Thread: Iraq/Dinar News Before Febuary 12th, 2006

What about an BIG FAT R/V on the 14th Feb........

HAPPY VALENTINES EVERYBODY

Iraq Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Summit

17-18 April , Amman, JordanIn collaboration with the Iraqi Government, the Iraq Development Program (IDP) is proud to announce the official Iraq Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Summit. For the most important sectors of the Iraqi economy, this historic landmark event will be the first of its kind since the formation of the new Unity Government.

Iraq has the world’s second largest proven oil reserves and the Government is now finalising its new hydrocarbon laws, following the declaration of the investment laws for the extractive industries. The timing of this Summit could not be better.
The key decision makers from the Iraqi Government will be participating with the full intent of establishing relationships and entering into contractual negotiations with all international operators wishing to be part of both the upstream and downstream sectors.


This Summit represents an unmissable opportunity to sit face-to-face with the key ministerial decision makers all under one roof at the same time. They will include:

* Ministry of OilState operating companies: Oil Projects Company, Oil Exploration Company, North Oil Company, South Oil Company, Pipelines Company, North Midland & South Refining Companies, North & South Gas Companies, Iraq Drilling Co.
* Ministry of Industry & Minerals State Company for Petrochemicals
* Ministry of Electricity
* Iraq Energy Council
* Prime Ministers Office Investment Promotion Agency
* Kurdistan Regional Government

Ministry for Natural Resources, Office of the President
Government representation will include the Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Director Generals.
Each Ministry will also be represented by the respective head of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO).
Other leading international bodies will be in attendance, such as UNIDO and the World Bank. The Iraqi Government will also be making direct personal invitations to GCC and international energy and oil ministers.


Key Content
Each Iraqi Government Ministry will be presenting details of their key projects, contracts and areas of investment.


Oil & Gas
• Full details of new hydrocarbon laws
• Announcement of most up-to-date geological and seismic studies
• Special announcement on Iraqi gas reserves and concession opportunities
• Drilling and exploration rights
• Refineries, oil depots, pipelines and storage tanks
• Crude oil marketing to the international community
• Details of Northern oil operations, including Kirkuk, Nineveh, Erbil and Diyalla
• Management of the 29 central and southern oil fields
• Oil refinery operations and new contract and investment opportunities
• Pumping stations and pipeline distribution
• Technological innovations for the future of Iraq’s hydrocarbon industry
Petrochemicals
• Refinery and petrochemical integration
• Feedstocks flexibility and availability for petrochemical production
• New world scale petrochemical project
• Petrochemical complex #1 Basra
• Petrochemical complex #2 (refinery-integrated) Mussayab
• South Fertiliser – Basra
• North Fertiliser – Baji
• Sawary Resins Company – Baghdad
Electricity
• Refinery and electricity integration
• Petrochemical and electricity integration
• Annual protective maintenance for generation units
• Investment in new power production facilities
• Rehabilitation of older generation units
• Stability of the power and transmission systems
• Construction of new transforming stations and power lines

Special Security Briefing
Iraq’s oil and electricity security is of paramount importance to its political and economic stability, with huge resources in place to ensure that these most vital industries are protected to the highest possible standards.
Insurgent and terrorist attacks are a daily threat to oil pipelines, refineries, petrochemical and fertiliser plants, oil tankers, storage facilities, electricity generation plants, transforming units and power lines.
The Iraq Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Summit will run a parallel briefing led by the security heads for the oil, petrochemical and electricity sectors. This will enable private security companies and defence contractors along with suppliers to present the best in breed products and services to these key decision makers.

Registering for the summit
To register for the Iraq OGP Summit, please select from the list of options below, or request a call back from the IDP team, who'll be happy to help work out the best option for you.


Iraq Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Summit

South Baghdad neighborhoods get water, sewer upgrade
Friday, 09 February 2007
By Norris Jones
Gulf Region Central District
BAGHDAD — Crews are busy installing new water mains in three small neighborhoods in south Baghdad and another contractor is just about finished repairing a major sewer collapse there.

“The Iraqis like seeing people working in their community,” said Maj. Robert Nash with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “That particular area in Doura has been neglected for decades and residents appreciate our efforts.”

Nash is optimistic about the neighborhood’s future despite ongoing insurgent clashes. “People are starting to get a grasp of what’s really going on and what we’re trying to do,” Nash said. “There are more shops open, more people walking around, more kids playing in the street than I’ve seen in a long time. We’re working shoulder to shoulder with Baghdad’s government to make this happen.”

Once the essential service improvements are completed including new roads there, Nash believes the neighborhoods will look completely different and be much nicer. “We’re hopeful people will once again take pride in their neighborhoods and keep things cleaned up,” he said. “Best case scenario is that the people themselves will push the bad guys away. That’s happened in other parts of Iraq and I’m confident it will happen here. It just takes time.”

Each of the three mahallas (neighborhoods) is getting about 22,000 meters of new water mains installed, ranging in size from 100 millimeters to 300 millimeters (4 to 12 inch pipe). “We’re putting in a total of about 41 miles of water mains in those three areas,” Nash continued.

Regarding the collapsed sewer main in Mahalla 824, the contractor is replacing 280 meters with new 900 millimeter pipe (35.4 inches in diameter). “We’re just about finished with that project,” Nash said, “and it’s definitely making a dramatic improvement eliminating a huge pond of standing sewage that has been there a long, long time.”

Echoing Nash’s comments is Maj. Chip Daniels, Operations Officer with 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.

“Residents are seeing that we and their government are committed to bettering their community and this definitely has a direct positive impact on the security situation. Iraqis there, when they wake up in the morning, want clean water in their homes, a functioning sewer system, the ability to send their kids to school, be able to go to work, and have a life as a family,” said Daniels. “We’re doing everything we can to give them that opportunity. There are a few bad people out there who are trying to hold up progress in this country, but all in all, the average Iraqi wants to move forward and they want to get beyond this.

“Improving the essential services lets residents see that things are getting better. A vast majority of Iraqis want a future for their country and this is a step in that direction,” Daniels concluded.

Iraqi contractors are currently involved in more than 100 water and sewer projects throughout Baghdad Province. Nash recognized the maneuver units he works with from the 2nd Brigade 1st Cavalry Division and the 9th Engineer Battalion for their continued help in getting engineers out to projects so his staff can identify any problems and take corrective action. “We could not do our job without their help,” Nash said.

Soldiers making Adhamiyah District safer
Friday, 09 February 2007
Story and photo by Sgt. Michael Garrett
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment




Soldiers with Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, discover Iraqi Army uniforms and body armor hidden in the trunk of an abandoned car Feb. 6 in the Shaab area of Baghdad. The search was part of an operation to disrupt insurgent activity in the area.BAGHDAD — The dead of night covered their movements. Out of their Strykers, down the street and into a courtyard, the Soldiers moved with a purpose. Kicking in the door at 3 a.m. was just enough to catch their targets off guard. Elements of the 2nd Infantry Division’s 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team had taken two more suspected insurgents off the streets.

Troops from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment were a part of an operation aimed at disrupting insurgent activity in the Shaab and Ur areas of Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district Feb. 6, said Newberry S.C. native, 2nd Lt. Harry Cromer, platoon leader for Company B.

The operation started with pin-point raids in the homes of suspected insurgents, then it moved to a dirt-lot full of abandoned cars and a building where the captured suspects are believed to have made improvised explosive devices.

“A lot of anti-Iraqi forces have been operating in this area,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Marker, a squad leader for Co. B. “The house we hit this morning is where the guy lived, and this is where he worked.”

A search of the building did not produce evidence of any connection with insurgency, but the broken down cars were about to spill their secrets.

“We went through the abandoned cars and found body armor and uniforms,” said Marker. “There is no reason for this stuff to be locked up, in an abandoned car in a parking lot,” said Cromer. With these items, insurgents could disguise themselves as Iraqi soldiers, he added.

After finding the body armor and Iraqi uniforms, the Soldiers moved on to a compound that housed a factory and several warehouses. When they finished searching the entire complex they moved on to a school, to see if any officials there had been approached by anyone from the insurgency.

“We’re out here to talk to people and see what we can find out about AIF,” said Marker.

Asking the school faculty and residents in the area about their safety was a change in pace from the mission earlier in the day.

“We show an aggressive attitude when we have to,” said Pfc. Richard McCallum, an infantryman with Co. B. “But when we don’t, we just want to show them we are here to help,” the White Cloud, Mich. native added.

Tips from local Iraqis led to the capture of suspected insurgents during the operation and getting out in the streets and talking to the residents is important in maintaining that type of relationship, said McCallum, a White Cloud, Mich., native.

“Getting them to trust us, and know that we’re not here to do them any harm …that we’re here to help is important,” he said.

Convoys supply crucial support, keep troops content
Friday, 09 February 2007
Story and photo by Sgt. Antonieta Rico
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment



Private 2nd Class Cory Rand, Troop D, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, adjusts a lamp to check his vehicle before heading out on a supply convoy to Al Kindi, an Iraqi army base near Mosul, Jan 27. Rand's mission was to deliver supplies to Troop A, 1-9 Cav. Regt., who are supporting military transition teams, or MiTTs, at the base.MOSUL — Curfew is in effect in Mosul as the Troop D, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, Soldiers roll through the city’s empty streets Jan. 26.

Undeterred by reports of a possible roadside bomb, the support Soldiers are intent on delivering supplies to fellow cavalry Soldiers.

“Our goal is to keep the convoy moving,” said Capt. George Childs, Troop D commander, “If we stop, we are failing that mission.”

The supply convoy moves cautiously through the road where the suspected bomb is emplaced, and the Soldiers arrive safely with their cargo at Al Kindi, an Iraqi Army base near Mosul. There, Troop D delivers supplies, which include mattresses, fresh water, wood, building material and some generators to Soldiers of Troop A, 1-9 Cav. Regt. The Soldiers of the headquarters section of Troop A are embedded with a Military Transition Team at the Iraqi base.

With the recent realignment of 1-9 Cav. Regt. into a “super MiTT,” and Soldiers of the squadron spread through out Nineveh Province, the Soldiers of Troop D, the 1-9 Cavalry support troop, are relishing their chance to show what they are capable of.

Soldiers of Troop D also deliver supplies to MiTT units and coalition forces within Mosul, as well as 1-9 Cav. Regt. Soldiers in the Tal Afar and Al Kisik areas in western Nineveh Province.

“Especially now, with the squadron split, our mission is extremely important,” said Childs, a Daytona Beach, Fla., native.

The supplies Troop D Soldiers deliver ensure the Squadron’s Soldiers are able to carry out their own mission.

“If I don’t deliver, trucks don’t move,” said Staff Sgt. Guillermo Rivera, distribution platoon sergeant, “They don’t have spare parts for their vehicles, they don’t have ammunition, they don’t have fuel, they don’t eat.”

And although the Soldiers deliver the necessities, they also deliver the comfort items that take the edge off a hard days work. Rivera’s Soldiers also deliver mail, hot chow, and the occasional special request for cream cheese.

“If nothing else, we improve the morale of Soldiers that are deployed forward,” Childs said.

“When you go out there you always get a happy face waiting on you and a warm handshake,” said Rivera, a native of Puerto Rico, “We are like their best friend.”

That friendly sentiment was evident when the Troop D Soldiers arrived at Al Kindi.

Soldiers of Troop A were waiting for them and as the supplies were unloaded, the Troop A Soldiers and an Iraqi army officer started making Chai for the Troop D Soldiers. Soon there was a gathering outside by a bonfire, with Soldiers from both troops swapping stories over sweet, hot Chai.

And although sometimes people forget to thank the supply Soldiers for their vital support of the line troops, words are not always necessary.

“The Soldiers and the happy faces when you get to different places; that’s enough for me,” Rivera said.<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]-->

Originally Posted by chouchou

Iraq Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Summit

17-18 April , Amman, JordanIn collaboration with the Iraqi Government, the Iraq Development Program (IDP) is proud to announce the official Iraq Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Summit. For the most important sectors of the Iraqi economy, this historic landmark event will be the first of its kind since the formation of the new Unity Government.

Iraq has the world’s second largest proven oil reserves and the Government is now finalising its new hydrocarbon laws, following the declaration of the investment laws for the extractive industries. The timing of this Summit could not be better.
The key decision makers from the Iraqi Government will be participating with the full intent of establishing relationships and entering into contractual negotiations with all international operators wishing to be part of both the upstream and downstream sectors.


This Summit represents an unmissable opportunity to sit face-to-face with the key ministerial decision makers all under one roof at the same time. They will include:

* Ministry of OilState operating companies: Oil Projects Company, Oil Exploration Company, North Oil Company, South Oil Company, Pipelines Company, North Midland & South Refining Companies, North & South Gas Companies, Iraq Drilling Co.
* Ministry of Industry & Minerals State Company for Petrochemicals
* Ministry of Electricity
* Iraq Energy Council
* Prime Ministers Office Investment Promotion Agency
* Kurdistan Regional Government

Ministry for Natural Resources, Office of the President
Government representation will include the Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Director Generals.
Each Ministry will also be represented by the respective head of the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO).
Other leading international bodies will be in attendance, such as UNIDO and the World Bank. The Iraqi Government will also be making direct personal invitations to GCC and international energy and oil ministers.


Key Content
Each Iraqi Government Ministry will be presenting details of their key projects, contracts and areas of investment.


Oil & Gas
• Full details of new hydrocarbon laws
• Announcement of most up-to-date geological and seismic studies
• Special announcement on Iraqi gas reserves and concession opportunities
• Drilling and exploration rights
• Refineries, oil depots, pipelines and storage tanks
• Crude oil marketing to the international community
• Details of Northern oil operations, including Kirkuk, Nineveh, Erbil and Diyalla
• Management of the 29 central and southern oil fields
• Oil refinery operations and new contract and investment opportunities
• Pumping stations and pipeline distribution
• Technological innovations for the future of Iraq’s hydrocarbon industry
Petrochemicals
• Refinery and petrochemical integration
• Feedstocks flexibility and availability for petrochemical production
• New world scale petrochemical project
• Petrochemical complex #1 Basra
• Petrochemical complex #2 (refinery-integrated) Mussayab
• South Fertiliser – Basra
• North Fertiliser – Baji
• Sawary Resins Company – Baghdad
Electricity
• Refinery and electricity integration
• Petrochemical and electricity integration
• Annual protective maintenance for generation units
• Investment in new power production facilities
• Rehabilitation of older generation units
• Stability of the power and transmission systems
• Construction of new transforming stations and power lines

Special Security Briefing
Iraq’s oil and electricity security is of paramount importance to its political and economic stability, with huge resources in place to ensure that these most vital industries are protected to the highest possible standards.
Insurgent and terrorist attacks are a daily threat to oil pipelines, refineries, petrochemical and fertiliser plants, oil tankers, storage facilities, electricity generation plants, transforming units and power lines.
The Iraq Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Summit will run a parallel briefing led by the security heads for the oil, petrochemical and electricity sectors. This will enable private security companies and defence contractors along with suppliers to present the best in breed products and services to these key decision makers.

Registering for the summit
To register for the Iraq OGP Summit, please select from the list of options below, or request a call back from the IDP team, who'll be happy to help work out the best option for you.


Iraq Oil, Gas & Petrochemical Summit

So does the HCL have to be complete before then or will it be completed at the summit.
on another note i will be going to chase this weekend to get some more dinar and check the rates, i will post an update tomorrow

Freedom Facts ::
In 2006, education opportunities improved for Iraqis with 838 of 849 schools completed. Each completed school serves approximately 400 students for a total of 335,200 students nationwide

Saudis Funding Iraq's Sunni Insurgents
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Posted GMT 2-9-2007 14:40:44
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Black Hawks Down: The downing by Jihadists of six U.S. choppers in three weeks, almost all in Sunni-controlled territories of Iraq, isn't dumb luck. They're clearly using more high-tech weapons. Who's arming them?

Rumors finger Iran, but it doesn't appear that Iran-backed Shiite militias are behind the attacks. Most of the surface-to-air missiles have been fired within the Sunni triangle and outside areas controlled by Shiite militias.

An Islamic group tied to al-Qaida took credit for shooting down the Marine transport helicopter that killed seven Wednesday. It crashed in Anbar province, a Sunni and al-Qaida stronghold bordering Saudi Arabia.

We learned from the Baker report and wire reports that Saudis, not Iranians, are supplying insurgents with the money for shoulderfired missiles and other sophisticated weaponry -- a revelation that has been drowned out by all the hype and saber-rattling over Iran.

Are our Saudi "allies" secretly backing a jihad against U.S. forces next door, while telling us they're cooperating with our Iraq efforts? "Funding for the Sunni insurgency comes from private individuals within Saudi Arabia," the Iraq Study Group flatly stated in a throwaway line buried on Page 29 of its 160-page report.

The bombshell went largely unnoticed. It found that the Saudis are "giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles."

The report, filed Dec. 7, quoted senior Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash. Several truck drivers described carrying boxes of cash from Saudi Arabia into Iraq, money they said was headed for the insurgents. "In one recent case, an Iraqi official said $25 million in Saudi money went to a top Iraqi Sunni cleric and was used to buy weapons, including Strela, a Russian shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile," the report said.

The Pentagon is downplaying the rash of downed aircraft, saying the insurgents are just getting lucky shooting at our low-flying helicopters with small arms. But that doesn't explain how they took out one of our F-16s a few months ago. The jet crashed Nov. 27 while flying in support of U.S. soldiers fighting in Anbar.

A Sunni insurgent group claimed fighters armed with a Strela missile had shot down the jet. "We have stockpiles of Strelas, and we are going to surprise them (the Americans)," a spokesman told AP.

What's happening to us in Iraq is looking eerily similar to what happened to the Soviets in Afghanistan after Saudi and U.S. intelligence teamed up to supply Osama bin Laden with Stinger missiles that he and the "mujahedeen" successfully used to knock out Soviet choppers. By the time they were finished, Afghanistan looked like a graveyard of mangled propellers and burned-out helicopter hulls.

Iraq is already a graveyard of charred Humvees and armored carriers. Because of the lethality of the roadside bombs, our military has shifted to air transport. But it appears the enemy has already adjusted, using more sophisticated weapons purchased with Saudi cash.

The Saudis also are manning the insurgency. The vast majority of suicide attackers and foreign terrorists in Iraq are Saudi citizens.

But then, the Saudi government knows this. Saudi clerics, including the chief justice of Saudi Arabia's sharia court, have lured young Saudis to fight the "infidels" in Iraq, according to Senate testimony.

Saudi officials vehemently deny their country is a major source of support for the terrorists next door. But then, these are the same folks who've denied their country's been a major source of funding for al-Qaida.

They've also denied going easy on terrorists, even as they've released dozens of former Gitmo detainees from jail. An additional 30 were sprung by our so-called ally over Ramadan. Many have rejoined the jihad against the American "crusaders."

It's no secret that the royal family (composed entirely of Sunni Muslims) is worried about the new Iraqi regime (dominated by Shiite Muslims) next door cozying up to Tehran. Iran's growing influence in Iraq is a threat to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia is Sunni and Iran is Shiite, and although they are both Muslim, they are mortal regional foes.

The White House has glossed over the issue of Saudi funding for the terrorist insurgency in Iraq, even as it condemns other state sponsors of terror in the region, Syria and Iran.

Maintaining such a double standard may be politically expedient, but it won't protect American airmen and Marines now exposed to the more sophisticated weaponry -- a la Afghanistan, circa 1986 -- that Saudi money is buying in Iraq.

Investors Business Daily

© 2007, Assyrian International News Agency

Iraq budget set at USD 41 bn budget, USD 1.5 mn for compensating Kuwait







By Mohammad Al-Ghazzi

BAGHDAD, Feb 9 (KUNA) -- The Iraqi parliament endorsed on Friday the country's largest budget ever of USD 41 billion, including USD 1.551 million for compensating Kuwait for the 1990 invasion, and incorporating a deficit of USD 7.14 billion.

The budget was endorsed with the majority vote of 157 MPs, thus paving the way for reconstruction and development projects that had been on hold for over a month while law makers resolved their disputes over the issue.

It allocated USD 1.551 million for compensating Kuwait for damages inflicted during the invasion of the country by the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein in 1990.

Iraqi Finance Minister Baqer Al-Zubaidi told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), "I was optimistic the parliament would make its decision and allow the government to allocate budgets for its ministries and executive councils."

He said one mega-project was the construction of a large oil refinery, alongside electricity projects and building ten hospitals around the country. Schools and factories would also be set up, as well as infrastructure work.

On deficit, the minister explained it was a "projected and not realistic, and we hope to cover it with finances returned to the treasury from previous budgets."

Projected revenues stood at USD 33.3 billion, mostly from oil.

The budget, he said, was calculated on the basis of USD 50 per oil barrel and an average export of 1.7 million barrels per day from Iraq's southern port.

Originally Posted by chouchou

FIL - Done
Budget - Done
HCL - Maybe alrady done if not next week
ICI - ???????

R/V this month... WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT

Hi chouchou, when was the FIL done??? I can't find that anywhere
Thanks