Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 22/06/2010 - 04/10/2010

European Air Companies to start flights from and to Baghdad International Airport

Iraqi airways and Iraq Civil Aviation Authority said that a number of European and International airways submitted requests in order to start flights from their countries towards Iraq and Vice-Versa. Meanwhile, Iraq Civil Aviation Authority said that it controls all the facilities of Baghdad International Airport that were used by the US Forces. The Director of the Company Kifah Hassan Jabbar said that next month Lufthansa German Airlines will start flights from and to Baghdad and so will do the Italian Air Company Alitalia and Air France.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Economics...l-Airport.html

Originally Posted by Seaview

Cabinet approves oil contract with Leighton Offshore

Iraq’s cabinet approved a $733 million contract on Tuesday for oil export expansion to Leighton Offshore Private Ltd, Iraq’s government spokesman said.

The project, for which Foster Wheeler won a project management consultancy (PMC) services contract in July, is expected to boost Iraq’s oil export capacity from the southern city of Basra to 3 million barrels per day from 1.8 million bpd now, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=137337

Iraq Cabinet approves deal with Leighton Offshore Private

The Iraqi cabinet Tuesday approved a $733 million deal for Leighton Offshore Private Ltd. Singaporean Oil Company to build a new oil export terminal in the southern city of Basra, a spokesman for the Iraqi government said. It adds that the deal requires new pipelines and rigs to be constructed in the Basra region over a period of 15 months. Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said that the project is a turning point in exporting crude oil as it opens new oil exporting outlet especially that Iraq is heading towards a quantum leap in the field of oil industry in matters of production and exports capacity. Government spokesman uttered that the project is of 2 stages the first aims at boosting oil production capacity to 2 million barrels per day and the produced quantity could reach 3 million barrels per day in the second stage.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Economics...e-Private.html

Talabani briefs Al Maliki on US visit

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani briefed Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki on his visit to the United States and his participation in the General Assembly 65th meeting.

President Talabani and Prime Minister Al Maliki discussed the political race on premiership and both stressed the necessity to accelerate the formation of the government.

Talabani met as well Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi who underlined the importance of a national partnership government capable of meeting Iraqis’ aspirations, ascertaining security and stability and providing services for the people.

President Talabani pursued its meetings as he convened with Vice President Tarek Al Hashemi who called to overcome all hindrances in this critical stage and form a national partnership government.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...-US-visit.html

the oil industry and its role in promoting the national economy

Previously Iraq neighboring countries in the establishment of the nucleus of the oil industry through the construction first oil refinery in 1871 in Diyala province and to address the oil spill after the successive steps in the creation of units refining coefficient of gas, many projects rely on oil derivatives, and had a head start also in the development of studies of oil and their access to specialties High Through scholarship and study outside the country.

And played his companies National an important role in the management of the oil sector and has accumulated extensive experience and has faced considerable difficulties with the start of preoccupation with the country's war and the siege helped to failure of performance in the oil sector and not to keep up the prospects of global development, which has seen over the past decades mutations quality at the level of the introduction of technology in all joints of activity Oil and, including manufacturing oil and initiated many of the oil-producing countries to invest in oil industries and set up refineries and exported the surplus of their products as they monitored the process of improving the type of oil derivatives, and got rid of the environmental pollution and poor production coupled with rates of lead detrimental to the environment.

Advancement of this industry was the focus of attention of the Ministry of Oil , where said d . Ahmed Chandler Undersecretary for refineries in the interview (economic morning) that the next plan at the level of the oil industry aimed at establishing the ranks of modern and the introduction of radical reforms on the back burner the old and the target production of derivatives and free of impurities and grease, and supplement the industrial sectors best quality products with Dr. Abdul Mahdi al-Amidi Director Contracts with the ministry said plans to improve the oil sector list and at different levels and there are directions to raise the capacities of the extractive industries and gas and to its important role in moving the sectors of the economy other.

In the view of many economists and specialists industries importance of the oil industry and its role in the economy and development and interest in this industry means that the country's economy on track and that of the great importance of the industries that rely on raw materials, oil, the next six years which will see according to the strategy that was developed for the oil sector to increase production To significant figures should be accompanied by plans for the advancement of by the oil industry meeting the needs of the country of derivatives and to contribute to moving the sector and meet the needs of derivatives the many that fall mainly in the manufacturing industries in addition to the operation of manpower in the various facilities and the private sector.

http://www.alsabaah.com/paper.php?so...age&sid=109160

Iraq issues tenders for 10 industrial plants
Iraq issued tenders to redevelop more than 10 industrial plants as part of a plan to revamp 250 state-owned facilities through private investors, an industry ministry official said.

“We now have tenders for more than 10 plants for joint strategic partnerships on a 15-year production-sharing basis,” Deputy Minister Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed said in an interview in Istanbul on Tuesday. “The tendered plants are mainly producing cement, petrochemicals, steel and pharmaceuticals.”

Since the US-led invasion that ousted the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the new authorities in Iraq have encouraged private businesses to participate in modernizing and strengthening the previously state-dominated economy.

“Our vision is to limit state ownership and turn almost all the 250 plants to the private sector by 2020,” Mohammed said. “We want the ministry to become just a regulating and monitoring authority, and not a holding company running 60 companies.”

The ministry of industry and minerals owns a total of 60 companies that run 250 facilities in six sectors; chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutical and food, engineering and steel, textile, construction materials, and industrial utilities and services, he said.

“All these 250 plants suffer from poor bureaucracy and are in dire need to be rehabilitated and revamped,” said Mohammed. “The plants need a lot of investments that the government cannot provide.”

Mohammed said the government has since 2003 signed similar upgrading contracts for about five facilities, including one affiliated with the North Fertilizer Co. in Baiji, north of Baghdad. That contract was awarded in 2009 to an Iraqi company and Japan’s Marubeni Corp.

“In one year, its production rate already went up from 20 percent to 50 percent,” he said.

Deals for four cement factories have also been signed, including a $150 million contract in April with Lafarge SA, the world’s biggest cement maker, and local Iraqi company Al-Rowad.

Lafarge’s contract, which also includes the construction of a 45-megawatt power station for the factory, will raise the plant’s output to 1.8 million metric tons a year from 300,000 tons within 30 months.

“Iraq faces severe electricity shortages, so we resolved this problem by requiring every investor to install his own power station,” Mohammed said.

“These power stations will feed the plant and at the same time will take a big load off the national grid and could even distribute power to the local people.”

Iraq, holder of the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves, seeks foreign investors in all parts of its economy after years of conflict and international sanctions. Dependent on oil for most of its income, Iraq held two licensing rounds last year for oil and gas investments. It has announced a third round for three natural-gas fields, which Iraq is eager to develop for fuel to generate electricity and to export.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/59818...ustrial-plants

Mott MacDonald to provide support for Iraq gas fields

Global engineering, management and development consultancy, Mott MacDonald has announced it has been appointed by BGR Energy systems to carry out engineering and procurement support for Iraq's Akas and Al-Mansuria gas fields which are being developed by the State Company for Oil Projects. The design capacity of both gas processing facilities is 110 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of product gas. Each gas processing facility will include a gas gathering station, gas and condensate separation, a gas sweetening and regeneration unit and a gas dehydration and regeneration unit.

http://www.ameinfo.com/243511.html

Foreign investors announce billions of dollars in new Iraq deals

A number of foreign investors announced on Wednesday contracts in Iraq worth billions of dollars in both the infrastructure and energy sectors.

On Wednesday, Iraq approved an oil project worth up to 733 million dollars for Leighton Offshore Private Ltd, a Singaporean oil company, to build a new oil export terminal in the southern city of Basra.

This deal would allow Iraq to up its oil exports from 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to 3 million bpd, said Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraq's government spokesman.

He described the deal as a 'turning point in the process of export of crude oil Despite the size of the Singaporean company's deal, investments from France remain the highest in Iraq, with a diplomat announcing that French companies signed this week two contracts worth 1.5 billion dollars.

According to the agreements, French companies will build 10,000 housing units in Baghdad as part of a push to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure.

But Kyle Stelma, of Dunia Frontier Consultants, said that there is a huge discrepancy between deals that are announced and ones that are actualized.

He said the United Arab Emirates, for example, announced it had a 50 to 60-billion-dollar investment in Iraq for housing units that flopped recently due to security issues, among other concerns.

That said, Stelma believes that 'outside of oil and gas, Turkey, France, Russia and China are the most active, aggressive and most successful investors in Iraq.'

Dunia Frontier Consultants put out a report earlier this year, which found that a 20-billion-dollar French housing plan was part of a larger deal that the government in Baghdad secured, worth up to 1 billion dollars for city investments in 2010, including 5,000 new housing units.

A French company is also slated to begin direct flights from Paris to Baghdad to increase travel and transport from Iraq to Europe.

Although France opposed the war in Iraq, French companies are some of the biggest foreign investors in the war-torn country.

In fact French oil company, Total, has deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq's oil sector.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi official said Wednesday that a Russian company expressed its desire to develop an oilfield north of Nasriyah.

'We are about to sign a memorandum of understanding with the company to develop the field as a first stage and then agree on the implementation of other projects, including environment, health and housing,' said Qusay Abadi, head of Nasriyah's board of directors.

Russian companies such as LUKoil, Salvneft, Gazprom, Zaruezhneft and Tafneft have all signed contracts in the past to work in Iraq's oil infrastructure.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/ne...new-Iraq-deals

rising central bank sales to 139 million dollars

Concluded the Iraqi Central Bank on Thursday Another DIFC Week Sessions for the sale and purchase of foreign currency and the dollar up Level Sales of the dollar to 139.461 million dollars after it fell in its previous investigators 112.933 million dollars and a stable exchange rate was 1170 dinars per dollar.

The Information Office of the bank in the bulletin I got copy them to the total sales of the bank ranged between $ 23 million cash transaction for cash at a bank shot for a stable exchange rate was 1183 dinars per dollar, including the commission the bank of $ 13 dinars per dollar.

And amounts transferred out of the country amounted to 116 461 000 Dollars in cash and bank shot at a stable conversion reached 1179 dinars per dollar, including the commission of the bank of $ 9 dinars per dollar.

Did not make the 15 banks participating in the auction of any offers to buy Dollar, note that the Central Bank of Iraq Itqdy a commission of $ (13) dinars per dollar with a deduction of (8) dinars per Dollars from the amounts purchased.

The Iraqi central bank held five meetings during the week its financial support for the sale and purchase of foreign currencies and the dollar.

http://al-iraqnews.net/new/economic-news/27596.html

Investment bodies are looking at the Iraqi provinces of Babylon, the investment law and the amendments required by the

Held in the province of Babylon, on Wednesday, Legal Conference first consultative bodies of investment in the governorates of Iraq except Kurdistan to discuss conflict of laws with the old national investment law and conditioning the relationship between the investment organizations and the national body, while the Governor of Babylon hoped that the government has adopted the federal recommendations of the Conference.

The governor of Babylon and the agency approved we hinted in an interview for "Alsumaria News", on the sidelines of the conference, which was held as the "harmonization of legislation approach to achieve the actual investment in Iraq," that "the objective of the conference to make recommendations to serve the investment process and stimulate investors to invest," and expressed Hoped that "the federal government adopts the recommendations that will come out in the conference."

For his part, Director General Investment Authority of Babylon Ala war in an interview for "Alsumaria News", on the sidelines of the conference, which will continue for two days, that "the investment law is legally a stranger in the presence of many other laws intersect with him, especially the laws governing land tenure and land allocations and the environment And effects."

The spear that "the time is right now in front of the conferences in order to get out the recommendations of The National Investment Commission followed up with the executive bodies of the upper and issue the necessary instructions so with legislative bodies, to take charge of the issuance of appropriate laws to support investment in Iraq."

In turn, stressed the Deputy Director of the Investment Commission of Babylon, Abbas al-Tai said in an interview for "Alsumaria News", "The conference will address four themes related to conflict of laws with the old investment law, and modify and adjust the relationship between the investment organizations in the governorates and the National Authority and the Authority's role in the contract with investors, and the fourth axis Address the required amendments to the investment law."

He said that al-Tai "is still an urgent need to make a lot of amendments to the law , despite the issuance of the first amendment to the law."

The Legal Adviser to the Investment Authority, Salah al -Din Abdel-Wahab, accepted that "the investment of Salah al-Din and has made several observations on the investment law, in order to enable integrated into the recommendations of the strides in the investment process."

The legal director of the Investment Commission of Nineveh Abdullah Mustafa Araji saw that "the investment law does not serve the current phase of the existence of laws that interfere with the obstruction that led to a lot of investment opportunities."

The Araji that "local government despite its support for the investment, but can not keep pace with presentations by local and foreign investors," calling to "modify the number of paragraphs of the law to serve their purpose, which proceeded from it."

The Iraqi parliament approved in October 2006 investment law, but he did not give investors the right to ownership of the property the project, also equated the Iraqi investors and foreign investment in each concession, with the exception of real estate ownership, while giving foreign investors the right to lease land for 50 years subject to renewal.

http://www.alsumarianews.com/ar/3/11...-details-.html

Killed and wounded 11 people, including a police clash with gunmen tried to storm the Bank of Baghdad and the arrest of two of them

Baghdad Operations Command announced on Thursday, killing and wounding 11 people, including two police clash with unidentified tried to storm the bank, south of Baghdad, while confirming the arrest of two gunmen.

The spokesman for Baghdad operations, Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, said in an interview with "Alsumaria News", "Unidentified gunmen attacked, before noon today, a State-owned banks in the Bayaa area south of Baghdad, and clashed with police officers, killing two of them and wounding nine civilians, While the Force was able to arrest two of the insurgents."

Atta said that "aborted attack on the bank, as currently deployed security forces in the region were shut down roads leading to it", without giving further details.

The official security source said in an interview earlier "Alsumaria News", three explosive devices went off, at the 11:35 minutes in the street 20 Bayaa district, south of Baghdad, without causing casualties or damage, as gunmen battled unidentified with police forces that Rushed to the scene, wounding two policemen were seriously injured as a by preliminary.

The Bayaa area south of Baghdad, has seen, through last May, an armed attack by unidentified gunmen riding in a bus-type photon white color where they threw a hand grenade, on the citizens of Road 20, then stole six shops selling gold, and clashed later with police forces, which Killing eight people and wounding three civilians and two police officers, as well as material damage to a number of cars of the patrol.

The capital, Baghdad has seen, this morning, two improvised explosive devices are a double near the house belonging to an officer in the Iraqi army in the area Alhamamyat, in the district of Taji, north of Baghdad, causing extensive material damage to the house without causing casualties, and overturned the power of unit Anti- explosive force of an explosive device placed near a mosque in the district of Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad.

http://www.alsumarianews.com/ar/2/11...-details-.html