Thread: Iraqi/Dinar News History 2-3-07 thru 3-5-07(at 11:30am cst)

With all these excellent posts, I am really missing the "Thank You" button. Any chance of it coming back Neno? Thanks

Scott

Originally Posted by scottpaye

With all these excellent posts, I am really missing the "Thank You" button. Any chance of it coming back Neno? Thanks

Scott

Once again there will be changes. Tomorrow Marek has informed that we will changes servers again. Tired of these problems of doing one thing and losing another thing with out acknowledgement. Bare with admin as he strives to improve the forum. Thanks.

Iraq Oil Law Details Untouched Fields

By HASSAN HAFIDH
March 4, 2007 3:24 p.m.

Iraq's draft hydrocarbon law, the centerpiece in the development of the country's shaky oil industry, details dozens of untouched oil fields loaded with proven reserves and scores of exploration blocks that may prove a magnet to international oil companies, according to a document.
Development of the long-delayed draft law has suddenly picked up pace in recent weeks, with hopes that it may be approved by lawmakers later this month. It is expected to open the country's 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the world's third largest, to foreign investors.
In the latest draft, the law lists some 51 oil fields in various parts of Iraq that are ready for development, and 65 exploration blocks. The potential oil wealth of the country is broken down into four appendices.
The first details the 27 fields already in production, including the South and North Rumala fields and Majnoon in the south, which is in need of further development.
The second names 25 fallow oil fields with proven reserves positioned near those that already pump crude. On paper, they are the easiest to develop because of their proximity to existing infrastructure. They include Rattawi, Siba and Howzah in southern Iraq, Mansouriyia, Nahrawan and Himreen in the center and Ismail, Makhmour and Qarah Jwaq in the north.
An Iraqi oil expert familiar with the details of the draft law said the Iraqi National Oil Company, yet to be established, would control all the oil fields listed in these first two appendices. It can either develop the fallow fields itself or can negotiate with foreign companies to bring them on stream.
The third appendix lists 26 fields scattered across the country, which aren't close to producing fields, making them a costlier challenge to develop. They are found in the provinces of Muthanna, Anbar, Suleimaniya, Kirkuk and Najaf, among others.
Within this appendix, the Iraqi oil expert said the Kurdistan Regional Government can negotiate and sign preliminary contracts with foreign companies to develop oil fields located in its own territory, while the oil ministry in Baghdad does the same for fields elsewhere. These contracts will need to be approved by a federal oil and gas council.
The fourth names 65 blocks to be explored, with the majority in the Western Desert within the Sunni-held and strife-torn Anbar province northeast of Baghdad.
If the blocks are located within the three northern Kurdish provinces of Suleimaniya, Erbil and Dohuk, they would be controlled by the KRG, with Baghdad controlling the rest.
According to a cabinet document attached to the proposed law, Iraqi officials must first agree to the framework of contracts to be used when negotiating with foreign oil companies by March 15 if the country's draft hydrocarbons law is to be submitted to parliament for its approval.
Under the government of Saddam Hussein only four minor contracts were signed, but U.N. embargoes at the time prevented any work from starting.
The new draft law calls for reviewing and renegotiating these contracts. They include a contract signed by what is now Lukoil Holdings in 1997 to develop the West Qurna oil field but subsequently canceled by Iraq. China National Petroleum Corp signed in the same year a contract to develop al-Ahdab field and Russia's Stroitransgaz won the right to explore for oil at blocks in Iraq's Western Desert.
The Kurdish government signed five contracts with foreign oil companies before 2005, including oil and gas companies such as Norway's Det Norske Oljeselskap and Canada's Addax Petroleum Corp.
According to the new draft law these contracts would be reviewed by the Kurdish authorities and they need to be approved by an independent consultant appointed by the federal oil and gas council, to be established by the draft law.

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Originally Posted by Adster

Wardy, they just have some paperwork to fill out on this. Shouldn't take long. The interesting part in all this is the timing. Let's think about this, the FIL was passed back in October. Why would they be announcing their intentions of opening the doors to foreigners and implementing it anytime from now 5 months on!?

The other big article today was I think posted by Jola and was to do with exchange rates. Gist of it was of the implications an overnight reval would have on the economy. They're talking about it and soon will put it into motion.

Every day on this ride just gets better and better.

Thanks for the ISX clarification I'm not familar with the procedure but yes timing is the key and I have no doubt based on the evidence that we are approaching the watershed moment.

Originally Posted by wciappetta

Thanks for the ISX clarification I'm not familar with the procedure but yes timing is the key and I have no doubt based on the evidence that we are approaching the watershed moment.

Ward and Adster,
Maybe our watershed moment--will be similiar to Niagara Falls.
Very hopefull and prayerful.
LIT

Originally Posted by SunDevil

Iraq Oil Law Details Untouched Fields

By HASSAN HAFIDH
March 4, 2007 3:24 p.m.

Iraq's draft hydrocarbon law, the centerpiece in the development of the country's shaky oil industry, details dozens of untouched oil fields loaded with proven reserves and scores of exploration blocks that may prove a magnet to international oil companies, according to a document.
Development of the long-delayed draft law has suddenly picked up pace in recent weeks, with hopes that it may be approved by lawmakers later this month. It is expected to open the country's 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the world's third largest, to foreign investors.
In the latest draft, the law lists some 51 oil fields in various parts of Iraq that are ready for development, and 65 exploration blocks. The potential oil wealth of the country is broken down into four appendices.
The first details the 27 fields already in production, including the South and North Rumala fields and Majnoon in the south, which is in need of further development.
The second names 25 fallow oil fields with proven reserves positioned near those that already pump crude. On paper, they are the easiest to develop because of their proximity to existing infrastructure. They include Rattawi, Siba and Howzah in southern Iraq, Mansouriyia, Nahrawan and Himreen in the center and Ismail, Makhmour and Qarah Jwaq in the north.
An Iraqi oil expert familiar with the details of the draft law said the Iraqi National Oil Company, yet to be established, would control all the oil fields listed in these first two appendices. It can either develop the fallow fields itself or can negotiate with foreign companies to bring them on stream.
The third appendix lists 26 fields scattered across the country, which aren't close to producing fields, making them a costlier challenge to develop. They are found in the provinces of Muthanna, Anbar, Suleimaniya, Kirkuk and Najaf, among others.
Within this appendix, the Iraqi oil expert said the Kurdistan Regional Government can negotiate and sign preliminary contracts with foreign companies to develop oil fields located in its own territory, while the oil ministry in Baghdad does the same for fields elsewhere. These contracts will need to be approved by a federal oil and gas council.
The fourth names 65 blocks to be explored, with the majority in the Western Desert within the Sunni-held and strife-torn Anbar province northeast of Baghdad.
If the blocks are located within the three northern Kurdish provinces of Suleimaniya, Erbil and Dohuk, they would be controlled by the KRG, with Baghdad controlling the rest.
According to a cabinet document attached to the proposed law, Iraqi officials must first agree to the framework of contracts to be used when negotiating with foreign oil companies by March 15 if the country's draft hydrocarbons law is to be submitted to parliament for its approval.
Under the government of Saddam Hussein only four minor contracts were signed, but U.N. embargoes at the time prevented any work from starting.
The new draft law calls for reviewing and renegotiating these contracts. They include a contract signed by what is now Lukoil Holdings in 1997 to develop the West Qurna oil field but subsequently canceled by Iraq. China National Petroleum Corp signed in the same year a contract to develop al-Ahdab field and Russia's Stroitransgaz won the right to explore for oil at blocks in Iraq's Western Desert.
The Kurdish government signed five contracts with foreign oil companies before 2005, including oil and gas companies such as Norway's Det Norske Oljeselskap and Canada's Addax Petroleum Corp.
According to the new draft law these contracts would be reviewed by the Kurdish authorities and they need to be approved by an independent consultant appointed by the federal oil and gas council, to be established by the draft law.

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Here again is a report in regards to the oil law expected to be passed in March....D-E's post [God Bless her] claims May plus we also saw the MENA report that claimed ratification.......

Personally I believe end of March report since We had an article a month or so ago agreeing with that timeframe so the smoke and mirrors abound. Got to be deliberate for this much confusion....

Iraq needs an ‘economic surge’
Khaleej Times Online - [04/03/2007]

WE ARE now fighting a war intelligently in Iraq. The only problem is, it’s the last war, not the present one. The United States has gambled all its efforts on a troop surge that tackles the conflict that defined Iraq from 2003 to 2005 — the insurgency — rather than the civil war now raging across the country.

Worse, in trying to solve yesterday’s problem we are exacerbating today’s. In Baghdad, Shia militias have melted away. Almost all US military operations are now directed against Sunni insurgents. If those are successful, the picture could look less violent in six months, but it will be a dangerous stasis.

A senior US military officer, who is not allowed to speak on the record on these matters, said to me, "If we continue down the path we’re on, the Sunnis in Iraq will throw their lot behind Al Qaeda, and the Sunni majority in the Arab world will believe that we helped in the killing and cleansing of their brethren in Iraq. That’s not a good outcome for the security of the American people."

We don’t intend to side with anyone. We’re trying to be evenhanded and build a single, democratic nation. But this attempt at neutrality is collapsing in Iraq’s bloody sectarian reality. Last week’s uproar over allegations that Shia policemen in Baghdad had raped a 20-year-old Sunni woman vividly illustrates how trust between the two communities has been shattered.

Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki first ordered an investigation, then 12 hours later declared the woman a liar, freed and rewarded the alleged rapists and later fired a Sunni official who had called for an unbiased investigation. Meanwhile we’re stuck in the middle, promising to uncover the truth while both sides are convinced that we’ve betrayed them. This is the definition of a no-win strategy.

The United States needs to find fresh approaches that won’t feed the sectarian dynamic and will address the needs of ordinary Iraqis, not the political elites who are jockeying for power. Most important, we need to find a strategy whose costs are sustainable. Militarily this means drawing down our forces to around 60,000 troops and concentrating on Al Qaeda in Anbar province. The surge we should be pushing instead is a political one, and even more critically, an economic one.

An economic surge is long overdue. One of the less-remarked-upon blunders of the Coalition Provisional Authority was that — consumed by free-market ideology — it shut down all of Iraq’s state-owned enterprises. This crippled the bulk of Iraq’s non-oil economy, threw hundreds of thousands of workers into the streets and further alienated the Sunnis, who were the managerial class of the country.

The economic effects of this decision have been seismic. For example, Iraq’s agricultural productivity has plummeted because fertiliser plants were summarily closed. Unemployment in non-Kurdish Iraq remains close to 50 per cent, which helps explain why so many young men are joining gangs, militias and insurgent groups. For the moment at least, democracy in Iraq has sharpened the country’s divisions. Capitalism and commerce can make them less relevant. That is the lesson of many conflict-ridden countries from Northern Ireland to Mozambique to Vietnam.

Paul Brinkley, a talented deputy under secretary of defence, is trying to get the bulk of these state-owned factories up and running. He’s already restarted a bus factory in Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad, and the experience has been telling. Hundreds of workers still in the area showed up for work and the machines are now humming busily. There have been no attacks on the factory. "The insurgents attack people working for the police, army or the Americans. They do not want to alienate locals trying to make ends meet," said one official working on the project.

Of the original 193 state enterprises, 143 could be restarted soon, says Brinkley. Management and workers are desperate to get jobs. The problem is money. Brinkley points out that his next target, a ceramics factory in Ramadi, is only waiting for two generators before it can reopen. They cost $1 million each. But funds for this purpose are hard to find. Washington has pledged more than $18 billion to fund "reconstruction" in Iraq but will not appropriate a cent to start up state-owned Iraqi companies.

The Iraqi government has billions in oil revenue of its own but is so dysfunctional that it cannot move a new project through the system. So the factory is idle. A major global consulting firm has reviewed Iraq’s state-owned enterprises and estimated that it would cost $100 million to restart all of them and employ more than 150,000 Iraqis — $100 million. That’s as much money as the American military will spend in Iraq in the next 12 hours.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3331

Originally Posted by SunDevil

Iraq Oil Law Details Untouched Fields

By HASSAN HAFIDH
March 4, 2007 3:24 p.m.

Iraq's draft hydrocarbon law, the centerpiece in the development of the country's shaky oil industry, details dozens of untouched oil fields loaded with proven reserves and scores of exploration blocks that may prove a magnet to international oil companies, according to a document.
Development of the long-delayed draft law has suddenly picked up pace in recent weeks, with hopes that it may be approved by lawmakers later this month. It is expected to open the country's 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the world's third largest, to foreign investors.
In the latest draft, the law lists some 51 oil fields in various parts of Iraq that are ready for development, and 65 exploration blocks. The potential oil wealth of the country is broken down into four appendices.
The first details the 27 fields already in production, including the South and North Rumala fields and Majnoon in the south, which is in need of further development.
The second names 25 fallow oil fields with proven reserves positioned near those that already pump crude. On paper, they are the easiest to develop because of their proximity to existing infrastructure. They include Rattawi, Siba and Howzah in southern Iraq, Mansouriyia, Nahrawan and Himreen in the center and Ismail, Makhmour and Qarah Jwaq in the north.
An Iraqi oil expert familiar with the details of the draft law said the Iraqi National Oil Company, yet to be established, would control all the oil fields listed in these first two appendices. It can either develop the fallow fields itself or can negotiate with foreign companies to bring them on stream.
The third appendix lists 26 fields scattered across the country, which aren't close to producing fields, making them a costlier challenge to develop. They are found in the provinces of Muthanna, Anbar, Suleimaniya, Kirkuk and Najaf, among others.
Within this appendix, the Iraqi oil expert said the Kurdistan Regional Government can negotiate and sign preliminary contracts with foreign companies to develop oil fields located in its own territory, while the oil ministry in Baghdad does the same for fields elsewhere. These contracts will need to be approved by a federal oil and gas council.
The fourth names 65 blocks to be explored, with the majority in the Western Desert within the Sunni-held and strife-torn Anbar province northeast of Baghdad.
If the blocks are located within the three northern Kurdish provinces of Suleimaniya, Erbil and Dohuk, they would be controlled by the KRG, with Baghdad controlling the rest.
According to a cabinet document attached to the proposed law, Iraqi officials must first agree to the framework of contracts to be used when negotiating with foreign oil companies by March 15 if the country's draft hydrocarbons law is to be submitted to parliament for its approval.
Under the government of Saddam Hussein only four minor contracts were signed, but U.N. embargoes at the time prevented any work from starting.
The new draft law calls for reviewing and renegotiating these contracts. They include a contract signed by what is now Lukoil Holdings in 1997 to develop the West Qurna oil field but subsequently canceled by Iraq. China National Petroleum Corp signed in the same year a contract to develop al-Ahdab field and Russia's Stroitransgaz won the right to explore for oil at blocks in Iraq's Western Desert.
The Kurdish government signed five contracts with foreign oil companies before 2005, including oil and gas companies such as Norway's Det Norske Oljeselskap and Canada's Addax Petroleum Corp.
According to the new draft law these contracts would be reviewed by the Kurdish authorities and they need to be approved by an independent consultant appointed by the federal oil and gas council, to be established by the draft law.

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Thanks for the great article Sun Devil, but I just gotta say one thing.....

GO WILDCATS........

BEAT A.S.U.

Hi wciappetta,

I think it will be March as well. Maybe they meant it will all be done and drilling by May who knows or one of those wonderful smoke screen they love.

OK I am a little slow today but they have not enacted FIL but are just getting ready to. I read somewhere else that it was enacted. So I am confused. I think they are just getting ready to enact with the HCL. So we could actually see an RV tomorrow or in this week would be my take. I hope I am right just an opinion though.

Dinar-Excited

Originally Posted by Dinar-Excited

Hi wciappetta,

I think it will be March as well. Maybe they meant it will all be done and drilling by May who knows or one of those wonderful smoke screen they love.

OK I am a little slow today but they have not enacted FIL but are just getting ready to. I read somewhere else that it was enacted. So I am confused. I think they are just getting ready to enact with the HCL. So we could actually see an RV tomorrow or in this week would be my take. I hope I am right just an opinion though.

Dinar-Excited

Dinar-Excited: You are not far off the mark! I definitely think we will see a RV this month! Dates dont mean anything to the Iraqi's They have proven they cannot work to a date! So get prepared! when we least expect it!