Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. Before Feb. 21, 2007

Minister : Iraqi Oil Company controlled the largest new fields

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Walsh Herstani on Wednesday that Iraq would put most of the crops oil controlled oil company and a new national can call multinational companies to help support exports and production.

Shahrastani added in an interview with Reuters that the 27-meter-A oil and caused them all fields will be allocated for the giant company Iraqi National Oil. He said that these fields are reserved for national companies which happen but they must cooperate with other companies to increase production from Tel k fields.

He reported that talks with foreign companies on pw fuel will begin after the Parliament passed the law. Shahrastani refused to say when the law is expected Might j parliament, but expressed confidence in the conclusion of the negotiations x Lal days.


Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

The Republic of Iraq
The Office of the President
Press Office

News : President Jalal Talabani confirmed : "plan to impose law" augur well first phase Wa the success
February 18, 2007

He said President Jalal Talabani, "There are meetings continuous between the political blocs and between the presidency and R. Nash ministers in order to achieve the most pressing political participation Qiqih and implementation of the agreements signed between the blocs of Mr. Sey participate in the government, in order to entrench the principle Twas according to the National Political Council and the activation of the national security. "
Reviewed President Talabani, during his meeting with the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during the luncheon, by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in honor of the Minister, on Saturday, February 17, 2007, political developments and the current developments, in addition to the implementation of a plan to "impose law," which "T. humans first phase promising success. "
And the President stressed during the meeting, , which was attended by Vice President of the Republic and a number of Almsauli n, the need to strengthen bilateral relations between Iraq and a for the United States of America at all levels, and to stress the importance of finding satisfactory solutions to some married and a pending completion of the political process and the success of pain national valid, to ensure the success of a plan to "impose the law" and the establishment of security and a for the safety of the whole country.
From their part, the American Secretary of State without support approval of the political process, democracy and the provision of Wallace Takrar in Iraq. stressing the need to move forward and progressing and confident about attained s success in Iraq.

Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

Originally Posted by PAn8tv

The Republic of Iraq
The Office of the President
Press Office

News : President Jalal Talabani confirmed : "plan to impose law" augur well first phase Wa the success
February 18, 2007

He said President Jalal Talabani, "There are meetings continuous between the political blocs and between the presidency and R. Nash ministers in order to achieve the most pressing political participation Qiqih and implementation of the agreements signed between the blocs of Mr. Sey participate in the government, in order to entrench the principle Twas according to the National Political Council and the activation of the national security. "
Reviewed President Talabani, during his meeting with the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during the luncheon, by Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in honor of the Minister, on Saturday, February 17, 2007, political developments and the current developments, in addition to the implementation of a plan to "impose law," which "T. humans first phase promising success. " And the President stressed during the meeting, , which was attended by Vice President of the Republic and a number of Almsauli n, the need to strengthen bilateral relations between Iraq and a for the United States of America at all levels, and to stress the importance of finding satisfactory solutions to some married and a pending completion of the political process and the success of pain national valid, to ensure the success of a plan to "impose the law" and the establishment of security and a for the safety of the whole country.
From their part, the American Secretary of State without support approval of the political process, democracy and the provision of Wallace Takrar in Iraq. stressing the need to move forward and progressing and confident about attained s success in Iraq.

Sotaliraq.com - ÕæÊ ÇáÚÑÇÞ

oh yeah, its happening!!!!

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 02/17/2007 | Secretary of State "impressed" with Iraq security plan

Secretary of State "impressed" with Iraq security plan
By Leila Fadel
McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD _ In a surprise visit to Iraq Saturday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Iraqi officials to get an assessment of the Baghdad security plan and to gauge the prospects for reconciliation among the warring factions in Iraq.

Following her meetings, Rice declared herself “impressed” with the steps being taken.

With support waning in the United States for the war effort and for financing future reconstruction of Iraq, the stakes for success by the new Iraqi government couldn’t be higher.

Rice spent some six hours in the highly protected Green Zone meeting with Iraqi officials before heading to Jerusalem for talks with other Middle East officials.

The two key issues that occupied Rice’s briefings were the security plan in Baghdad, which is underway now, and pending revisions to the Iraqi constitution to give more political and economic clout to Sunnis, who were protected by Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship but who have been excluded since the U.S. invasion.

A new oil law would evenly distribute oil revenues among the Sunnis, Shia and Kurds and would permit low-level members of Hussein’s Baathist party to hold government jobs.

During the deliberations over Iraq original constitution, officials left an oil-sharing plan ambiguous to speed adoption of the constitution. The new measure, while still being drafted, is controversial. Kurds are objecting to a per-capita split of oil revenue, saying their oil-rich territory in northern Iraq deserved a greater share.

Following her meeting with Iraqi politicians, including Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, President Jalal Talabani and Vice President Tariq al Hashemi, Rice said she was “impressed with what we’ve seen thus far of the commitment of the Iraqi leadership to the Baghdad security plan.” She also the plan “even handed.” Sunnis fear that the plan may target them and leave Shiite militias close to the government unchecked.

Rice said the law changes were necessary and are a “proxy for something bigger…what is going to be the attitude of the majority force to the minorities.”

Since the security plan went into effect this past week, checkpoints have been set up throughout the capital to search vehicles. Raids are ongoing.

Daily reports from the Baghdad Operational Command show that confiscations of weapons and arrests in Sunni neighborhoods far outweigh those in Shiite neighborhoods thus far. In Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite slum and the largest Mahdi Army stronghold, only 13 ammunition magazines for rifles were confiscated. Officials did not say whether the magazines were full of bullets or empty.

Asked if the United States and Iraq had a contingency plan if the security measures were unsuccessful, Rice insisted that the plan needed time to work and that the military would be adjusting its efforts to changes in the streets.

“It’s not going to be one day and everybody can declare victory,” she said. “It’s just going to go on. There are going to be bad days for the security plan when violence is up not down…Thus far I would have to say the performance has been quite good.”

In her meetings with political leaders, Rice urged them to finish the oil law to show the Iraqi people that the government can make a unified decision for the good of a nation not just for a sect or ethnicity.

While both the Kurdish north and Shiite south are oil rich lands, the Sunni regions have little of the resource. The draft law has not been officially presented to the parliament but Rice said she was assured the law was close to being passed.

“It’s a question of, is this going to be a unified country that shares in the resources for all the people?” she said. “I did say to my colleagues that I’ve heard that it’s almost complete before and I hope that this time it is almost complete. As in, complete.”

After some discordant messages about whether the Iranian government was smuggling weapons into Iraq, Rice discounted an accusation in a briefing in Baghdad that the smuggling reached the “highest leadership” of the Iranian government.

“I don’t know at what level of the Iranian government this has been approved or decided,” she said. “It is an activity that is done by an element of the Iranian government so I think the Iranian government has to be held accountable for it.”

Some weapons, mortars as well as a homemade bomb that could pierce armor were discovered and are allegedly made in Iran and smuggled to Shiite militias.

Militias attached to the Shiite-led government are known to be funded by Iran and firebrand cleric Muqtada Sadr is said to have fled to Iran. He did not attend Friday prayers in Kufa, where he was expected to appear to end the rumors.

Rice said she didn’t know where he was but that “the Iraqi government has undertaken a commitment to deal with the forces of death squads or violent people no matter what side of the religion …or who they belong to.”

Earlier this weak Major General William Caldwell, spokesman for Multi-National Force-Iraq, said Sadr was in Iran.

Rice also sternly stated that she hoped the Iraqi people appreciated American kindness through reconstruction funding. “The United States gave as a gift to Iraqis 18.6 billion dollars in reconstruction funds,” she said. “A gift. We didn’t ask for a penny of it back. And I hope it’s appreciated that the American people did that.”

Police reports show that the violence had dropped drastically, only five bodies were found throughout the capital _ a fraction of the about 40 to 50 corpses usually discovered. But in at least three prior security plans, violence initially dropped before resurging once heighten troop levels dropped.

Brig. General Qassim Moussawi, the spokesman for the general leading the plan, said 50 surface-to-air missiles were confiscated in one of Baghdad’s neighborhoods that could be used to target both civilians and coalition aircraft. In the last month five U.S. Military helicopters were shot down, in at least one case “sophisticated weaponry” was used the U.S. military said.

MIL-IRAQ-UNREST-DECREASE
Violence in Baghdad down by 80 percent - spokesman

BAGHDAD, Feb 17 (KUNA) -- The rate of violent acts in the Iraqi capital retreated by 80 percent three days after the start of implementation of the Law Enforcement Plan, spokesman of the plan General Qassim Ata said Saturday.

During the operation the Iraqi security forces killed four terrorists and arrested 144 others all of them were wanted for the Iraqi authorities.

No indiscriminate crackdown was made during the operation, Ata underscored in a press briefing.

He showed reporters a photo of "a leading terrorist and his cell" who were arrested in Al-Baladiat district, Baghdad, for involvement in the bombings of Al-Mustansria University.

Six of the detainees confessed of their "grave crimes," Ata said, pointing out recordings that implicated the detainees in abductions, rape and murder in Al-Adl district, west Baghdad.

All suspects of Al-Bab El-Sharqi bombings are teenagers, he added.

A suspect perpetrator of Assadr City, east Baghdad, was also arrested in the first three days of the security plan that led also to seizure of arms cashes and the release of several abductees in some areas of the Iraqi capital. Kuna site|Story page|Violence in Baghdad down by 80 percent - spokesman...2/17/2007

Looking better

I hope this has not been previously posted. I would shorten it, but not smart enough to know what is important and what could be cut. Thanks,

Middle East Economic Survey

VOL. XLIX

No 8

19-Feb-2007

Iraq’s Draft Petroleum Law: An Independent Perspective

By Tariq Shafiq

The following paper was presented by Tariq Shafiq at a conference for Iraqi oil technocrats in 'Amman on 17 February. Mr Shafiq, a principal drafter of the petroleum law, is director of Petrolog & Associates, Chair Fertile Crescent Oil Company, and a former Executive Director and Vice Chairman of Iraq National Oil Company.

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Iraq may prove to have one of the largest petroleum resource bases in the world, with potential oil reserves in excess of 215bn barrels and proven reserves in the region of 115bn barrels, which puts it on par with Saudi Arabia. Moreover, its exploration and development costs are amongst the lowest in the Middle East. However, Iraq’s oil production has historically not matched its oil reserve capability and has not reflected low extraction costs. Its maximum production rate in any one year has not exceeded 3.5mn b/d, despite an exploration and development history stretching over nearly eight decades.

Iraq’s present proven reserves can support a production level of 10mn b/d and maintain it for a decade. Priority in the coming years should therefore be given to the rehabilitation and expansion of production capacity and not to exploration.

Planning oil field development to increase production capacity should be carried out in the framework of a composite master plan which examines the capacities of discovered and producing fields (including each producing formation within every field) from a technical and economic feasibility point of view. It should also take into consideration Iraq’s economic development plans and needs. This requires centralized policy and planning.

1.2 The finding cost per barrel of oil is estimated at: US Cent 0.5. The development cost per barrel of oil is estimated at: $0.5-1.0. This puts capital investment cost per 1mn barrels of production capacity at $3bn for the expansion of existing production facilities and $6bn at the oil field boundary. These figures may go to up to $4.5bn and $9bn if security requirements and the recent high inflation in the cost of oil equipment are taken into account. Operating costs per barrel are $1-2.

1.3 Today, Iraq’s production facilities are either, dilapidated, looted, sabotaged, or war-damaged to the extent that in September 2003, the country’s production rate fell to around 1mn b/d, in comparison to a pre-war level in March 2003 of some 2.8mn b/d. At the beginning of 2007, Iraq was producing around 2mn b/d and exporting around 1.5mn b/d, a rate which is declining.

Iraq’s oil industry was governed by the concession oil agreements until the early 1970s and by decrees and regulations thereafter. It is time Iraq had a petroleum law that sets out clear terms and conditions for proper oil and gas industry plans, policy and implementation.

2.0 The Draft Petroleum Law

2.1 On the invitation of the Iraqi Minister of Oil, Husain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi draft petroleum law was researched and drafted by a team of three independent Iraqi oil technocrats (including myself), who together have international, Middle East and Iraqi oil industry experience amounting to some 120 years. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Oil was also invited to join the team, but did not participate.

2.2 The law is based on Articles 111 and 112 of the new Iraqi constitution, seen in the light of Articles 2, 49, 109 and 110, which broadly define the authorities and responsibilities of the federal and provincial authorities within the petroleum sector.

In order to clarify the imprecise nature of these articles so as to work on the basis of a sound interpretation of them, legal advice was sought from an independent legal firm which gave an interpretation of Iraq’s constitutional articles governing oil and gas that was adopted by the Ministry of Oil. In the forthcoming review of the constitution, it is expected that the vast majority of Iraqi oil technocrats will vote for modification of Articles 111 and 112, governing the ownership of oil and gas and management of production, plans and strategic policy respectively, in the light of this legal interpretation. The draft petroleum law has been written on the basis of this legal interpretation, irrespective of whether the constitutional review takes place.

2.3 The overall objectives of the draft petroleum law are to optimize Iraq’s oil and gas exploitation, maximize return, and unite the country.

The draft law seeks uniform plans and policy throughout the country and requires the Oil Ministry to consult and participate with the provinces. The supervision of oil and gas operations is shared between the provinces and the Ministry. The decision-making process has built-in checks and balances to enhance transparency and fight corruption.

2.4 The law is investment friendly. It encourages private enterprise and welcomes international oil companies (IOCs) to work in partnership with the Iraq National Oil Company (INOC). The IOCs have a recognized role to play in the transfer of up-to-date state-of-the-art technology, the technical and managerial training of Iraqis, and in providing investment capital. Selection from pre-qualified companies will be made through tendering in a transparent and accountable process. Contract negotiations and decisions will be tasked to a high level Federal Oil and Gas Commission (FOGC), assisted by a negotiating entity and an independent advisory think tank. However, the function and task of the latter two bodies has been changed in the third and latest draft. Signature authority is vested in the Council of Ministers by the Council of Representatives (parliament).

To ensure proper communication and management as well as the participation of the provinces, INOC will be an independent holding company with affiliated regional operating companies with interrelated directorships. All discovered fields will be earmarked for INOC.

The Ministry of Oil will be tasked with the role of supervision and regulation, in addition to the preparation of plans and policy in cooperation with the provinces. The third draft had also tasked them and the regional government of Kurdistan with the role of negotiating oil and gas contracts.

3.0 The Negotiations

3.1 As highlighted above, the overall objective of the draft petroleum law is to optimize oil and gas exploitation, maximize return and unite the country. As such, the draft law was written by the drafting team to serve the interests of the nation as a whole and to apply equally to all parts of the country, with no provision for negotiation between the federal government and any one region, governorate or ethnic and sectarian group.

3.2 The petroleum draft law prepared by the drafting team was adopted by the Ministry of Oil without modification.

However, as differences between rival sectarian and ethnic parties in the country have widened, negotiations between the major parties ahead of debate among the members of the Council of Representatives have become the rule. The case of the draft petroleum law is no exception. Hard negotiations have been taking place, essentially, between KRG representatives and the rest of the members of the Ministerial Committee which was set up to examine and make recommendations on the draft petroleum law to the Council of Ministers. Once approved by the Council, the law would be passed to the Council of Representatives for ratification.

The KRG’s position, expressed in their published draft petroleum law, was based on a radical interpretation of Article 111 which categorizes oil and gas in Kurdistan as the property of the people of Kurdistan and not as an undivided asset of the whole Iraqi nation. The KRG petroleum law is designed to impose terms and conditions on the federal draft law, creating a large area for negotiation. As a result, the current third draft in my view includes material changes that weaken the built-in checks and balances which were carefully designed to ensure transparency and accountability. These changes do in fact compromise the interests of the nation as a whole, as explained below.

The Temporary Administrative Law (TAL) issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) makes consultation or cooperation in the management of oil and gas resources between the federal government and the regions and governorates the only requirement, conditional on an agreed fair distribution of revenue. The constitution, however, requires consultation and cooperation in the management of resources. The Oil Ministry’s draft petroleum law goes beyond that by sharing management and decision-making with the regions and governorates. It has been drafted to serve the interests of the nation as a whole and to apply equally to all parts of the country, with no built in room for negotiation between the federal government and individual regions or governorates.

3.3 Negotiations did not start in earnest until the revenue sharing issue had been settled in principle.

The negotiations have been slow, proceeding in a stop and go fashion over the last five months. An important breakthrough occurred when a senior KRG minister stated at an oil conference in London on 8 December, 2006, that following a recent definitive agreement between the KRG and federal government negotiators on an acceptable scheme of oil revenue sharing, the KRG position on the interpretation of Articles 111 and 112 had changed and come into line with that of the central government. He added that in due course, following the building of mutual confidence, the KRG might consent to the redrafting of the relevant constitutional articles. This was regarded by those Iraqis present as a genuine gesture by the Iraqi Kurds acting in the common interest of the Iraqi nation.

Despite this declaration, however, the official KRG position remains that it has the authority to negotiate contracts with companies independently of the Federal Petroleum Commission and without the need to seek its approval.

Another difficult issue is the KRG’s production sharing agreements (PSA) contracts with small oil companies. These provide windfall profits well above the norm required by the current draft petroleum law, in the order of an internal discounted rate of return of 60-100%. The Oil Ministry has decreed them unacceptable and without any legal basis. Whether they are to be cancelled or, more likely, reviewed and brought into line with the terms of the federal petroleum law is another issue which has yet to be settled.

In my opinion, if the KRG maintains this position it would amount to a de facto rejection of Articles 111, 112 and other relevant articles of the constitution, which give the federal government the responsibility for the proper management of oil and gas resources. It would leave the door open for other regions and governorates to follow suit and set a damaging precedent. It could lead to a variety of contract terms and conditions and a potential lack of transparency, and accountability, as well as bypassing the checks and balances built into the Oil Ministry’s draft federal law.

However, recently a compromise solution has been reached which would allow the KRG to negotiate contracts with companies in the presence of a representative from the Oil Ministry and subject to the approval of the FOGC; and allow the KRG itself to renegotiate existing PSA contracts to bring them into conformity with the federal petroleum law, with their validity subject to the approval of the FOGC.


The content of the third draft petroleum law of mid-January was agreed by the negotiating committee but has not yet been approved by the decision makers in the KRG. They are seeking to defer final approval until a complete package is finalized that includes laws for the establishment of INOC, petroleum revenue distribution and the reorganization of the Ministry of Oil.

KRG approval has not been forthcoming despite the significant changes already made to the draft during negotiations, which have adversely affected the structure of checks and balances and include changes to the management of INOC. Among these are the following:

a. The original draft law did not restrict the appointment of the INOC board of directors rigidly to members from the provinces and federal government, as the latest draft seems to suggest. The original draft emphasized however, the need for INOC’s financial and commercial independence. Such restrictions on membership could adversely affect the independence and efficiency of INOC’s operational management.

b. The third draft also stipulates that oil and gas exploration and development programs need to be distributed geographically. However, while social justice may require this, nature unfortunately does not, as oil and gas are not equally distributed in all the provinces.

c. The role of the independent advisory professional body, named in the third draft as the Oil and Gas Independent Consultants Bureau (OGICB), has been considerably weakened and lacks transparency. Its former authority to examine all issues has been reduced to only those issues selected by the FOGC. The requirement that it should publish an annual report has been removed.

The term of its members has been reduced to one year from five and their appointment requires the unanimous approval of the members of the FPC; a most strange rule. The appointments of FOGC and OGICB members have been made to conform to Iraq’s sectarian and ethnic make up, an alarming instance of the politicization of the country’s most vital economic commodity instead of the independent and professional management that is badly needed.

d. The FOGC has been enlarged from 9 to 20 or 30 members, depending on future developments, which makes it better suited to act as a debating society than a body tasked with a vital decision-making role in optimizing the proper resource development of the nation. Moreover, while its size has been inflated, its role has been considerably weakened. In fact, the negotiating role of the FOGC via the OGICB with regard to Kurdistan has been removed and given to the KRG. This is an invitation to others to form regions so as to follow suit, risking the introduction of non-standardized practices which would neither encourage the major IOCs nor enhance the quality of negotiated contracts.

e. The conditions governing the grant of rights to enter into development and exploration contracts in the latest draft appear to emphasize the form over the substance of the contract. The draft recognizes the need to examine the contractor’s qualifications and to adhere to a form of negotiating process involving the use of model contracts, but does not examine the soundness of the terms and conditions agreed on. No contractor should be invited to bid unless it has been pre-qualified by the Oil Ministry in accordance with pre-set conditions and procedure. However, it is vital that the proposed terms and conditions should be examined by the FOGC and OGICB to ensure the maximum return to the state, as well as an adequate, fair and competitive rate of return for the contractor.

f. The checks and balances in the third draft are now insufficient to cope with Iraq’s internal political complications, leaving the jurisdiction of the authorities and the processes for granting rights open to political manipulation.

g. Further, and critically for the future of Iraq’s oil and gas industry, the draft would shift balance of power in the management of Iraq’s oil and gas resource alarmingly from the center to the regions.

h. The critical items that have been removed in the third draft are fundamental to professionalism, transparency and accountability. The principles are still there, but the mechanisms for enforcing them in Iraq’s current turbulent situation have been removed or circumvented.

I would like to emphasize that the third draft law is extremely disappointing, in the opinion of myself and of Farouk al-Kasim, another member of the drafting team.

4.0 Concluding Remarks

4.1 Without a central unified policy there will be differences and competition between INOC (producing and marketing its export oil to provide the state’s income) and the regions and governorates (prioritizing exploration for additional reserves that will not be required for many years to come), as well as friction and resentment between the haves and have-nots amongst the various regions and governorates.

Such developments would foster instability, which would discourage investment and contribute to fragmentation instead of promoting the uniformity of oil and gas practices and the unity of the nation.

The constitution entrusts the task of managing oil and gas resources to the federal government, not to a village, governorate or region. The initial draft law was drawn up with a view to unifying plans, policy and decision-making through the participation of the regions, governorates and the federal government at the center, without ignoring participation at the operating and supervisory level.

4.2 Instability would discourage serious IOCs, who have the knowledge, capital and markets Iraq requires. Iraq would then find itself resorting to speculators who promise more than they can deliver and minor companies which do not have the capability to develop the country’s giant oil fields.

4.3 IOCs, in my view, should aim for the urgently needed rehabilitation of infrastructure, the expansion of capacity at partially developed fields, improved reservoir performance and the development of the many discovered but as yet undelineated oil fields in partnerships with INOC, rather than opting for extensive exploration for unnecessary new oil. A stampede for exploration and development contracts at this particular juncture of Iraq’s political and economic development would be viewed as mortgaging the reserves of future generations. It would also fuel the view that the war was about oil.

4.4 A ‘tsunami’ of violence is currently engulfing Iraq, characterized by a widespread lack of security and law and order. This is accompanied by a lack of efficiency in government organizations and a near absence of institutional performance or sound management both at the center and, especially, in the provinces.

Action to reverse these damaging trends should be comprehensive in nature and coordinated in approach, and should put the welfare of the country above all other considerations. A healthy and robust oil industry would provide the revenue necessary for social and economic reform and the right environment for easing much of the above developments.

4.5 Last but not least I salute the actions of the Ministry of Oil and the negotiators of the federal government, who were put in the position of trying to reconcile two diametrically opposed views, those of the Ministry and of the KRG’s radical and unacceptable interpretation of the constitutional articles governing oil and gas ownership and management. Furthermore, they have not enjoyed the full backing of the federal government in their dealings with the KRG negotiators, who had all the backing and political support of their regional government.

Finally, I would appeal for a return to the spirit behind the 8 December declaration by the senior representative of the KRG as a genuine gesture by the Iraqi Kurdish nation acting in the interest of the Iraqi nation as a whole

Mustang Sally - awesome post that explains what's going on. At least it is in plain English - so we understand something...:)

Right now I have a few things bugging me ( some may have been debated before - but in the light of the new events, I would still like to get an opinion).

- Do we need HCL enacted BEFORE RV or it does not matter?
- Do we need the FIL enacted BEFORE RV or it does not matter?
- Would enacting the FIL ONLY do the trick for the reval to take place?Cause obviously they need to do some more work on the HCL...
- Why is the urulink.net site up again? Could it be that new STUFF will be posted ( new laws enacted)?
- What about the 100,000 dinars handout...I can not find a link that says : " the grant is FOR REBUILDING HOUSES AND BUYING LAND"...I mean, is it for getting these families back on their feet or it is just to give them money for gas for the next several days ( 75 bucks or whatever it is)?

Thanks...
I really hope SUsie is right this time. :)

Alliance-Adjournment

Voices of Iraq / Baghdad
Posted by saleem on Feb 18, 2007 - 09:41 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alliance-Adjournment
Security plan puts off new coalition formation-legislator
By Dergham Mohammed Ali
Baghdad, Feb 18, (VOI)- The parliamentary blocs seeking the formation of a new coalition with a national agenda away from sectarian affiliation adjourned the announcement of the new alliance in a bid to lend support to Baghdad security plan in place since Wednesday, a legislator said.


Alliance-Adjournment
Security plan puts off new coalition formation-legislator
By Dergham Mohammed Ali
Baghdad, Feb 18, (VOI)- The parliamentary blocs seeking the formation of a new coalition with a national agenda away from sectarian affiliation adjourned the announcement of the new alliance in a bid to lend support to Baghdad security plan in place since Wednesday, a legislator said.
"The new security plan needs political support for success and thus the political parties adjourned the announcement of the new formation to avoid any misinterpretation of the move," legislator Safiya al-Suhail, of Iraqi National List, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
She added "all the parties are backing up the government in its effort to render the new security plan (Rule of Law) a success."
The Iraqi National List is led by the former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi with 25 seats out of a total of 275 in the parliament.
Iraqi politicians recently were inclined to form a new coalition comprising the Shiite Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), Badr organization, Fadhila (Virtue) party, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party and Allawi's Iraqi National List.
On Wednesday, Iraqi and U.S. troops launched a large-scale military operation in Baghdad to quell sectarian violence and bombings that swept the Iraqi capital over the last year.


Alliance-Adjournment :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

Iraq-

Voices of Iraq / Baghdad
Posted by nakr2004 on Feb 18, 2007 - 06:44 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iraq-Poverty
One-third of Iraqis live in poverty – UNDP study
Amman, Feb 18, (VOI) – From a thriving middle income economy in the 70's and 80's, one-third of today's Iraqi population lives in poverty with more than five percent living in extreme poverty.
These are some of the startling findings from the latest study prepared by the Iraqi Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT) with the support of UNDP.

Iraq-Poverty
One-third of Iraqis live in poverty – UNDP study
Amman, Feb 18, (VOI) – From a thriving middle income economy in the 70's and 80's, one-third of today's Iraqi population lives in poverty with more than five percent living in extreme poverty.
These are some of the startling findings from the latest study prepared by the Iraqi Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT) with the support of UNDP.
Launched jointly by the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation and UNDP, the Unsatisfied Basic Needs (UBN) study shows that a high percentage of people in Iraq live under various levels of poverty and human deprivation despite the huge economic and natural resources of the country.
The policies applied to transform the Iraqi economy to a free market such as the lifting of subsidies and the dismantling of state instruments, are exacerbating deprivation levels.
The situation in the country shows a deeply complex political and security crisis with no quick apparent solution, according to UNDP in the Jordanian capital Amman on Sunday.
The study also highlights significant variations in living standards across the country, with the southern region in Iraq showing the highest level of deprivation, followed by the centre and then the north.
Rural areas show three times higher levels of deprivation than urban areas, with the Baghdad area being the best in the country.
The highest deprivation levels are in access to basic services such as electricity and water, followed by economic status of households, then the housing environment.
"We will use the study's findings to better target projects such as those for rapid job creation, focusing on areas of greatest need and where infrastructure, especially water and sanitation, is lacking," said Dr Mehdi Al-Alak, COSIT Chairman.
It will also be used to complement the UNDP- supported Donor Aid Coordination project, helping to match provision of international assistance to the most deprived areas, he added.
"This study will be an important addition to the toolkit of policy makers, development planners and practitioners," stated Paolo Lembo, UNDP Iraq Director.
He pointed out that the last few years have been marked by a manifest lack of up-to-date and reliable data which is essential for the initiation, monitoring and evaluation of any development intervention.
The survey provides extremely important baseline information on which decisions can be made and interventions better targeted and prioritized, he stressed.

Iraq-Poverty :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

I was looking around and found this from Aug 2006. In re-reading this it shows just how far off the reval was last year and how close it is now. With all the articles coming out on the benchmarks that have been reached this article is kind of reassuring if you have been following the stories...

IMF Executive Board Completes First and Second Reviews Under the Stand-By Arrangement with Iraq
Press Release No. 06/175
August 3, 2006
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed the first and second review of Iraq's performance and a review of financing assurances under the 15 months Stand-By Arrangement. The arrangement is being treated as precautionary by the Iraqi authorities.

The Stand-By Arrangement in an amount equivalent to SDR 475.4 million (about US$705.6 million) was approved on December 23, 2005 (see Press Release No. 05/307).

In completing the reviews, the Board approved the authorities' requests for waivers of applicability of six end-June 2006 quantitative performance criteria as well as waivers for the nonobservance of the quantitative performance criterion on the revenue of oil-related state enterprises for March 31, 2006, the May 15, 2006 structural performance criterion on completing the final audit of the Central Bank of Iraq's 2005 financial operations, the structural performance criterion on adopting a fully detailed budget classification and chart of accounts by June 30, 2006, and the continuous performance criterion on external arrears on new borrowings.

Following the Executive Board's discussion of Iraq, on Wednesday, August 2, 2006, Mr. Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated:

"The Iraqi authorities have taken important and decisive measures to bring their economic program back on track, although continued progress in the authorities' reform efforts will remain critically dependent on an improvement in the security situation. Substantial efforts have been made to maintain fiscal discipline and control recurrent spending, despite the difficult environment, and the Central Bank of Iraq's tightening of monetary conditions constitutes an important step in the right direction. The timely adjustment of fuel prices is welcome, and the submission to the Council of Representatives of the revised draft law to liberalize private imports of fuel products restores to the agenda a key component of the authorities' program, and its early passage into law and implementation will be key to prevent supply bottlenecks in the market for petroleum products.

"Inflation remains, however, a serious source of concern. The ongoing violence and supply disruptions in the non-oil economy will undoubtedly continue to put pressure on prices. In this context, it is commendable that the Central Bank of Iraq stands ready to further tighten monetary and exchange rate policy to prevent high inflation from becoming entrenched. Fiscal policy should be supportive by keeping public sector wages and pensions in check.

"Structural reforms and institution-building will remain the cornerstone of the reconstruction process. It is encouraging that preparations for establishing an operational payments system are well advanced. However, much work remains to be done in other areas. A top priority is the reform of the pension law to ensure that Iraq's public sector pension system is sustainable over the medium term. Other key areas of reform include improvements in transparency in the government's payroll, improvements in public expenditure management, and work towards a successor to the Public Distribution System. There has been a welcome increase in targeted support for the poor, and reforms in this area will continue to be of central importance, including the development of a better targeted social safety net that will go hand in hand with the reduction in general subsidies.

The completion of bilateral negotiations with Paris Club creditors is welcome and progress has to be made toward resolving non-Paris Club official claims. The excellent progress in settling arrears with private creditors is also noteworthy. Good faith efforts to resolve the remaining arrears should continue.

Governance and transparency are essential for the authorities' program to succeed. The government's efforts to tackle corruption in the petroleum sector are therefore welcome," Mr. Kato said.