Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 24/01/201 - 23/07/2011

Watching The World: Al-Shahristani defies critics

Last week, Hussain Al-Shahristani, Iraq's deputy prime minister for energy, said his country's development plans for oil fields are proceeding "normally" and even faster than contracted. Al-Shahristani said there were no major delays in Iraq's new export facilities being built to handle the extra crude expected from a series of agreements signed with international oil companies.

"We are comfortable that new [oil] export outlets will be ready to received extra crude according to the plans to boost oil production with the contracted oil companies," he said.

Al-Shahristani's remarks followed an announcement by Oil Minister Abdul-Kareem Luaibi that Iraq has signed an agreement with the SNC Lavalin Group for a strategic oil export pipeline.

"Today we have signed a contract with an international consultancy company to execute an important and vital project, which is an oil export facility," said Luaibi.

Pipeline project
The 18-month contract includes pipeline design, feasibility studies, and preparation of tender documents for a pipeline project from oil fields in southern Basra province to neighboring Syria and Turkey. The project, expected to take 4 years to build, follows statements last year by Iraqi officials concerning two pipelines through Syria to the Mediterranean, one of 1.5 million b/d and the other 1.25 million b/d.

Current political unrest in Syria would not affect the oil export pipeline project, Luaibi said, noting that "there is an MOU [memorandum of understanding] signed with the Syrians to execute this project."

According to Ghassan Ashgar, a senior vice-president at SNC Lavalin, tender documents for the pipeline project should be ready within 6 months. The announcement of the pipeline project follows earlier reports that Iraq, contrary to speculation, is continuing with its plans to produce 12 million b/d over the next 6 years.

Iraq on track
"We are contracted for announced production capacity of around 12 million b/d," said Al-Shahristani. "But how much we will produce, really, this depends on the international market situation and the market demand," Al-Shahristani said.

The minister's comments followed analysts who questioned whether Iraq could reach the 12 million b/d goal within its announced 6-year timeframe, or whether the market would want or even need that much production. Even the US Department of Energy recently said that Iraq faced "many challenges" in meeting its ambitious oil production targets.

"One of the most significant is the lack of an outlet for significant increases in crude oil production," DOE said, noting that Iraq's oil exports were at near full capacity in the south, while those in the north had been restricted by sabotage.

The new export pipeline project announced by Al-Shahristani and Luaibi means that someone in Baghdad really is listening.

http://www.ogj.com/index/article-dis...fies.html.html

Iraq Has Boosted Oil Production to the Highest Level in Decades
With Iraq seeking increasing support from international oil, gas and service companies for its economic development, CWC is hosting its fifth annual Iraq Petroleum conference in London

As widely reported, anticipation is building around the current preparation by the Iraqi Government for the auction of oil and gas exploration in January 2012. The auction will tender 12 exploration blocs covering 31,500 square miles and will be awarded to international companies interested in investing in the region.

With Iraq seeking increasing support from international oil, gas and service companies for its economic development, CWC is hosting its fifth annual Iraq Petroleum conference in London with a view to bringing together the key decision makers in this important industry.

Iraq Petroleum will take place between 12‐14 July and will be a platform designed to help companies plan their strategy and develop a full understanding of the types of upstream contracts available for development. The conference will also focus on Kurdistan’s natural resources as the region’s additional capacity comes on stream.

The conference brings together government and industry experts, providing a forum to explore Iraq’s resource and business potential. Key Iraqi Government officials supporting Iraq Petroleum 2011 include H.E. Thamir Ghadhban, Chairman of the Advisory Commission to the PM of Iraq; H.E Ali Al Dabagh, Minister of State, Iraqi Government Spokesman; H.E. Haider Al Abadi; Dr. Adnan Al Jananbi and many other international government figures will be presenting as well as answering key questions.

Other senior industry experts include Mounir Bouaziz, Vice President Commercial, MENA NBD & LNG, Shell; Einar Erfjord, Country Manager Iraq, Statoil offering an industry perspective.

Iraq Petroleum 2011 is represented by industry support from Upstream Principle Sponsor: Crescent Petroleum, Service Principle Sponsor: Baker Hughes, and conference sponsors ExxonMobil, Statoil, Total, OXY, Oil Serv, IAG, Huawei, Oilve Group, Mott MacDonald, Mubadala, Standard Chartered, Technology Partners and SKA.

http://www.prlog.org/11505401-iraq-h...n-decades.html

Private banks criticize the decisions of the Banking Act and Central asserts that it is for the protection of Iraqi funds

Confirmed that the majority of private banks in Iraq, Tuesday, the Banking Act, the Iraqi permit banks to government monopoly of the banking business, especially after the release of the new instructions, which calls for private banks to raise their capital to 250 billion Iraqi dinars, at least by the year 2013, while noting that this resolution makes the banking sector, the National semi-paralyzed and to have lost its elasticity, the central bank attributed the reasons to save the Iraqi funds deposited in these banks.

He said an expert on North Bank Sudanese civil Abbas in an interview for "Alsumaria News", "Some private banks have difficulty from the application of new instructions to increase their capital within three years, until 2013 from 100 to 250 billion Iraqi dinars."

The Sudanese that "the claim according to the instructions of new private banks merging with other banks, impeding the banking business and stand in front of the development and improve the functioning of these banks."

For his part, said the managing director of the Warka Bank National Mohammed al-Samarrai said in an interview for "Alsumaria News", "private banks called in accordance with Article 28 of the Banking Act, banks, investment and finance, but the opposite because she was banned from the practice of investment."

The Samurai, "The Ministry of Finance has not changed since 2009 and its view on private banks and suggest not to deal with it," noting that "the financial calls to deal only with the banking sector, government, and belonged to the mass of cash knowing that the government banks is not qualified to manage and unable to cope with ".

For his part, adviser to the Central Bank of the appearance of Mohammed in an interview for "Alsumaria News", "some government decisions in spite of their negative impact on private banks, but it is necessary to protect public money from looting, especially as there are in government deposits in these banks," he that "there are failures of these banks before the 37 banks of 45 bank."

Iraq has been announced in the earlier postponement of a program for restructuring the financial system of Iraq until the year 2013, which included restructuring of the largest banks Iraqi owned by the state and are good and Mesopotamia, and restructuring of the Audit Department at the Central Bank and the development of the private banking sector.

The Central Bank of Iraq said in November last year, 2010, that foreign banks operating in Iraq do not work independently, but under the umbrella of the local banks, civil, indicating that investments in Iraq, regional countries with a commercial dye and lacks international standards.

The Ministry of Finance has announced at the end of the month of January of this year from its quest for the opening of an Islamic bank under the Ministry of Finance based bank dropped interest in Mesopotamia and the good ..

http://www.alsumarianews.com/ar/3/22...-details-.html

Economists suggest alternatives to solid protective Iraq funds
Despite the lifting of the extension of protection it for a year

The first Iraqi Institute for economic reform protection of Iraqi funds and assets from claims by States and the foreign sector held by the exceptional attention to a seminar on this topic. The initiative of the Iraqi Institute for economic reform, pro-active step to tell how the situation after the UN Security Council resolution to lift protection from Iraqi funds, which is supposed to be implemented next July .. But was extended for one year by decision of the U.S. President Obama. However, insist on the search for alternatives beyond the extension period.

Participated in this vicious personalities and senior-level government bodies high responsibility because of the importance of the subject in how to address the effects that may result from this decision was the attendance of former Prime Minister Dr. Mahdi Al-Hafiz and Raed Fahmi and Counsel at the Central Bank d. The appearance of Dr. Mohamed Saleh. Conciliator sack of Supreme Audit Wad. Zuhair al-Hassani Advisor Investment Authority, Abdel Hadi Sadiq, deputy director of Trade Bank of Iraq and Suhail Khairallah bank adviser Dr. Majid picture representative of the public banking sector and representatives from the ministries of higher education, planning and foreign affairs.

The seminar focused group headed by Dean of Faculty of Construction Economics at the University of Mesopotamia Dr. Imad Abdul Latif Salem about ten questions summarized as follows:

She vicious Are there real threats to the assets of Iraq after 01/07/2011 call to anticipate the economic effects and the remaining obligations owed by Iraq, and perceptions of the settlement of Kuwaiti reparations, the Board of trade creditors after the Development Fund for Iraq, as the Symposium examined the legal position of Iraq from trade creditors and what is the role of group International legal assistance mandated by Iraq in overcoming potential prosecutions and wondered is whether the CBI specific scenarios to deal with this file and what is the role of the Iraqi diplomacy in this regard and the roles of other institutions such as parliament and the Office of Financial Supervision and the possibility of appeal and other compensation worth.

And concluded the seminar on the recommendations of a task that may benefit the Iraqi side in addressing the possible effects Among these recommendations discuss alternatives of protective presented by the Central Bank of Iraq to transfer oil revenues to his account in his capacity as an independent from the government can not deal with his money as the government funds are subject to confiscation.

According to the information the Iraqi Central Bank successfully in this direction by dragging the nearly $ 53 billion of its assets by dividing them and convert them to a variety of currencies to calculate the CBI.

The workshop recommended the need for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the measures necessary for the silver minor cases to the private sector the foreign and the amount of $ 2.7 billion through a negotiated formulas to ensure the least amount of losses to the Iraqi side that plays its role in influencing the parties to the creditor based on the principles of dialogue.

And good-neighborliness and care of common interests between the parties and urged the international recommendations on the exploitation of the relationship with the United States to enable Iraq to overcome the difficulties of this particular file because it has a major role in reducing Iraq's debt.

The recommendations to form a law firm who works in coordination with the offices of law firm specializing in connection with the collection and promotion of transactions compensate Iraqi citizens affected by the repercussions of previous wars.

In the view of the recommendations need to re-launch this file on the General Secretariat of the UN from approving everyone that most of these debts are the debts of a resident and that the Iraqi people are not responsible, and stressed the recommendations that bore the citizens of the burden of payment in these difficult circumstances through which constitute a breach human rights and download the international community all the responsibilities and consequences of this are as is work by the Arab League and through bilateral relations with other countries to plentiful, for example very important.

It is noteworthy that participants had were worried in the ability to run this file efficiently Vaousoa the need to raise the capabilities of Iraqi negotiator to the highest level and to achieve the truth.

It should be noted that the Iraqi Institute for economic reform has put the recommendations of the seminar in the hands of the highest levels in the parliament and government in the hope of taking them to immunize and protect Iraqi funds and assets from claims by States after the expiration of the extension approved by the Obama for another year.

http://www.alsabaah.com/ArticleShow.aspx?ID=8128

Iraq oil police frustrated and under-equipped

Iraqi Police Major Fawzi Rasheed knows he is charged with a vital task in protecting his country's vast oil industry, pipelines and tanker lanes.

But he is a frustrated man. His oil police unit is under-equipped, some men protect refineries without weapons, recruits train with plastic AK47s and officers say they get to fire off just a few rounds on the training range.

"We were hoping our training would be based on modern methods and equipment but were surprised the military training we're getting is simple," said Rasheed, whose unit protects oil tanker convoys at the huge Baiji refinery.

"The real problem facing us is that we haven't got weapons to take on terrorists and smugglers."

Iraq has some of the world's biggest oil reserves and has signed deals with foreign oil companies to boost its production capacity to 12 million barrels per day by 2017, which would make it a close rival to global oil giant Saudi Arabia.

Protecting its oil infrastructure is crucial as the country tries to rebuild more than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, and as Washington prepares to withdraw U.S. troops at the end of this year.

The oil refinery in the northern town of Baiji, a former al Qaeda stronghold, is Iraq's largest and a clear target for a weakened but stubborn insurgency.

In February, al Qaeda militants attacked the plant, killing four workers and detonating bombs that touched off a raging fire and shut down its operations for two days. Just days later, Iraqi security forces foiled another attack after finding a bomb inside a storage tank. It was defused on time.

Iraqi officials say they are ready to take full control of the country's security when the remaining 47,000 U.S. troops withdraw by December 31. Bombings and attacks still occur daily but Iraq says its military is can contain any internal threat.

U.S. troops have acted in an advisory role since Washington ended formal combat operations in August.

But some units such as the air force and navy remain under-developed. Iraqi's oil police chief, Major Gen. Hamid Ibrahim, warned in March oil facilities were at risk without increasing manpower and training for the oil police cadre.

SEVEN-WEEK TRAINING
Italy's paramilitary police, the Carabinieri, part of a NATO training mission in Iraq, are instructing the oil police to protect four main refineries, nine regional refineries and around 4,300 miles of oil and gas pipelines.

At Camp Dublin in Baghdad, the Carabinieri run a seven-week basic training course as well as a trainers' course with 20 different classes including weapons training, self-defence and crime scene preservation.

On a recent visit to the camp, Italian trainers were running recruits through Karate-like punching moves in a gym, while officers in a classromm taught police finger-print techniques.

The Italians have trained around 500 oil police since starting courses in October last year.

Major General Claudio Angelelli, deputy commander for NATO Training Mission-Iraq, said the courses aimed to give Iraqi oil police tactical training and also develop co-ordination within units so they can work with other teams.

But he said training needed to continue beyond this year.

"I think within this year, we can continue to train them, but their capability will not be enough to continue by themselves," Angelelli told Reuters.

"We have studied this situation and I think that the Iraqis will need to be supported for an additional two years."

The NATO training mission in Iraq is due to finish at the end of this year although Angelelli said he expected Iraq to ask for training to continue beyond 2011.

He acknowledged there was a gap in weapons and equipment but said it was up to the Iraqi government to cover shortfalls.

But some recruits, many of whom are already trained police officers, said NATO needed to make courses more advanced and tailored to Iraq's security situation, especially the requirements of countering attacks on oil installations.

"NATO must go on the ground and examine our work then give us the training, which is consistent with what we face. Their training is not realistic," said Lieutenant Haider Shakir, part of a team protecting pipelines in the oil hub Basra.

"We need to learn to try to catch the terrorists."

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldN...BrandChannel=0

Iraqi oil workers: a quarter of our wages paid to foreign

Ideas on Iraq: in the middle of March 2011 threatened to Union Oil in Basra strike action in three of the largest oil fields in Iraq. The Union plans to stop working in those fields for the purpose of forcing the government to listen to their demands for higher wages.


However, the Union called off the strike in the last minute by the intervention of the governor of Basra, but is unlikely to be able to solve the problems of the Governor of the workers.

And threatened the oil workers in the fields of Rumaila and Zubair and crazy in Basra strike for one day on 17 May 2011 and confirmed that they would stop work and blocked the entrances to the fields and prevent foreign workers from entering.

Before the day of the strike behind the intervention of the governor of Basra Abdessemed The meeting requested the workers and listen to their complaints. The main complaint is that the foreign workers in these fields are paid wages for more than Iraqi workers - according to the report of Hayes for oil and gas, the Iraqi oil workers are getting less wages in the world. Globally, the average oil worker wage of $ 76,000 per year. The foreign oil workers in Iraq stands at the rate of wages of one of them 94 800 dollars per year. By contrast, the Iraqi oil worker gets only $ 22,000 per year. This large gap in wages was one of the main motives for the invitation to strike.

Of oil production in these three fields more than half of the total production of Iraq, Vhakl Rumaila is the largest field in the country and one of the largest fields of the world's oil reserves with a capacity of 18 billion barrels. Currently the British oil company and China's national development of the field with the State Oil Marketing Organization.

Field produces 1.1 million barrels per day, or slightly less than half of Iraq's production total. While the Majnoon field, the third largest field in the capacity of Iraq's reserves of 12.6 billion barrels, and operated by Royal Dutch Shell and Malaysia's Petronas and Maysan Oil Company-governmental organizations.

Finally, the Zubair field, which is the sixth largest reserves of a field with a capacity of 4 million barrels and is run by Italian oil company ENI and U.S. company Occidental Oil and Gas Company, South Korean and Maysan Oil Company.

Despite the cancellation of stop work even for one day, it is not likely to get the Union to any outcome from behind his discussion with the governor that does not have any power or authority on salaries or on the operation of oil fields, as that of the validity of the oil ministry and the central government.

Says one analyst of the Independent Herald Tribune that he doubted that the Ministry has the necessary funds to increase salaries because the Ministry has to begin paying for foreign companies and start development projects in the infrastructure giant oil and gas in Iraq.

http://www.alcauther.com/html/module...icle&sid=18053

Bolani: High oil prices will generate additional income to offset up to $ 10 billion

said a member of the Finance Committee parliamentary deputy / alliance center / Bolani that high oil prices at present will generate an abundance of Iraqi money up to $ 10 billion.

Bolani said in a statement to the reporter (Agency news) today, said the rise in oil prices in the current time will generate an abundance of Iraqi money up to $ 10 billion could be allocated to projects that are not targeted by the state budget.

He explained that this money will be used in projects that need to qualify and is not allocated enough money to them, pointing out that this abundance will solve all these problems over the coming months.

He added that the priority of these projects will improve the pensions and support for orphans in addition to issues of immediate and urgent to strengthen the generality of the additional projects in the provinces.

Bolani and that of the other projects is to develop the infrastructure of the Ministry of Defence through the development of the camps and the construction of buildings to house the army.

The report of the Parliamentary Finance Committee submitted to the President of the House of Representatives Osama Najafi, on the bill on the federal budget for 2011, stressed that the budget has focused on the priorities in the interest of the citizen and the country, and it does not meet all the needs of Iraqis.

She explained introduction to the report of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, said that the budget did not include a report explaining the implementation of the stated objectives and the root causes of slow implementation, and whether or not the correct steps to address these causes.

The report added that the file of the budget did not provide information on the extent of implementation of previous budgets, in addition to its inability to estimate the data and information Almdorat cash and cash savings of annual and cumulative, so that could be adopted in the calculation of the deficit and so on.

http://www.ikhnews.com/news.php?action=view&id=13989

Tension Mounts At Sterling Energy

Sterling Energy released an update on Tuesday revealing that important test results are imminent. Here is the statement from the Middle East and Africa oil and gas exploration and production company:

Kurdistan Operations Update
Sterling (AIM: SEY), the independent oil and gas exploration and production company with interests in the Middle East and Africa, provides the following update for the Sterling operated Sangaw North block in Kurdistan (53.33% working interest).
The Sangaw North-1 well has been drilled to a total depth of 4,190 metres, within the Triassic Kurra Chine formation. Wireline logs have been run across the open hole section and are currently being interpreted.

The joint-venture partnership has elected, based on gas shows while drilling, to conduct a flow test across the open hole section. The flow test, including preparatory operations, is expected to take approximately three weeks to complete. Further flow testing may be undertaken depending on the results of the first flow test and interpretation of the drilling and petrophysical data acquired in the well.
Angus MacAskill, Sterling’s Chief Executive said:

“We are pleased to have reached the planned well depth in this very challenging drilling environment and look forward to the outcome from the ongoing programme of data acquisition.”

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...erling-energy/

30 Countries, 1500 companies in next Baghdad International Fair

More than 30 countries and about 1500 Iraqi, Arab and foreign companies will participate in the upcoming round of Baghdad International Fair (BIF), Trade Ministry sources said today.

In a statement released by the BIF, as received by Aswat al-Iraq, "the preparations this year began earlier than the last, to cover the previous shortcomings," the statement noted.

The BIF had cooperation with a number of organizers to make a fair that suits Iraq's reputation.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1....&id=142743&l=1

$43bn Investment In Iraq In 2010

The ‘Investment in Iraq’ Summit recently concluded in Dubai and organized by Range Hospitality highlighted that Iraq has some of the most favorable foreign investment laws in the Middle East, making Iraq one of its most lucrative markets.

The summit witnessed keen participation from over 100 decision makers, entrepreneurs and investors representing diverse business backgrounds. Key speakers at the event included Ibrahim Al Baghdadi, elected Chairman of the Iraqi National Businessmen Council and Board Member of the National Investment Council of Iraq; Mohammed Al Assam, Chairman and Managing Director, Dewan Architects and Engineers; Mohammed Asaria, Vice Chairman, Range Hospitality; Kyle Stelma, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, Dunia Frontier Consultants; Khaled Saqqaf, Head of Jordan and Iraq offices, Al Tamimi & Company and William Wakeham, Founder and principle shareholder in AAIB Insurance Brokers.

Elaborating on the potential of the region, Kyle Stelma said: “In 2010, foreign firms and investors reported $42.668bn in investments, service contracts and other commercial activities across Iraq — an estimated 48.7% increase in total deal value over the previous year (2009).”

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...-iraq-in-2010/