons worth $246 million dollars, most of which were helicopters. In the same period, deliveries of weapons and […]
By John Lee. Iraq's cabinet has approved three oil and gas contracts awarded to foreign firms in the 4th round energy auction in May. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh (pictured) said cabinet approved an initial gas exploration contract with Pakistan Petroleum for gas Block 8, another deal led by Russia's Lukoil along with Inpex of Japan […]
By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil confirmed in late July that Russia’s Bashneft had accepted the ministry’s maximum acceptable remuneration fee (MARF) for exploration Block 12, which was offered in the fourth bid […]
By John Lee. The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is reported to be in talks with Russia's OAO Lukoil about joining the company’s West Qurna-2 project in Iraq. Lukoil is seeking a partner for a 30 percent stake in the project following the exit of Norway's Statoil’s, Nefte Compass said, citing Andrei Kuzyaev (pictured), head […]
By John Lee. A Russian business delegation has visited the city of Ramadi to investigate investment opportunities in Anbar province. Saadoun Obeid al-Shaalan, head of the provincial council, told NINA news agency: "The delegation represents a group of leading Russian companies specialized in the manufacture of large power stations, the production and distribution of electricity, […]
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq's acting Minister for Defence, Sadoun al-Dulaimi (Sadun al-Dulaymi) (pictured), has been in Russia to negotiate the purchase of air surveillance equipment. Hakim al-Zamili, a member of the parlimantary security and defence committee, told the news agency: "There is a delegation, headed by the minister of defence and the commander […]
