Thread: Iraqi/Dinar news until March 1st, 2007

Oil bonanza stays in Western sights after cosmetic change to Iraqi deals

25 February 2007 (The Independent)
The final draft of Iraq's controversial hydrocarbons law has been submitted to the Iraqi Cabinet ahead of its presentation to Parliament for ratification next month.
Iraqi officials have attempted to defuse the backlash caused by last month's revelation in The Independent on Sunday that the law would grant foreign oil companies a large slice of the country's oil reserves.
The final draft has quietly dropped the term "production-sharing contracts" used in earlier drafts. These contracts involve energy companies paying for the initial investment in an oil field but reaping bigger returns if their gamble pays off.
The proposed introduction of production-sharing agreements in Iraq is controversial because they are usually used in challenging regions where oil is difficult and expensive to access, such as the Amazon. By contrast, much of Iraq's 112 billion barrels of proven oil reserves - the second-largest in the world - has already been discovered and is cheap to drill.
But the draft, seen exclusively by The Independent on Sunday, still proposes handing over exploration and production contracts for up to 32 years - far longer than most deals between companies and goveernments.
The draft empowers the new Federal Oil and Gas Council to set the exact terms of each contract, but given Iraq's parlous economy and security uncertainties, the terms offered are likely to be very generous. Greg Muttitt, a campaigner from lobby group Platform, said: "This is a huge amount of time. If contracts are signed in the coming months . . . there will be a massive risk premium, and the Iraqi side would be negotiating from a position of extreme weakness. As a result, the terms would be highly profitable for the companies, and Iraqis would be unable to change them for 20 years."
Other differences between previous drafts include the omission of a requirement for the terms of each contract to be published within two months. Now, according to Article 36, only non-specified "financially significant" details need be published, and no timeframe is given.
Iraqi unions have expressed their opposition to the proposed law. In a speech earlier this month to a conference, Hassan Jumaa, head of the Federation of Oil Unions, said: "We strongly warn all the foreign companies and foreign capital in the form of American companies against coming into our lands under the guise of production-sharing agreements."
Foreign oil firms already operating in Iraq are anxious not to antagonise unions as some may have links to insurgents who could target oil installations.
David Horgan, managing director of Petrel Resources, an AIM-listed oil company focused on Iraq, said contracts could be renegotiated by the government. "The term 'production-sharing agreement' used in previous drafts has been dropped because of the controversy the term caused. They have built quite a lot of flexibility into the law. It makes sense to reward companies who start work now when the security situation is bad. The terms can always be made less attractive in a few years when things calm down."
He added that the Iraqi government had changed its approach in recent weeks over the hydrocarbons law. Rather than trying to force it through, particularly in the face of opposition from the Kurds in the north seeking more control over their oil resources, officials have attempted to achieve consensus within government, he said.
Last weekend, past and present officials from the oil ministry met in a hotel in Jordan to hammer out the draft's final details.

Iraqi PM says "no safe haven" for outlaws; other events reported
25 February 2007 (BBC Monitoring)
Within its 1700 gmt newscast on 24 February, Al-Iraqiyah Television reported the following political and security developments:
Political developments:
- "Prime Minister Nuri Kamil al-Maliki has stressed that there is no safe haven for all outlaws, noting that everybody should know that there will be no state or stability unless law prevails and unless the government is solely responsible for the safety of citizens. During his visit today to the headquarters of the Baghdad plan command, he added that the state will hold all outlaws to account regardless of their affiliations."
Al-Maliki is cited as saying:" When I meet with my brethren commanders at all positions, I find that the emphasis is not on fighting but on the position calling for observing equality, justice, and nondiscrimination among the various components of the Iraqi People. This position stems from a base which it does not deviate from; namely, holding all outlaws to account. We believe that the success of these operations is contingent upon the aforementioned which are based on seriousness, loyalty, coordination, and sincerity in abiding by principles and boundaries which the Baghdad security plan is based on."
Al-Maliki is further cited as saying: "We all know that there can be no state, stability, comfort, or security for citizens unless the law prevails and unless the government is solely responsible for citizens' security, and for protecting the homeland. There should be no excuse, pardoning, leniency, or discrimination between one and another outlaw. Only through abiding by these principles, high professionalism on the part of the military and police, and taking measures without hesitation and considerations in addition to keeping the professionalism of the army and police -as we have reiterated - away from political considerations and interferences can we ensure that the soldier and the policeman is capable of earning the respect of politicians in the first place and then all Iraqis."
The correspondent concludes the report by noting that "the harbouring of some terrorist and takfiri groups and the criminal actions they cause in the country are among the important axes which the prime minister tackled, stressing that stringent measures will be taken against these countries unless they refrain from supporting these groups."
-"Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has voiced deep regret over the insult to Al-Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim. President Talabani stressed that Al-Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim was exposed to an uncivilized and inappropriate treatment, calling on the US command to hold to account those who insulted him, and to make guarantees that political and national personalities would not be exposed to any unjustified behaviour."
Security Developments:
-"Brigadier General Abd-al-Karim Khalaf, director of the national command centre at the Iraqi Interior Ministry, has stressed that scores of the members of the so-called Islamic Army were killed in an operation carried out on Saturday dawn by Iraqi Police forces backed by US air support. He said that the operation targeted one of the headquarters of the Islamic Army in Al-Mashahidah area, northern Baghdad, adding that the operation was carried out upon the directives of the interior minister to attack terrorism incubators in the peripheries of Baghdad and nearby governorates to support the law Enforcement Plan. He added: we have arrested the so-called commander of the Islamic Army in northern Baghdad; namely, Sa'd Akram Kahlifah."
Source: Al-Iraqiyah TV, Baghdad

Voices of Iraq: Iraq-Currency
Posted by: saleem on Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 02:53 PM
Iraq-Currency
Dollar demand slightly higher, exchange rate stable in Iraqi auction
By Dergham Mohammed Ali
Baghdad, Feb 25, (VOI) – Dollar demand was slightly higher on Sunday, the first trading session this week, in the central bank daily auction to $50.450 million compared to $49.175 million on Thursday.
In its daily statement on Sunday the bank said it covered all bids which were $12.230 million in cash and $38.220 million in foreign transfers at an exchange rate of 1,282 dinars per dollar, unchanged from Thursday.
None of the fifteen banks that participated in Sunday’s auction offered to sell dollar.
Economist Abdul-Razzaq Sadeq al-Abaiji told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) "the upcoming sessions would witness higher demand for dollar if the exchange rate kept stable for a while."
He added "the better security situation now in Baghdad and the Central Bank's ability to cover bids in the forthcoming sessions would also encourage traders to make higher bids for dollar."

Leaders of Iraq's Kurdish Region Reportedly Approve Draft Oil Law

By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 25, 2007; 7:30 AM

BAGHDAD, Feb. 24 -- Leaders of Iraq's oil-rich Kurdish region have apparently approved a draft oil law that will be presented to Iraqi lawmakers in coming weeks, an eagerly awaited breakthrough that is expected to professionalize and expand drilling in the country.

The agreement was announced Saturday by Massoud Barzani, president of the regional government in Kurdish-populated northern Iraq, during a news conference in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah attended by Iraq's president, he Associated Press reported.

"We reached a final agreement," Barzani said, according to AP. "We accept the draft."

Barzani did not disclose further details of the agreement, and no other officials discussed them publicly.

Spokesmen for the Kurdish regional government and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said they had no information on the reported deal.

The Kurdish minister of natural resources declined to discuss the issue.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad met with Barzani before the news conference, but U.S. officials have not commented on the development.

Iraqi officials in recent weeks have been struggling to reach an agreement on legislation that would govern the exploitation of the country's vast oil reserves and who should control the revenue.

Among the contentious issues are to what extent oil exploration will be controlled by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad; how proceeds will be distributed among oil-rich and oil-poor areas; and to what extent foreign companies will be allowed to drill for oil.

Iraq's largest reserves are concentrated in the Kurdish north and in the predominantly Shiite south, which has led to squabbling among Iraqi leaders concerned that their constituencies might not benefit sufficiently from oil proceeds. Sunnis live mainly in central and western areas without oil reserves. More than 90 percent of the country's budget comes from oil.

U.S. officials have been pressing Iraqi leaders to send a bill to parliament, a step they see as crucial to strengthening the country's economy and reducing violence.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had promised to get the measure passed by the end of 2006, but negotiations, primarily between Kurds and Shiite leaders, have stalled several times. The Kurds want to make sure they have enough oversight over the oil industry in their region and have expressed concern about the impact the legislation might have on contracts they have signed with foreign companies that recently began working in the relatively safe region.

It is unclear how quickly lawmakers, in a parliament beset with sectarian strife and general bickering, will turn the bill into law.

Leaders of Iraq's Kurdish Region Reportedly Approve Draft Oil Law - washingtonpost.com

Hey eveyone,

It sounds like to me that the oil law has yet to be confirmed or implemented or what ever, according to the news above. Some one please correct me if I'm missing something. Sound like great news as this is exactly what the US has been after for so long now and once it has actually been signed off on by all parties concerned then and only then will the R/V happen and that, according to the article will not happen until next month as that is when legislators return from recess. In my oppinion, this is the most confirming article todate. I don't like that we must wait until next month but I am more confident than ever that this will happen at that time so, all is very good. Talk about WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTT!!!!!!!

Yeah!! BABY!!! That's what I'm talking about!!!!

Iraq's unemployed flock to job fair
Hundreds at a Baghdad job fair seek work with U.S.-linked firms. The positions promise good pay, isolation and peril.
By Tina Susman, Times Staff Writer
February 25, 2007


BAGHDAD — The letter arrived at Hassim Mohammed's house a few months after he had started his new job. "If you work for an American company, we will kill you," it said.

It was not signed, but Mohammed didn't need a name. The simple, one-line threat was convincing enough.

The civil engineer quit his job with the American company six months ago and began looking for work elsewhere, but found nothing. Unemployment is high, and pay at most Iraqi companies is low, so Mohammed put on a suit Saturday and put his life on the line once more.

He came to a job fair, joining hundreds of other Iraqis vying for work with U.S. firms or with Iraqi firms doing business with Americans.

"It's dangerous, but life must go on," Mohammed said, reflecting the combination of fatalism and desperation driving many Iraqis to risk their lives, family ties and in some cases their marriages for a decent salary.

Standing beside him, Mohammed Aboud described the fight he and his wife had had that morning as she tried to stop him from coming to the fair.

"She said, 'Look at our three kids. If you work for Americans, you might get killed and you will leave them,' " Aboud said. But as a civil engineer working for an Iraqi firm, he'd be lucky to earn the equivalent of $300 a month, a fraction of what the companies at the job fair would pay.



Brought together by need

The job fair was the second since June to be put on by the U.S.-run National Iraqi Assistance Center. The first one drew 430 job-seekers. Four hundred came Saturday, said Navy Capt. Lance Carr, the center's director. Engineers and information technology experts were most in demand, he said.

"There are so many highly qualified people looking for work here. They're hungry for employment," Carr said as he stood in an overheated conference room at the Rashid Hotel, within the relatively secure confines of the Green Zone, home to U.S. and Iraqi government offices.

Plates of elaborately frosted cakes and soft, buttery cookies lined a table at the back of the room, but job-seekers ignored them and instead closed in around small tables. Like speed daters eager to impress in a limited time, the unemployed shifted from one table to the next, producing resumes, shaking hands and trying not to sweat.

Some wore pressed suits and smiled confidently as they produced professional-looking resumes. Others wore rumpled sweaters, clutching hand-scrawled resumes and making no attempt to conceal their desperation. There were Shiite and Sunni Arabs and Kurds, a cross-section of Iraqi society brought together by need.

"I need the work very much," Ali Ibrahim Radhi said, thrusting his resume at the table staffed by representatives of the Taha-Kubba Group, an Iraqi company looking for engineers and other professionals to work on major construction projects.

"I will call," a Taha-Kubba representative said.

"I hope so," Radhi said. "All I dream of is to have a job and food for my family. Since '03, no job, no work, no salary, no money. I am broke."

Behind him, Abdul Hamid, dressed in a tattered, mud-colored sweater and baggy trousers, nervously pushed his handwritten resume forward. Until December, he had been working as an engineer with an American company, but on Dec. 9, armed men burst into his home and shot him and his three children.

They all survived, but Hamid, a Shiite who had been living in a mainly Sunni neighborhood, was terrified. He quit his job, abandoned the house and moved his family to his mother's home outside Baghdad.

"When I ran away, I saw bodies in the street with my own eyes," Hamid said.

Asked whether he was afraid of working for a company such as Taha-Kubba, whose Baghdad headquarters are in the Green Zone, Hamid laughed. "Of course I am scared," he said. Tears suddenly filled his eyes, and he turned away.

For the 11 firms at the job fair, collecting resumes and applications was not a problem, but holding onto employees will be. People start drifting away once they realize how dangerous and isolating it can be working for one of these companies. Sometimes that happens even before they start working.

Economic organizations seek ways of activating investment in Babylon

The Center for the development of the Iraqi economy in the province of Babylon n Doh to explain and discuss the investment law, the presence of a number of the official figures with jurisdiction in the economy. وأكد.Head Qusai Al-member council of the province of Babylon, uh, Mia attract and encourage investment in the province and said : Maintaining prepared more than 400 investment project, Meanwhile, Salah Bahiyah President of the economy development Ar Christians in that part of the Babil governorate of Babil has ground Asph for Investment and they enjoy a well-placed security to stimulate and activate investment law.
.He said : The Iraqi capital needed to move the process and Thqi P for investors who will play an important role in the practical e reconstruction of Iraq, calling at the same time the government Ptva Il law by providing the appropriate atmosphere and the organization of a the delegations to travel abroad to benefit from the experiences Aal Mia similar to Iraq and putting the secretary general of Iraq j of the economy, Abdul Hameed Al jewelry idea of a project to Hinche purchase of the Tower of Babel trade in the province, which is the second b counting the trade center, which opened a few days ago in the province of a Rbil based on the idea that explain the details through the means of a Izahia or that the tower trade center will provide more m n 10 services in one place and provide services as needed hints Serbian confirming that he represents the face of a cultural highlights the cultural and historical aspects in the design and will b implementation of the biggest international companies to become the center of Astkota b trade and investment in the Furat. ا.The tower consists of (10) - story building includes restaurants and markets Omak Ateb administrative and larger rooms, meeting rooms and rooms yield Libyan also includes a museum of Folklore and other effects and scene The exhibitions, cinema, a parking and recreational centers told to the family of Iraqi and playgrounds and green spaces adjacent and medical centers. .He reported that the requirements for the implementation of this big project needs the allocation of a plot of land area of not less than (25) without the to be outside the city of Hillah, according to the environmental determinants a the required and the formation of a committee to maintain and businessmen h AIPAC Implementation Mechanism, At the same time he confirmed that the technical possibilities available e to create companies executing the project according to the period Els Monia specific to the project.
وت ., Exited the symposium guidance foremost importance of involving Gata p Special rates in the real implementation of the law because the investment e's real interest in economic development and free economy and initiate awareness campaigns and extensive Todi h importance of the private sector, economic development and advocacy all business organizations, as well as opportunities to contribute Astthma Rayya would create job opportunities.
.The conferees at the Symposium to form a committee to monitor e decisions symposium with the province.

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Originally Posted by rodney ewalt

Hey eveyone,

I don't like that we must wait until next month but I am more confident than ever that this will happen at that time so, all is very good. Talk about WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTT!!!!!!!

Yeah!! BABY!!! That's what I'm talking about!!!!

Next month comes this Thursday!

Kurds edge closer to backing crucial Iraq oil law
25 Feb 2007 12:16:22 GMT
Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (Reuters) - An oil law crucial to resolving political divisions in Iraq edged closer to approval as Kurds said some key issues were resolved and the cabinet prepared to discuss a draft, officials said on Sunday.
Passing an oil law to help settle potentially explosive disputes among Iraq's ethnic and sectarian communities over the division of oil reserves has been a key demand of the United States in providing further military support to the government.
Iraq needs billions of dollars in foreign investment to revive its shattered economy. Officials are in last ditch talks to finalise a draft law that sets rules for sharing the wealth from the world's third largest oil reserves.
Agreement was nearly reached last month, but leaders in the largely autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq demurred, saying they still had concerns about relations between regions and Baghdad.
A top aide to Kurdish regional president Masoud Barzani said on Sunday letters had been exchanged between the two sides in recent weeks to settle some of the articles in question.
"Some of the issues in debate between the Kurdish regional government and the federal government in Baghdad were solved recently," Fauad Hussain, head of the presidency board in Kurdistan, told Reuters on Sunday.
"The Kurdish regional government approved the submission of the oil draft law to parliament..." Hussain said. But he also cautioned: "The whole issue is still under discussions and it's only a draft law."
STILL UNDER DISCUSSION
"The Kurds agreed on the key points which clarify the annexes of the oil law and the issue of the way that regions can manage oil resources all over the country, including the Kurdish region," he said.
Barzani met Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who is also a Kurd, and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad on Saturday.
"We agreed on the draft of the law but still there are some articles under debate with the central government," Barzani said at a joint news conference.
Talabani said the key issue discussed at their meeting was the oil law and that they had come "close to final approval".
A government source with close knowledge of the oil law debate, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said no final agreement was reached on the draft when the cabinet last met on Feb. 22.
"Discussions in the cabinet on the oil draft haven't reached a compromise and the key conflicting issue of the regions having authority to approve deals with foreign companies is still in debate," the source said.
The source said the cabinet would meet on Wednesday for further discussions on the law. Once it is approved by the cabinet, the law will go to parliament for legislation.
The Iraqi oil ministry had no comment on whether the Kurds had approved the draft oil law.
The Kurdish government has had reservations on the wording regarding the powers of a federal council, to be established under the law, which will set the oil policy and lay down ground rules for contracts signed with foreign firms.
Officials from Kurdistan, where relative security has encouraged more development than elsewhere in Iraq, have said they want assurances the federal council will not invalidate their existing contracts, including with Norway's DNO.

Prime Minister agrees to the proposal, secretary general of the cabinet purchase of

(Voice of Iraq) - 25-02-2007
This issue was sent to a friend

The Republic of Iraq
Council of Ministers-the National Center for Media
Media Relations
A press statement / Press Release
Sunday 2-25-2007
Prime Minister agrees to the proposal, secretary general of the cabinet purchase of the formation of a committee to begin developing an appropriate plan for the revival and us automatic status of the capital Baghdad

Approved Mr. Prime Minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki on the proposal, secretary general of the Alozra automatic formation of a committee to begin developing an appropriate plan for the revival of the building the center of the capital Baghdad.
The secretary-general said that "the Baghdad identified M. spot door to the great length Sadoon Street, and to the path of Muhammad Qasim presentation. "
He explained to Mr. Mohsen that the Commission will take into Alaattab TR subject of the traditional and cultural aspects in the design of Center, which will contribute in the reconstruction of Baghdad to normal as the capital of science and Dar es Salaam.