Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 01/01/08 - 14/04/08

OMV to Continue with Planned Oil Exploration Project in Northern Iraq

OMV AG intends to start oil exploration in Northern Iraq this year despite delivery sanctions imposed against the Austrian oil and gas company by the oil ministry in Baghdad, according to Der Standard.

"We are sure that we are on the correct side of the law, like the 15 other international companies (involved) are too," a spokesperson for OMV told Der Standard.

On Jan 1, the oil ministry agreed to halt exports of crude oil to OMV, and a South Korean company, in a protest against what it calls 'illegal' delivery contracts with the Kurdish regional government.

According to the Austrian newspaper however, OMV bases its stance on the current valid constitution in Iraq, which deems the regional governments responsible for the allocation of such licences.

OMV to Continue with Planned Oil Exploration Project in Northern Iraq | Iraq Updates

Update.......

BP Progresses with Plans to Invest in Iraq

BP PLC is progressing with plans to invest in oil-rich Iraq, chief executive Tony Hayward said.

He told reporters the group has been holding meetings with Iraqi oil officials.

BP is hoping to forge a "more formal technical services agreement" with the Iraqi government relating to the development of the country's vast oil industry, he told reporters in a news conference.

Security and political issues remain a worry, but Hayward noted the situation has now been "significantly better" than it was six to 12 months ago.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC is also prepared to return to Iraq but could only do so once the government enacts a new oil law, chief executive Jeroen van der Veer had told reporters last week.

Shell was one of the biggest players in Iraq from the 1920s and was a key shareholder in the Iraq Petroleum Co, which discovered the Kirkuk oil field in 1927. It left the country in 1972 when Saddam Hussein nationalised the oil industry.

BP Progresses with Plans to Invest in Iraq | Iraq Updates

He Said, She Said ... Middle East Style: Iraq Claims Iran Stealing Oil

Iraq and Iran, two countries sharing intimately close borders, are squaring off over oil stolen from the Abu Gharb and al-Fakkah fields, which Iraq claims Iran has pumped illegally, according to the Associated Press.

In the same report, claims were made by Iraq that Iran had illegally seized and capped off wells in the al-Fakkah field. The two fields are the richest oil patches in Iraq.

An official from Iraq's South Oil Company, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Associated Press that Iran has been "pumping oil from their portion of the field at such high rates that nine of 22 wells in Iraqi territory have been left inoperable."

al-Sabah, a state-run daily, said Iraq's Foreign Affairs Ministry sent a note of protest to Tehran through its embassy in Baghdad.

"The Iraqi government demanded the Iranian side to stop activities relating to these fields until an agreement between the two countries is reached," the newspaper quoted Deputy Minister Deputy Mohammed al-Haj Hmoud as saying.

Iran is rejecting all accusations made by Iraq's Oil Ministry.

In a statement listed on its website late Feb. 4, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini said, "The claim is not based on evidence."

Azzaman, an Iraqi newspaper, reported that the Iraq Oil Ministry is denying claims that Iran has stolen oil from Iraq.

Azzaman reporter Mohammed Hameed spoke to Iraq Oil Ministry Inspector General Abdulkarim al-Aibi who offered the following summation of the claim:

"I cannot understand the target of making such statements as well as their timing. It is strange to raise the issue of joint oil fields with Iran and ignore how Kuwait has been stealing millions of barrels for years and up to the present time."

Furthermore, the fields in question are not even mentioned by al-Aibi in his statement to Azzaman.

"The joint fields with Iran are those of Naft Khaneh and Missan," al-Aibi told Azzaman.

According to Al-Aibi, Iraq has created a special committee to "coordinate with neighboring states the exploitation of joint oil fields."

He Said, She Said ... Middle East Style: Iraq Claims Iran Stealing Oil | Iraq Updates

Iraq To Send Technicians To Doha For Gas Project Talks - Qatar Min

Iraq will send representatives to Doha, Qatar in the coming weeks to talk about how the countries can cooperate on future gas developments, Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah said Monday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Chatham House Middle East Energy conference in London, Al Attiyah said: "We will have two technical teams (from Iraq) to talk in Doha on how to cooperate."

Asked what the focus of their work would be, he replied: "Let's let them do their work first."

Iraq's Oil Minister Hussein Al-Sharistani Friday began talks that could see the tiny but influential gas-rich emirate of Qatar invest in gas developments there, a further sign that increasing stability in the war-torn country is igniting the interest of overseas investors.

An Iraq official confirmed the meeting took place but wouldn't supply details of the discussions.

Qatar, with the third largest gas reserves in the world, is a leading generator of technology-driven gas projects, boasting huge liquefied natural gas terminals and, with Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN), the world's largest project to turn gas into low-emissions fuels such as diesel and jet fuel.

About 600 million cubic feet of associated gas is being flared each day from oil fields in Southern Iraq, a person familiar with the details told Dow Jones Newswires in Vienna last week.

Iraq To Send Technicians To Doha For Gas Project Talks-Qatar Min | Iraq Updates

The 'Sons of Iraq' Keep the Peace

Throughout Iraq, one of the good news stories has been the so-called Sunni Awakening, in which groups of primarily Sunni citizens have been joining up with U.S. military forces to fight against Shiite militias and the Sunni terrorist group known as al Qaeda in Iraq. They tip off U.S. troops to arms caches and guard their neighborhoods from Shiite militia activity.

But just what to call these groups has been another matter. For months, they have been referred to as volunteer security workers, neighborhood watch, or "Concerned Local Citizens" (that's CLCs if you're on a forward operating base). True, they are not official government security forces—they often wear the sorts of orange vests that you might see during an intramural sports club practice. The problem with those monikers, though, is that they tend to obscure the fact that these groups are also armed militia on the U.S. payroll. An estimated 80,000 of them are paid $10 a day (or $300 a month) by the U.S. military—a good wage in Iraq these days.

While journalists are trying to settle on just what to call these groups, the U.S. military has offered up a new contender: Yesterday in a briefing, Col. Wayne Grigsby, the commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, referred to the "Sons of Iraq" in a video briefing from Baghdad. It was a new term for many Pentagon reporters. "So can I infer that you will no longer be calling the local Iraqis who assist U.S. forces 'concerned local citizens'?" asked one journalist.

"That's correct," Grigsby answered, explaining that in his area of operation, they are now called the Sons of Iraq. "This term, Sons of Iraq, I think, came from the government of Iraq. And it just shows—from my perspective, it just shows that these individuals who are providing security, that are standing up for their country, are exactly what the government of Iraq wants for their country."

PUKmedia :: English - The 'Sons of Iraq' Keep the Peace

Update......

Energy Security Plans between Iraq and EU

Iraqi and European Union officials have discussed plans for Iraq to supply the EU with natural gas.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahristani met EU External Relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs in Brussels last Thursday.

The officials say they discussed plans to transport natural gas from a gas field in southern Iraq to the EU through the Arab Gas Pipeline.

When completed, the pipeline will connect Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey. Iraqi gas could then reach the heart of Europe through the planned Nabucco pipeline, which is to run from Turkey to Austria.

The EU buys most of its natural gas from Russia and wants to diversify its suppliers.

Iraq's oil minister said Iraq is committed to meeting the EU's energy needs.

In turn, the EU is providing Iraq millions of dollars in aid and technical support to rebuild its infrastructure, broken from years of war.

PUKmedia :: English - Energy Security Plans between Iraq and EU

Erfan Kirkukly : Article 140 Guarantee Stability in Iraq

The Turkmen Public Party renewed its support for the implementation of Article 140 of Iraqi Constitution, concerning normalization in Kirkuk and other disputed areas.

Mr. Erfan Kirkukly the Head of the Turkmen Public Party, exclusively stated to PUKmedia” Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution was voted on by the majority of Iraqi people, it’s the guarantee for stability in Iraq.”

PUKmedia :: English - Erfan Kirkukly : Article 140 Guarantee Stability in Iraq

Sulaimany…Signing Understanding Memo with Iranian Companies

Mr. Abdullah Haj Saaed, the assistant of PUK Secretary General for Commercial Affairs, met with a delegation representing Iranian Companies , specialized in Building, Agriculture, Electricity and Tourism. They expressed their readiness to invest and work in Kurdistan Region.

Mr. Abdullah Haj Saaed signed an understanding memo with the Delegation. According to this, Iranian companies will play a crucial role in the fields which these companies are specialized in.

Mr. Jalal Talabani and KRG will offer a full support to the Iranian companies, this memo will activate the building process in Kurdistan Region and modernize its infrastructure, Mr. Abdullah Haj Saaed said.

PUKmedia :: English - Sulaimany…Signing Understanding Memo with Iranian Companies

President Jalal Talabani Receives Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad

His Excellency, President Jalal Talabani received yesterday in his office, Hassan Kazemi Komi, the Iranian Ambassador in Baghdad.

They discussed the expected visit of Iranian President Mahmud Amadi- nejad to Iraq, as a response to the official invitation sent by President Jalal Talabani.

They also exchanged view points on the importance of consolidating bilateral and historical ties between the Republic of Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran, in a way which serve the interests of both countries. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Nazar Muhammad Saaed, the head of the President Jalal Talabani Office.

PUKmedia :: English - President Jalal Talabani Receives Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad

Blackwater Key to US-Iraq Talks: Ambassador

The status and role of private security firms like Blackwater in Iraq is central to upcoming talks between Washington and Baghdad, Iraqi ambassador to the US Samir Sumaidaie said Tuesday.

The future of such private security companies "is one of the prime concerns that the Iraqis will put on the table," he told reporters in Washington.

"We want them to be accountable. Our position is that we want them to be accountable under Iraqi law."

Blackwater is the most controversial of several private US security firms tasked with protecting high-profile US officials and foreign dignitaries visiting Iraq.

Iraqi leaders will meet their US allies later this month to negotiate a new agreement on relations between the two countries and the long-term presence of US forces, the Iraqi government announced on Monday.

The private companies are under fire because of the high numbers of civilian deaths and injuries they inflict upon Iraqis.

The most controversial such incident occurred on September 16, 2007 when Blackwater guards fatally shot 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.

The companies at present are not subject to Iraq law, but at the same time are not governed by US military tribunals, allowing them to operate without any repercussions for their actions.

Sumaidaie said he ruled out blanket immunity for the companies.

"For us it is unacceptable," he said. "I think it should be unacceptable for the Americans as well because that gives them license to do anything they please which is counter-productive from the American point of view."

PUKmedia :: English - Blackwater Key to US-Iraq Talks: Ambassador