Thread: Kurdistan Economy

45 Arab Companies Withdraw from Erbil Expo

The general director of Erbil International Expos has said that due to the unrest across the Middle East, almost 45 Arab companies have withdrawn from the fourth International Exhibition for the Construction Industry in Erbil.

The expo currently underway in the Kurdistan Region’s capital has exhibits from 200 companies from 17 different countries.

Latif Arf told AKnews the deteriorating political situation in Iraq and the rest of the Arab world has led the 45 companies, most of them Egyptian, cancel their participation in the expo.

The Kurdish official said initially 50 Arab companies withdrew but eventually five decided Erbil is safe and participated along other companies.

In northern Iraq, only one of the three provinces of Kurdistan, Sulaimaniya, witnessed public protests so far. The rallies there left six killed and over two hundred people wounded. Some buildings of the opposition and a ruling party were also attacked.

Abdullah Abdul-Rahman, the coordinator for Erbil international expos, blamed the withdrawal of the Arab companies on the “political unrest in their own countries, given the fact that most of those who withdrew were from Egypt.”

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...om-erbil-expo/

Hawrami Outlines Kurdistan O&G Resources

The last three years have been “exceptional” for the Kurdistan Region in terms of discoveries of both oil and gas, Dr Ashti Hawrami, the Minister of Natural Resources, told an audience of diplomats and international oil companies in Erbil today.

Dr Hawrami said that as a result of drilling activities from 2008 to 2010, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Natural Resources was constantly updating and reviewing the Region’s resource base estimates.

“We see our Region sitting on at least 45 billion barrels of oil and as much as 100-200 trillion cubic feet of gas and we expect that soon some of our reserve estimates will be included in that of Iraq’s overall reserves,” he said.

Speaking at the launch of The Oil & Gas Year Kurdistan Region of Iraq 2011, a book that focuses on the Region’s energy sector, Dr Hawrami also said production levels were steadily increasing and that exports of crude oil from the Region had already reached around 100,000 barrels per day.

“That figure will continue to rise throughout the year and we are very much on track to reach exports of 1 million barrels a day by 2015,” Dr Hawrami said. He added that he was pleased with the technical cooperation shown by the state-owned Northern Oil Company, which is responsible for the management of Iraq’s Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.

Dr Hawrami said gas discovered in the Kurdistan Region would first help to solve Iraq’s chronic electricity shortages and then provide an important source of revenue for the federal government through exports to Turkey, to Europe and beyond.

“New gas discoveries to date total 20 trillion cubic feet,” he announced. “This is in addition to the previously discovered Khor Mor and Chamchamal fields which according to Iraqi estimates contain 4-5 trillion cubic feet and which remain a priority dedicated to serve the domestic market for current and future power generation.”

Dr Hawrami outlined the MNR’s support for plans to boost power-generation in the Region with the construction of three gas-fired power plants in the provinces of Dohuk, Erbil and Suleimaniah.

Dr Hawrami said the KRG was planning to develop 5000MW of electricity, in addition to the current domestic plan of 2000 MW. “This is for supply to both the KRG governorates and to our neighbouring provinces of Ninevah, Kirkuk and Salahadin,” he said.

Dr Hawrami said he was optimistic that the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad would soon be solved. He said that he expected the federal parliament to pass a hydrocarbons law and a companion revenue-sharing law in the coming months.

“Iraq needs these laws. The region needs these laws,” he said. “They have already been delayed too long. We need to take the ideology out of oil policy and focus on getting results. After all, we are all working to the same end, which is to make our oil and gas work for all the people of Iraq, without exception.”

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...-og-resources/

Kurdistan PM ready to resign if parliament asks

Prime Minister of Kurdistan region, Barham Saleh, said on Wednesday that he is ready to resign if the parliament asked him to do so.

This came during an extraordinary session at the parliament to discuss the recent developments and protests in Sulaimaniya.

In his brief word, he expressed sorry over the recent developments and conditions in Kurdistan, voicing his readiness to implement any decision taken by the parliament.

“Acts of violence that accompanied the protests should not be repeated again,” he said, noting that the protests represent an opportunity to make reforms and social justice.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1....page&id=141387

UN envoy Ed Melkert in Erbil to meet Kurdish leaders
The United Nations Special Envoy to Iraq Ed Melkert has landed in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region to meet the Kurdish leaders

"Melkert is expected to meet Massoud Barzani, the president of Kurdistan Region," said a source in Erbil International Airport without offering further details.

The surprise visit by Melkert comes as the tensions between the opposition groups and the ruling parties in Kurdistan are escalating after public demonstrations swept across Sulaimaniyah province over the past month demanding political reforms.

The ruling parties accuse the opposition, in particular Gorran of inciting the demonstrators. Demonstrators attacked the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leading to clashes in which eighty people were killed and over 100 wounded.

Another subject of contention, likely to feature in the talks, is the deployment of Kurdish Peshmarga forces in the territorially disputed Kirkuk province.

Tensions are rising in the multi-ethnic province over the deployment of the Kurdish security forces who, according to Kurdish leaders are there to protect the province's Kurdish and Turkoman populations. Their presence has heightened tensions however between the three main ethnic groups, as the province's Arabs and Turkomen are demanding their immediate removal.

Last week a federal parliamentary session in Baghdad was postponed as arguments broke out over the issue between Turkoman and Kurdish deputies from Kirkuk.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZA...dish%20leaders

Council of Ministers of the Kurdistan region shall issue instructions for employing 25 thousand people

Council of Ministers passed the Kurdistan Regional Government, on Thursday, the instructions for employing 25 thousand people in government institutions. According to the new instructions of the Council of Ministers, received by the Kurdish news agency (Rn) a copy of which, it is "based on the decision of the Council of Ministers of region No. 3136 on 17 March, will be set to 25 thousand people new to owners of 2011 the current, according to the Council's conditions of service and without any non-legal interventions and mode, taking into account the proportion of the provinces and ministries."

The new instructions, that "he will be forming a committee in each province and the Department of Ckramaan, chaired by the Governor and the membership of the provincial council and all of the managers of the Treasury, Statistics, and representatives of ministries, the Committee granted full powers to implement the resolution."

He added, "These committees will be formed in all the provinces, you specify the number of such cadres that will be the share of each province, based on the needs of existing departments and directorates within the province and districts and areas and the proportion of the population."

He explained that "the provincial commissions granted authority to the announcement of the vacancy and the preparation of forms and approved within the province, as well as granting authority to transfer grades between departments according to the needs of the province."

According to the above-mentioned resolution, that "the recruitment process will be according to transparent criteria and the public through the media, and for this purpose the Commission will mentioned b (Declaration type of posts vacant in the media and determine the legal procedures and staffing requirements and expertise required and the geographical location and the degree of functionality and identifying stakeholders and the lead time required for appointment and re-forms."

Turning one of the paragraphs of the decision of the Council of Ministers, that "he may not be the Ministry of Finance, economic and other relevant ministries, to take any decision contrary to the principles and content of the resolution set by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the region, regardless of the level and degree of responsibility of those who issued them," noting that "the Ministry of Finance and Economy is responsible for the implementation of such decisions."

Noting that "the decision was allocated 5% of the functions of the Court of ministries and the Council of Ministers, provided that the appointment process in accordance with the regulations and procedures and the same instructions."

http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/225922/

Kurdistan Says Its Gas Can Quench Nabucco Pipeline for 100 Years

The newly contracted director of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Shekhan oil field says it is set to become the largest oil field in the whole of Iraq, and the minister of natural resources says the semiautonomous region has massive natural gas reserves, which could supply the needs of the projected Nabucco pipeline for at least 100 years.

“[The Shekhan] oil field is expected to have around 1.9 to 7.4 billion barrels of oil,” said Tod Cozel, managing director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum, a company from the United Kingdom, which has won the contract for oil production at the Shekhan field.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has now signed a total of 37 oil and gas production contracts with 41 foreign companies from 17 countries, and has begun to promote Kurdistan’s oil industry to the international market through a two-volume publication entitled “The Oil and Gas Year.”

The second volume was launched on March 3rd at a ceremony at the Rotana Hotel in the region’s capital, Erbil, attended by Kurdistan’s prime minister. At the ceremony, Mehmet Sepil, owner of Genel Enerji, which has been working in oil extraction and production in Kurdistan since 2002, was awarded the Person of the Year title by the KRG. His company now works in various Iraqi Kurdistan oil fields, including the Taq Taq field near Kirkuk.

The new publication evaluates the last 12 months’ activities in Kurdistan’s oil and gas industry, and includes an interview with Iraqi Kurdistan’s minister of natural resources, Ashty Hawrami, in which he talks about the importance of the oil and gas industry for Kurdistan’s economy.

“This industry…provides thousands of jobs for people in Kurdistan. We have built two refineries so far, and the third is under construction,” says Hawrami in the interview.

The book lists the 41 foreign companies that have signed oil and gas contracts with the KRG, and the line-up includes some big international names, such as Canadian firm Aspect Energy, the United States’ Murphy Oil Corporation, Turkey’s Genel Enerji, Norway’s DNO, and Gulf Keystone Petroleum.

Among other facts, the publication states that oil reserves in Iraqi Kurdistan are estimated at 45 billion barrels, and that, since 2003, 49 new oil wells have been dug within the Kurdistan region, including Tawke, Taq Taq, Baziyan, Shekhan, Sarseng, Bardarash, Miran, Chamchamal, and Akre. Sepil was recognized as Person of the Year due to his outstanding achievements in the field, which include his company being given the tenders for six oil production projects in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Interviewed in the publication, Sepil says it is expected that the combined oil production of Iraq Kurdistan’s Tawke and Taq Taq fields will reach 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) by the end of this year, although his company is eventually aiming for each field to reach 100,000 bpd. Sepil also confirmed that his company was working on a project to install an oil pipeline to Kurdistan’s border, which would serve as an alternative to the Kirkuk pipelines, as this would increase Kurdistan’s oil exportation, and he called on the KRG to assist with the completion of this project as soon as possible.

In the publication, Ahmed Saeed, director of Forbes Energy Group, praises the suitability of Kurdistan’s land for the oil industry.

“Geologically in Kurdistan, there are fewer threats compared to in other countries, and when the political situation stabilizes in Kurdistan, the market for natural resource industries will flourish as well,” says Saeed.

In addition, the natural resources minister states that Iraqi Kurdistan is ready to supply the unfinished Nabucco pipeline with gas for the long term.

“According to the estimates of the government and some other parties, Kurdistan has about 106 to 212 trillion cubic meters of gas,” says Hawrami in the publication. “As we all know, it is planned that the Nabucco pipeline will import gas from the Caucasus and Central Asia to Europe, and it will require 31 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year. If we have [only] 106 trillion cubic meters of natural gas in Kurdistan, then we can supply Nabucco with natural gas for 100 years.”

http://www.rudaw.net/english/business/3521.html

Zain Iraq to resume its services officially in the Kurdistan region

Zain Mobile Telecommunications for the start of commercial services in all governorates of the Kurdistan region, as a first phase within the project which aims to cover all areas and the northern provinces.

He said a press statement issued by the company, "The new expansion of the scope of coverage of services will cover the remote villages in the second phase of expansion, including many of the main roads and resorts and the roads."

The company explained that it aims, through these projects to the development of communication services and upgrading quality in order to be linked to the rest of Iraq and the world.

The statement quoted the CEO of Zain Iraq Emad Makiya said, "that cover the region of Kurdistan is part of the company's strategy to deliver the company's services to the farthest point, in order to facilitate the task of the participants, wherever they are.

http://www.radiodijla.com/cgi-bin/ne...?id=2011-03-28

KRG High Representative to UK Talks to Iraq Business News

Iraq Business News recently had the pleasure of interviewing the Kurdistan Regional Government’s High Representative to the United Kingdom, Ms Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman.

Iraq Business News: Ms Abdul Rahman, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. May I ask you firstly for your opinion about the ongoing protests in the Middle East?

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman: These are certainly interesting times all across the Middle East region, and on the whole I view it as a positive development. There is a wave of demand for reform, and those who want to see positive change are being strengthened by recent events.

IBN: To what extent are these demonstrations relevant to Iraq?

BSAR: The nature of the demonstrations have shown how different Iraq is from other countries in this part of the world; it has a democratically elected government, so the demands are not for the overthrow of a dictator, but for stronger measures against corruption and for better public services. In Kurdistan, the demonstrations have been mainly in Sulaimaniya. Masoud Barzani, who was elected as President of the Kurdistan Region less than two years ago with 70% of the votes cast in a high-turnout election., has also called for reform, and for early provincial elections in the Kurdistan Region. We may also have early parliamentary elections. So the government is taking the demonstrators seriously. The Parliament has and continues to meet protesters to understand and take on board their grievances.

IBN: Have the protests had any impact on business in the Region?

BSAR: In terms of international business, I can only speak about what we have experienced through our office in the UK. So far we have not had a single negative response from a British or international businessman or company. When the Middle East Association (MEA) ran a trade mission to Kurdistan recently, the issue of protests didn’t even come up.

IBN: What are the main challenges facing foreign businesses that want to work in the Region?

BSAR: I’d say the main challenge is one of perception – many people still have an out-dated view of Iraq, with exaggerated fears of violence. There is also a misconception that doing business in Kurdistan precludes doing business in the rest of Iraq, and this is simply not the case; it is no different from doing business in Scotland and also in England, for example. We would also appreciate an improvement in the visa process for Iraqi business people trying to visit the UK, as this is currently hampering trade between the two countries.

But there are many things that outweigh these challenges. Only this month, FDI Magazine which is a subsidiary of the Financial Times, ranked Erbil (the Kurdish capital) in fifth place in a list of the top Middle East cities with potential for foreign direct investment. This places Erbil ahead of Muscat and Riyadh.

IBN: To what extent is investment in Kurdistan dominated by oil and gas?

BSAR: Oil and gas are clearly very important, but since July 2006 Kurdistan also has its own Investment Law, which covers all other sectors of the economy, and billions of dollars of investment contracts have already been signed under this law. It is regarded as very investor-friendly, allowing foreign investors tax exemptions and to own property in some cases, for example.

IBN: What are the main non-energy sectors for investment in Kurdistan?

BSAR: Another resource-based sector that is very exciting is the whole area of minerals. We will have a new Minerals Law in the near future, and the first comprehensive geological survey of the Region is being planned at present. In addition to that, infrastructural development and construction are high priorities, and we are seeing huge interest in areas such as telecommunications, agriculture, and tourism.

IBN: How accessible is Kurdistan for Western visitors?

BSAR: Most Western visitors currently going to Kurdistan are going there to do business or to work. We have two international airports with flights to European and Middle Eastern capitals, and some good international-standard hotels in the major cities, visas are easy to obtain for European Union nationals, so I think for the business traveller, Kurdistan is very accessible.

In terms of Western tourists, the numbers are small but increasing. There are some package-tour companies that offer packages to Kurdistan, while there are also independent travellers who are looking to go somewhere off-the-beaten-track. Kurdistan has a great deal to offer visitors, from river rafting, mountain climbing and what is termed adventure tourism, to heritage tourism for those interested in the ancient and cultural sites.

Both National Geographic and the New York Times have identified Kurdistan as an up-and-coming tourist destination. We expect to see more of that kind of recognition in the future.

IBN: Ms Abdul Rahman, thank you very much for speaking with us.

BSAR: It was a pleasure.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...business-news/

Zain Iraq Plans to Invest $100m in Kurdish Zone

The Iraqi unit of Kuwait telecoms firm Zain is planning to spend $100m this year as part of its plan to expand throughout the entire Kurdish region over the next five months, its chief executive said yesterday.

Emad Makiya, CEO of Zain Iraq, the country’s biggest mobile phone operator, said the firm planned to extend its services to “every remote village” in the semi-autonomous northern area after officially launching operations in its three main cities on Wednesday. It started initial operations in Iraqi Kurdistan in October.

“The roll out has been completed for phase one. We’re starting phase two very soon. The whole investment is going to be in the neighbourhood of $100m for Zain in the Kurdish region,” he said. “Currently we are covering the metropolitan cities of Dohuk, Sulaimaniya and Erbil, and the connecting highways between the three governates and the rest of Iraq.”

Makiya said phase two involved getting vendors to help Zain extend services around the region and said the ground work for this would start in May. Iraq did not have a mobile phone market under the rule of Saddam Hussein, but the industry has boomed in the past eight years after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled him.

Zain, with 12 million subscribers, competes with AsiaCell and the Iraqi Kurdistan-based Korek; it expects to add up to 18,000 new subscribers a month from Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

Makiya said Zain had formally appealed against a $262m fine imposed by Iraq in January for breaching its license. Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) last month said it had fined Zain for putting 5 million SIM cards in the local market without permission.

Zain had said it was surprised by the penalty and said the licence fee it had paid Iraq allowed it to build a network, use the spectrum and issue a range of SIM card numbers. “We’re fighting it legally. We’ve already submitted our legal explanation to the CMC and to the hearing committee and we’re waiting for the results,” Makiya said. “We are fully confident that this should be resolved in an easier manner than resort to the law.”

He said Zain was also in talks with AsiaCell — which earlier this month said it had stopped interconnection with subscribers of the “unlicensed lines” — to get the lines reconnected. The Iraqi government has criticised Zain and other providers for patchy coverage, but Zain blames reception problems on military jamming as security forces try to prevent militants from detonating bombs.

Makiya said operating in the Kurdish region was easier, particularly because it was safer than the rest of Iraq. “There is no interference over there like you have here in Baghdad because the region is very secure,” he said. The lack of jamming and the better infrastructure network in the Kurdish area should also improve the quality of calls, he added.

http://www.iraq-businessnews.com/201...-kurdish-zone/

Asiacell donate to the University of Ckramaan $ 50,000

Announced Asiacell Communications pledged $ 50,000 to the University of Ckramaan, which was newly established in the territory of Kurdistan, in order to contribute to the purchase of supplies and requirements that you need.

This initiative was launched to confirm the interest Asiacell support the education sector in the country, especially the Iraqi universities, the president of the Board of Directors for Asiacell Faruk Mustafa Rasool: University of Ckramaan of the new universities which started to attract students to study at the beginning of this year, and therefore contributed to them in securing some of the requirements and University requirements.

As the President of the University of Ckramaan Professor Farooq Abdullah Karim expressed his deep thanks and appreciation for the initiative of the company's diverse social and praised their activities which seek to support the community in all fields.

http://ar.radionawa.com/Detail.aspx?id=2943&LinkID=197