By John Lee. South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister has asked for Iraq's cooperation in bolstering economic cooperation. During a meeting with Iraq's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari in Seoul on Monday, Hwang Kyo-ahn (pictured) said: "The two countries have developed their cooperative ties based on a long history of cooperation and a mutually complementary […]
Korean firm Hanwha Engineering and Construction received about $560 million in construction fees last week from the Iraqi government for its ongoing new city project, the company said on Monday. The company has been building the 1,830-hectare new city Bismayah, 10 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, an $8-billion contract signed in 2012. The two parties agreed […]
By John Lee. The South Oil Company (SOC) has officially taken over the stake in the Zubair oil field formerly held by US-based Occidental Petroleum, which has withdrawn from the project. Repressentatives of Italy's Eni and the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) signed the agreement along with the Ministry of Oil. Mr. Laith Al-Shaher, the director general […]
By John Lee. The Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) is to withdraw from the Sangaw South oil field project in Iraqi Kurdistan. A spokesman for the company told Reuters that exploration results were "uneconomic." A Korean consortium headed by KNOC holds 60 percent of the project, with half of that owned by KNOC. KNOC has […]
KRG Minister of Foreign Relations concluded a three-day visit to the Republic of Korea. The aim of the visit, which was upon the invitation of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was to review the existing cooperation and exchange views on further broadening bilateral ties. In his visit to the Korean National Defense Ministry, Minister […]
By John Lee. South Korea's Daewoong Pharmaceutical has signed a US$25-million contract with Ibn Cina Drug Stores to supply six products to Jordan and Iraq. According to the Korea Herald, the local partner will distribute: Ursa, for liver function improvement; Orlostar, for high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia; Easyef for diabetic foot ulcer; Daewoong pitavastatin calcium […]
By John Lee. Work on a the $6-billion Karbala Refinery Project has reportedly been suspended. According to Korea Times, the work has been halted "due to the Iraqi government's late construction payment, raising concerns about its solvency." The Engineer, Procure and Construct (EPC) contractor for the Karbala Refinery Project is HDGSK, a South Korean joint […]
By John Lee. South Korea has offered US$7 million to help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. A statement on Thursday from Seoul's Foreign Ministry said: "Our government decided to provide assistance following a comprehensive review of the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, the international community's call for aid and other countries' provision of aid." South […]
By John Lee. Iraq has banned the importion of frozen and live poultry products from two dozen countries. According to a report from Reuters, Baghdad restricted poultry imports from France last month, following a reported outbreak of H5N1 bird flu. The ban now extends to Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, China, Egypt, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, […]
By John Lee. Yonhap news agency reports that South Korea has offered an additional $1 million in aid to Iraqi refugees. This brings South Korea's total so far this year to $6 million, which has been offered through various international organizations such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and […]
By John Lee. Iraq became South Korea’s third-largest suppier of oil in the first half of this year, according to a report from Bloomberg. Purchases of Iraqi crude oil soared 73 percent to 8.25 million metric tons through June in 2015, the highest level since at least 2000. (Source: Bloomberg)
By Robert Tollast. Korean firm STX Heavy Industries has cancelled a proposed 500km pipeline to the Akkas gas field in Western Iraq, which is operated by state Korean gas firm KOGAS. STX Heavy were working on the project with KOGAS Akkas B.V and work was due to be finished in 2017, however the project ran […]
