Thread: Iraq/Dinar Until June 9th 1PM CST

Iraqi gas could use Azeri-Turkish route
by Reuters on Wednesday, 06 June 2007 The United States is holding talks with Iraq and Turkey to drum up investment to restart Iraqi gas production and exports to Europe, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

"It could be linked up to the [Azeri-Turkish] Baku-Erzerum pipeline," U.S. State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Bryza told a conference in Baku.

Azeri president Ilham Aliyev told the same conference on Tuesday his country will increase gas output to 16 billion cubic metres in 2008 from 12 bcm this year and start large-scale exports to Europe via the Baku-Erserum pipeline.

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The pipeline will get most of its volumes from the giant Azeri Shakh-Deniz field on the Caspian Sea, operated by BP and Norway's Statoil and involving Russia's LUKOIL, France's Total and Iranian and Turkish state oil firms.

Channelling Iraqi gas through the pipeline would add a new source of gas to Europe's supply mix and weaken the dominance of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, which will increase its 25% share of the European market in decades to come.

It could also provide gas for the Nabucco pipeline, European project which is under threat because of Gazprom's boycott and Russia's control of gas flows from Central Asia.

An industry source told Reuters in March that Turkish firms TPAO, Botas and Tekfen and Royal Dutch Shell had set up a consortium to bid for a gas production licence in Iraq and build a pipeline to Turkey's energy hub of Ceyhan.

The pipeline would run parallel to an existing oil pipeline from Iraq's Kirkuk to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.

Turkey has a complex relationship with the mainly Kurdish north of Iraq. Its army generals and politicians have sometimes threatened to take military action to crush separatist Turkish Kurdish rebels hiding in the mountains there.

But despite such political tensions, more than 600 Turkish firms are operating in northern Iraq. Analysts say Turkish exports to the Kurdish government there, including fuel, totalled about $5 billion in 2006 alone.

Published: 06/06/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)

Return of Al Sadr worries residents of Shiite district
By Basil Adas, Correspondent



Baghdad: After more than a week of the Shiite leader Moqtada Al Sadr's re-emergence, it seems that parts of a Shiite slum in Baghdad are concerned about his return.

People's anxiety has grown after the kidnapping of five Britons from the Iraqi Finance Ministry building in Palestine Street close to the Shiite neighbourhood of Sadr City where Mahdi Army militants are fortified.

The abduction led to a joint Iraqi-American and British security operation against the district. The armed clashes have expanded to the southern province of Diwaniya.


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Hamza, a citizen of Sadr City, told Gulf News, "Frankly, we do not want trouble in the city because people are distressed and stop their work everyday due to the security imposed by American forces, besides American helicopter raids claiming the lives of many civilians." He added, "Al Sadr's statements are patriotic yet they escalate the confrontation with Americans and make conditions in the neighbourhood very difficult and miserable."

According to statistics released by the Iraqi Health Ministry, raids by American warplanes continued every night since the outset of the security plan and each raid destroys two houses and kills at least eight civilians per day in the Al Sadr neighbourhood, which is inhabited by more than two million people who live under the poverty level.

Rahim, who lives in the Hay Al Khaleej district, said: "I live in a neighbourhood known for its allegiance to the Mahdi Army and most of its young people, including myself, are involved in this army. After the return of Moqtada Al Sadr, I noticed my mother's concern every time I leave the house."

Jordan, Iraq to resolve financial issues this month -- paper


AMMAN, June 6 (KUNA) -- Jordan and Iraq will meet later this month to settle pending financial issues, a Jordanian paper said Wednesday.

The Ad-Dustour daily reported Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Saad Jassim Al-Hayani saying the two countries are close to settling sums due to one another.

The committee settling the accounts is almost through reviewing all the numbers and contracts.

An Iraqi delegation will be visiting Jordan later this month to discuss bilateral agreements and ways to boost economic cooperation in all fields.

The delegation will also work to settle all pending payments between Amman and Baghdad.

Al-Hayani said a specialized Iraqi committee has reviewed all the paperwork by Jordanian companies demanding payment for importing products into Iraq under a commercial protocol that was in effect between the two countries or under contracts preceding the current agreement.

The ambassador said official Iraqi records which have been reviewed for this purpose have shown that some payments and company accounts have been settled.

Some of these company accounts have been paid by the Jordanian Central Bank and is now a pending transaction between the central banks of Iraq and Jordan.

The Iraqi Central Bank and other parties are reviewing all Jordanian companies' filed complaints whether they were settled by the Jordanian Central Bank or remain unpaid.

The paper quoted a source saying the unpaid accounts are around USD 416 million and the Jordanian Central Bank is asking for USD 1.3 billion from its Iraqi counterpart.

The financial issues between the two countries also include around USD 918 million in frozen Iraqi deposits.

The two parties have had a meeting last week in Jordan chaired by the commerce ministers of the two countries. During the meeting, the two agreed to the Iraqi committees visit this July to discuss pending issues.

Article originally published by KUNA

Residents of Doura in Baghdad cry for help



Azzaman, June 05, 2007



The restive Doura quarter of Baghdad has been under siege for nearly two weeks and residents say they are running out of basic items and amenities.



Doura is an anti-U.S. stronghold where armed groups have had the upper hand for years.



Repeated U.S. assaults have failed to dislodge the rebels, most of them adhering to the strict rules of Islam.



Most Christians have left the district following threats of kidnapping or killing. Doura’s four churches and three monasteries have been evacuated with U.S. troops turning two of them into barracks.



But the remaining residents say U.S. military operations and sieges have turned their quarter into a big prison.



They say shops have been closed and people cannot leave their homes with U.S. snipers occupying roofs of high buildings.



Iqbal Abdullah said the military cordon prevents civil servants from going to work and has made it impossible for students to join school.



“The Doura area is besieged by U.S. and Iraqi troops. I have not been able to go to work for nearly two weeks. The troops prevent people from walking or moving from one place to another,” she said.



Saad Mohammed, a taxi driver, said he had not been able to drive for all this period.



“The Doura area is under complete siege. There are no shops, no pharmacy, and no clinic. There is no electricity or water. We are passing through real tragedy,” he said.



Omer Ahmad said the troops would not even allow a person to shop from other areas.



“The forces in Doura do not allow residents to even walk in the district. Several people have been either injured or killed by snipers as they tried to leave their homes,” he said.



Doura is one of the most violent quarters of Baghdad. The rebels have imposed strict Islamic jurisprudence on the population which included a sizeable Christian minority.

IRAQI TRIBAL LEADER SAYS ISLAMIC STATE HAS MORE WEAPONS THAN IRAQI ARMY
Sheikh Abd al-Sattar Abu Rishah, head of the Al-Anbar Salvation Council, told the London-based "Al-Hayat" that the Islamic State of Iraq may have more weapons than the Iraqi Army, the daily reported on June 2. Abu Rishah said that based on the tribes' seven months of fighting the Islamic State in Al-Anbar Governorate, it appears the group "has large armament capabilities, equal to the Iraqi security forces' [capabilities] and even exceeds them." He contended that the Islamic State systematically looted stockpiles in Al-Iskandariyah, Al-Taji, Al-Mahmudiyah, and Al-Fallujah after the Hussein regime collapsed in 2003. Meanwhile, tribal leader Sattay al-Anzi from Karbala told the daily that militias and insurgent groups have benefited from a strong arms trade due to Iraq's porous borders. "Al-Amarah and Al-Basrah cities have become main outlets for smuggling weapons from Iran and Kuwait," he added. KR

Reducing Iraq British troops almost complete

Wednesday, June 06, 2007 08:29 GMT

British Military Spokesman said that reducing British troops in Southern Iraq to about 5,500 soldiers is almost complete.






Major David Gell said the reduction from about 7,000, as announced by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in February, would be competed by the rotation of a smaller brigade into Iraq and not by pulling out any troops, noting that one mechanized Brigade took command on June 1 from another Brigade and that the handover process should be completed in days, Gell said.
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© 2007 Alsumaria Iraqi

Iraqi oil pipeline workers strike
Tue 5 Jun 2007 8:53 AM ET
(Previous BAGHDAD, adds details, background)

By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq, June 5 (Reuters) - Workers at the Oil Pipeline Company in southern Iraq began a strike on Monday demanding the government improve their pay, the company spokesman said.

Faraj Mizban said about 600 workers are taking part in the strike and that they have shut two main pipelines which carry refined oil products to Baghdad and to the southern cities.

Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said the strike will not have any effect on crude oil exports from the south, vital for Iraq's economy.

"The workers have started a strike objecting to the lower yearly profit they get," he told Reuters.

"It has caused a halt (to the flow) of oil products..to Nassiriya, Kerbala and Baghdad," he added.

Mizban said the workers wanted pay rises from the company branch in Basra to be financially and administratively independent from the centre in Baghdad.

Basra, richest city in Iraq and its gateway to the Gulf, has been the scene of a power struggle among Shi'ite factions seeking control of its oil wealth.

Iraq, which depends heavily on hard currency from oil exports, is in desperate need for cash to revive its shattered economy.

International firms are still waiting for an energy law to regulate how the oil wealth would be distributed, before they start pumping money into the country.

The law, which was endorsed by the cabinet in February, was expected to be passed by the parliament last month. Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he will hit with an "iron fist" all those who plans to harm the interests of the state and he said in a statement that he has ordered the security forces to face "firmly all saboteurs".

The power struggle in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, involves militias and politicians loyal to young Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the Fadhila party and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC).

Locally powerful Fadhila, which controls key oil industry jobs in Basra, opposes the creation of a Shi'ite "super-region" espoused by SIIC, the dominant Shi'ite faction in Iraq.

Hassan Jomaa, the head of General Union of Oil Employees in Basra, said if the government refuses to meet the workers demands then they will work on spreading the strike to all oil facilities in Basra, including exports and production.

But the oil ministry spokesman Jihad said it was not possible for the Oil Pipeline Company workers to stop exports because they have no influence in the Southern Oil Company which is in charge of exports.

(Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad)



© Reuters 2007.

MENAFN) The Iraqi Minister of Electricity said that several Iraqi citizens have reported that a substantial amount of the kerosene which has been set aside for private generators goes to fabricated names, Iraq Directory reported.

He further stated that due to the ministry's inability to deliver the kerosene many will suffer throughout this year's summer. However, a total of forty-four diesel- powered generators with outputs of up to 1.7 megawatts will soon be provided to several areas throughout Baghdad.

It is worth stating that the Ministry of Electricity issued a report saying that starting from the fourth month of 2007 the assured that there would be a significant improvement in electrical provisions.

[quote=PAn8tv;212543]Demands for Kuwaiti government to reduce claims on Iraq
06 June 2007 (Iraq Directory)


He said, "The amount of $13 billion allocated from the current budget to investment projects and services is small compared with actual needs for advancement of economic activity and investment in Iraq."

Hasani added, "The current budget amounting to $42 billion is a consumer budget and not a reconstruction one." He explained,

"Iraqi per capita income is still low compared to the high prices of materials, despite the slight adjustments made in staff salaries; there are also the huge numbers of unemployed, some of whom are forced to enlist in armed groups. But the implementation of projects and providing work opportunities to eliminate unemployment is the key solution."[/quote]

VERY INTERESTING POINT! FROM A TOP OFFICIAL...WHO MUST SEE THAT THE KEY TO THE HIGH PRICE OF IMPORTED PARTS WOULD BE....REDUCE THE COST OF IMPORTS BY...

Bush & Democrats Push For Iraq to Open Its Oil Fields to Foreign Oil Companies

by Democracy Now (reposted)
Wednesday Jun 6th, 2007 7:31 AM

As the U.S. Discusses Staying in Iraq For 50+ Years, the Bush Administration & Congressional Democrats Push For Iraq to Open Its Oil Fields to Foreign Oil Companies

Antonia Juhasz discusses the new Iraq oil bill and why oil workers in southern Iraq have announced a strike to oppose the law. Juhasz is author of "The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time."

We turn now to Iraq. As the Iraqi parliament moves closer to a final vote on a controversial oil law, local opposition is intensifying. This week oil workers in southern Iraq announced a strike to oppose the law and demand better wages. More than six hundred workers are taking part, effecting two major pipelines. The workers want to be a part of the negotiation process from which they've been excluded. Critics say the law will expose Iraq's oil to major privatization and foreign takeover.

My next guest has written extensively about the economic side of the US occupation of Iraq. Antonia Juhasz is a Tarbell Fellow at Oil Change International. She is the author of the book, “The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time”, which has just come out in paperback. Welcome to Democracy Now.

* Antonia Juhasz, is an author and activist. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Cambridge University Review of International Relations Journal, and the LA Times. She is the author of "The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time", now out in paperback.

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