Thread: Iraq/Dinar News until 5/23/07 Midnight CST

Energy - Oil & Gas

Norwegian company to pump Iraqi oil
By Javier Blas/Carola Hoyos

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tawke oil field, Iraq/London, 16 May 2007 (Financial Times)
Print article Send to friend
The first crude oil pumped by a foreign company in Iraq in decades will flow into the global market next month.

DNO, a Norwegian oil company, will announce on Wednesday that it will begin producing a small amount of oil from the northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan, marking a symbolic return of foreign companies to Iraq after 35 years of state control.

The company’s experience is being closely watched by larger competitors, eager for a slice of the world’s third-largest oil reserves, but deterred by security fears and the lack of a legal framework for Iraqi oil.

But DNO’s announcement could add strain to relations between Iraq’s Kurdish authorities and the central government in Baghdad. DNO’s contract is with the local administration in the relatively peaceful north of Iraq, rather than with Baghdad.

The sharing of oil resources has been a point of dispute between Iraq’s sectarian communities. The Kurdish authorities’ decision to sign separate contracts, which could bring them a direct income source and consolidate their power, has provoked fears of a break-up of Iraq.

DNO’s contract may have to be amended once the country’s hydrocarbons law is finally agreed. Passage of the law – which is critical to attracting foreign investment – through the Iraqi parliament has stalled over control of individual oil fields.

The Norwegian oil company will almost certainly have to deliver early output by truck, because Baghdad has not granted access to the export pipeline.

Helge Eide, DNO’s chief executive, said: “We are ready to pump. We never thought that we would be in a position to start producing oil from Kurdistan only two years after we commenced exploration.”

DNO, which is quoted on the Oslo stock exchange, discovered the Tawke oil field in late 2005, after signing a production sharing agreement in June 2004 with the Kurdish regional government, a semi-autonomous area of northern Iraq.

Ashti Hawrani, the Kurdish oil minister, said Kurdistan’s regional government would share revenue with the rest of the country.

Initial production from the Tawke field is expected to be 15,000 barrels a day. Iraq’s oil output, which was near 3m b/d before the US-led invasion, has dropped to about 2m b/d.



Maybe this will give the Iraqi parliament a sense of urgency.

Minister denies Egypt forgave Iraqi debt

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16 May 2007 (AFP)
Print article Send to friend
A government minister denied Tuesday that Egypt had forgiven hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraqi debt at a landmark conference it hosted earlier this month.

Judicial and parliamentary affairs minister Mufid Shehab also took issue with the evaluation of Iraq's debt to Egypt from the Saddam Hussein era given by the Iraqi government at the much heralded conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh, which was attended by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"Iraq announced unilaterally at the Sharm El Sheikh conference that Egypt had forgiven its debt, something which never happened," Shehab told Egyptian MPs.

"The Egyptian constitution does not authorize the executive to conclude loan or debt forgiveness agreements without the authority of parliament," the minister added.

"These debts belong to the Egyptian people and not to the government. In any case, writing them off will only benefit the US occupier and not the Iraqi people," added Shehab, whose government is a major recipient of US aid.

On the sidelines of the Sharm El Sheikh conference May 3, Iraqi finance minister Bayan Jabr Solagh said he expected Egypt to cancel debts that he estimated at $800 million.

"Any country that is not scrapping debt or does not respect Paris club recommendations will not be allowed to invest in Iraq," he added.

However, Shehab took issue with Solagh's estimate of the size of the debt, insisting that claims for compensation from Egyptian migrant workers in Iraq also needed to be taken into account.

"The total Iraqi debt owed to Egypt amounts to $1.6 billion, including $553 million in debt to the government, $222 million in debt to private Egyptian firms, and $784 million in damages owed to Egyptian workers in Iraq," he said.

Number of banks 16 -----
Auction price selling dinar / US $ 1260 -----
Auction price buying dinar / US $ ------ -----
Amount sold at auction price (US $) 56.830.000 -----
Amount purchased at Auction price (US $) ------
Total offers for buying (US $) 56.830.000 -----
Total offers for selling (US $) ------ -----

Gooooooooooooooood Morning Rolclub


"The More They Take, The More We Make"
"Stay the Course, its the difference between Winners and whiners"


10.29 Trillion taken out and still the Party has not started


1. "1" Dinar rate change today, it was 1261, it is now 1260

2. A (net) worth of dinars, IQD - 71,605,800,000 pulled out of circulation today 5/16/07.

3. 16 banks participating today

4. 144th auction since the beginning of CBI's reval plan

5. 228 days into the CBI's reval plan. (Seven Months +)

6. 10,298,365,373,000 dinars pulled from circulation !!

6A. Conservative ESTIMATE of Dinars still in circulation or controlled by the CBI 6,701,634,627,000

7. "0" Dinars back into circulation today

8. 217 dinar change since Oct 1st (baseline was 1477) 14.691% increase in value of the dinar since beginning of reval plan (Approximatly Oct 1st).

9. 3 point reduction in the rate so far this week. Was at 1263 at the end of last week, 1260 so far this week.

10. 9 point drop in the month of May. Ended at 1269 in April, now stands at 1260
In January we saw a 2.49% drop in the rate.
In February we saw a .928% drop in the rate.
In March we saw a .546% drop in the rate.
In April we saw a .3142% drop in the rate

Fayez, Majali meet with Iraqi delegation


16 May 2007
AMMAN (Petra) -- Minister of Interior Eid Fayez on Tuesday said Jordan refuses to label Iraqis in the Kingdom as refugees, but rather as brothers and guests in the country until their ordeal ends and allows them to return home. During a meeting with the president and members of the Iraqi parliament's expatriates and displaced persons committee, Fayez noted the economic burden shouldered by Jordan due to the Iraqi influx, but added that Iraqis in Jordan are treated well. Commending Jordan's efforts and humanitarian assistance to Iraqis, the head of the delegation, Abdul Khaliq Zankana, called on the government to facilitate procedures related to the entry of Iraqis into Jordan.

Also yesterday, Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali met with the delegation and denied that authorities had taken measures to put pressures on Iraqis entering the country. Majali said if any measures had been taken by concerned Jordanian authorities, they are designed to preserve the security of both Jordan and Iraq as well as the security of Iraqis in Jordan. The speaker also affirmed that the role of the Parliament was in line with His Majesty King Abdullah's stance to preserve Iraq's unity and Arab identity.


© Jordan Times 2007

Intellectuals launch Iraq cultural council


16 May 2007
AMMAN (AP) -- Iraqi intellectuals gathered here on Monday to launch a cultural council to protect their country's heritage destroyed after the US-led war and the eruption of sectarian fighting.


The Iraqi Cultural Council of poets, writers, musicians, journalists and other professionals opened a three-day conference to help "spread culture, tolerance and democracy" and abandon sectarianism, said founding member Ali Shebo.


In his speech to about 180 intellectuals, Shebo said the council "also seeks to end the occupation and rid the Iraqi people of its repercussions."


The group, which also includes some members of the disbanded Baath party, will be temporarily based outside Iraq, probably in Amman, and will also have branches in the UK, the Netherlands, US, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.


"The council aims to protect Iraqi art and fight the forces of darkness, which are targeting Iraq's educated and intellectual elite, including doctors, pharmacists, scientists, journalists and others," Shebo said.


Members plan to rally others to join, including those who fled their country following the 2003 US-led war and those who escaped hardships under the former Iraqi regime.


© Jordan Times 2007

WSJ(5/16) UPDATE: Iraq City Is Hot Spot For Housing


Wednesday, May 16, 2007

(From THE WALL STREET JOURNAL)
By Spencer Swartz ERBIL, Iraq -- Grand ambitions and piles of foreign money are quickly transforming this once-neglected part of northern Iraq into a budding hot spot for big houses and swanky hotels -- despite the threat of violence.

Exclusive real estate is part of a build-it-and-they-will-come strategy by the autonomous Kurdish government that governs this region.

In the closely guarded English Village -- a tony housing complex here in the Kurdish capital that will have a school, supermarket and recreation center -- all 410 units, ranging in price from $130,000 to $160,000, have sold. And the date set for buyers to move in is still a year away.

Abdulrahim Ali-Adib, a manager at Lebanese contracting firm Arabian Construction Co., says the first $5 million house in the region sold in recent weeks in Erbil, the biggest of the three Kurdish provinces that collectively have about five million people. Mr. Adib is overseeing a development dubbed Dream City in Erbil that will have 1,200 units with as many as 11 bedrooms, pools and gourmet kitchens. Prices on some units top $700,000. Shopping malls and office complexes also are popping up.

The Kurdish government will host about 100 United Arab Emirates' companies, including Dubai property giant Emaar Properties, in the next two months to pitch investment offers. At a March gathering in Dubai, Kurdish ministers talked up investors on the attractions of working in Kurdistan, as locals call it.

Foreign investors can benefit from a 10-year tax holiday for businesses, 100% land ownership and international arbitration for settling contract disputes. Much of the construction in the region is being undertaken by companies from neighboring Turkey and Middle Eastern countries.

The aim of the Kurdish government is to lure foreign money with incentives to encourage outsiders with job skills and know-how to take up residence, much the way Dubai has done for more than a decade, officials say. Dubai, a flashy and pricey real-estate and trading hub, is one of the seven United Arab Emirates.

"That is the model we are looking for. Dubai has been the best experiment in the Middle East," says Kurdish Planning Minister Othman Shwani, adding that new schools and hospitals are part of the government's growth plan.

The area's relative security in a country with widespread violence has helped the Kurdish government's ambitious growth plans. But this is still Iraq. A truck-bomb explosion at the Kurdish Interior Ministry last week killed more than 10 people -- the first such attack in nearly two years in the Kurdish region.

Kurdish military security blankets the region's main cities and even empty rural roads. Most foreign business officials who visit hire private security as a precaution. These security measures have been key to delivering more paved roads and improved choices at stores. Even annoying traffic jams are indicative of the area's growth: Car manufacturers including Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. have dealerships here, and more cars are filling the roads.

"There's a bit of a parallel in the Kurdish region with Dubai. Costs are rising for everything. Infrastructure projects are being built every day," says Warwick Knowles, Middle East economist at Dun & Bradstreet Corp. in the United Kingdom.

The parallels extend to eye-popping property prices. Upscale developments, along with demand from thousands of people arriving in the area, have pushed up home-rental and home-sale prices 100% to 200% the past few years, according to the Kurdish housing ministry. Even though a typical house in the region sells for a fraction of the price at a new development such as Dream City, the sharp rise has put housing out of reach for most average residents, who make about $1,500 a year, according to government officials.

Hassan Ameen, a mechanic, has paid regular visits to real-estate agents in Erbil over the past seven months, seeking to rent a bigger house for his wife and nine children. He is convinced he will remain in his cramped two-bedroom house for now. Prices have risen 30% since his search started, he says. Mr. Ameen, 54 years old, moved his family to Erbil several months ago to escape the violence in Mosul, about 50 miles west. "We are very happy we have security, but $600 a month is too much," he says.

The Kurdish government says it is concerned about the jump in housing prices, but it pins much of the blame on runaway demand from new residents. "We have a housing problem. Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Christians have moved here in the thousands because it's secure," says Kurdish Housing Minister Emad Sayfoor. The influx has overwhelmed housing, says the government, which estimates that more than 100,000 new housing units are needed across the region.

There are no plans to cap what developers or housing owners can charge for selling and renting property, says Mr. Sayfoor, but the government says it is attempting to mitigate rising housing costs. A $120 million program launched more than a year ago in Suleimania, another Kurdish province, offered families $7,000 loans to help buy property and build a house..

A similar program will be launched shortly in Erbil and, to offset rising costs, the government expects to double the amount of money handed out.Kurdish geography also pushes up housing prices. The landlocked region has few natural resources outside hydrocarbons, and the industrial base is being built, so nearly all basic inputs are imported -- wood from as far away as Finland, steel from Germany -- and that means added transportation costs. Mr. Adib, the Lebanese construction-company manager, says cement prices in Erbil are $125 a ton, double the price his company pays in Dubai. He pays dozens of engineers 25% more here than those doing similar jobs in Dubai.

Despite the rising prices, though, Mr. Ameen, the mechanic, is happy to be in Erbil. "I saw many people die in Mosul," he says. "Here, my family is safe. I will find a bigger house, but it will take time."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 15, 2007 22:

Meetings with resistance groups confirmed



By Abdullatif al-Mawsawi



Azzaman, May 16, 2007



The government has hinted at ongoing talks with armed groups fighting U.S. occupation troops.



An adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he saw such meetings as important.



Sami al-Askari did not deny that Maliki had himself taken part in the meetings but said, “In principle we will be please in case such meetings have taken place.”



Askari also confirmed that progress was made in efforts to revise a law that made it impossible for former members of the Baath party to assume government jobs.



With regard to constitutional amendments, he said Iraqi deputies and personalities charged with the task have also reported ‘good progress.’



But more important for the government has been, according to Askari, Kurds’ consent to postpone a referendum on the future of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.



The ethnically mixed city, where some of Iraq’s largest oil fields are situated, is contested by Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen.



Its destiny was to be decided by the end of this year but the United Nations charged of organizing the referendum says security conditions would discourage the stationing of independent monitors there.

Baghdad residents receive free medical care
Wednesday, 16 May 2007
By Sgt. Juan Santiago
Multi-National Division – Baghdad Public Affairs



Pfc. Willie Green, of 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, gives an Iraqi child an immunization while the child’s mother watches during a medical assistance mission in Baghdad’s Hurriyah neighborhood May 8. The paratroopers teamed up with Iraqi Ministry of Health physicians to treat more than 400 patients. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Juan Santiago, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment.BAGHDAD — Members of the Iraqi Ministry of Health, along with soldiers from the Multi-National Division - Baghdad, conducted a joint medical operation, May 8, to provide needed medical attention to the people in the western neighborhood of Hurriyah.

The ministry spearheaded the operation and provided four physicians. Coalition forces provided two Army surgeons, a physician’s assistant and nearly a dozen medics to help screen and process all of the patients.

This is the second such operation in two months in which the Ministry of Health worked side-by-side with U.S. Army paratroopers from 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment (AIR), 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.

In addition to providing immunizations for the local children, the medical providers screened more than 400 patients, treating everything from minor bumps and bruises to severe illnesses and mental disabilities. The medical team also donated boxes of medical supplies to the Hurriyah Clinic No. 2 to augment the clinic’s pharmaceutical stock.

As the patients left the clinic, children were handed toys, T-shirts, Iraqi flags, school supplies and personal hygiene items. Their parents were given blankets, vitamins for their children, boxes of perishable goods and a brochure with information on how to contact coalition forces to provide tips on terrorist activity.

Paratroopers from Company A, 1-325th AIR provided security for the duration of the operation; conducting crowd control, traffic control and over-watch security while members ofCompany E, 1-325th AIR provided transportation and helped establish support infrastructure.

As the day came to an end, residents expressed appreciation for the care they had been given, thanking the Ministry of Health and coalition force healthcare providers.

Transition team advances Iraqi training
Wednesday, 16 May 2007


U.S. Army Sgt. David Brown watches as new Iraqi Soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division practice entering a building at the ‘Lions Academy,’ Sunday. The academy was conducted by the 3-5-6 IA’s Military Transition Team, part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and provided Iraqi Soldiers, fresh out of basic training, with some additional training before they head into combat with their new unit. U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Robert Yde, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs.BAGHDAD — New Iraqi Soldiers trained on essential skills at the “Lions Academy” Sunday and Monday.

Members of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division Military Transition Team conducted additional training on essential skills for Iraqi Soldiers who recently graduated from basic training.

“This is just to focus on those essential pieces they’re going to need when they go out,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Morton Ellison, a MiTT member.

Unlike an established army, which can sustain itself while waiting for new Soldiers to undergo months of training, the Iraqi Army integrates most of its new Soldiers into a unit and combat operations immediately.

“All these Soldiers are right out of basic training, and we’re going to help them with clearing rooms, searching vehicles and people, and just try to give them the confidence to out there because they go straight from basic training out onto the battlefield,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Athony Rubio, an MiTT trainer.

In the past, Iraqi Soldiers were sent straight to the battlefield and learned from experiences acquired from the mission. However, lessons acquired on-the-job can be costly.

“This [Lions Academy] is just a way for us to come out and show them our experiences and teach them some tricks of the trade to get them on a higher level than they are right now,” said Rubio.

According to Rubio, the Iraqi Soldiers showed up at the Lions Academy well-trained and proficient, which benefits both the trainers and trainees.

“They didn’t need too much work, and we can show them more advanced tips without having to deal with a lot of the basics,” he said.

The new privates seemed very motivated and professional, said Ellison.

The additional training was very helpful according to one Iraqi private, who said he learned a lot and is excited about his new career as a Soldier.

As Iraqi security forces surpass standards of training and recruitment goals, Iraqi forces are expected to eventually grow independent of Coalition support giving the Iraqi democracy an opportunity to implement necessary utilities, establish the nation’s economy and secure Iraq.

(U.S. Army story by Sgt. Robert Yde, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)

Iraq Makes Progress on Crucial Constitution Plan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted GMT 5-16-2007 5:27:54
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BAGHDAD (Reuters) -- An Iraqi committee agreed on Tuesday to send to parliament a plan to reform the constitution, an important step towards implementing national reconciliation laws that Washington says are critical to ending violence.

Once-dominant Sunni Arabs, who make up the backbone of the insurgency, have long demanded changes to a constitution they say concedes too much power to majority Shi'ites and ethnic Kurds, who were persecuted under Saddam Hussein.

U.S. President George W. Bush, under pressure to show tangible progress in the four-year-old war, has piled pressure on Iraqi leaders to agree power-sharing legislation.

Such laws, which include sharing Iraq's vast oil wealth and ending a ban on former members of Saddam's party from public office, are particularly aimed at assuaging Sunnis Arabs and bringing them firmly into the U.S.-backed political process.

Saleem al-Jubouri, from the Sunni Accordance Front, said the constitutional reform committee had agreed to pass its draft to parliament next Tuesday -- albeit with some passages unresolved.

He said this would allow it technically to meet a May 15 deadline set by the constitution.

"There is a preliminary report that has been approved by committee members," he told Reuters. "Members now have to consult their political parties on the proposals."

But he said some thorny issues had been left open, for parliament to resolve. These included a Shi'ite-backed law that allows provinces to form federal regions, and wording on the Arab identity of Iraq, opposed by Kurds.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe welcomed the move, but said: "There is more work to be done, but this step will help in the process of bringing all Iraqis together to help build a stable, secure and unified democracy."

In another sign of political progress, Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said the presidential council would soon send to parliament a draft proposal to allow thousands of ex-Baath party members to return to public jobs, another Sunni demand.

The council comprises Hashemi, President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Shi'ite Vice President Adel Abdul al-Mahdi.

Hashemi's Accordance Front had warned it might quit Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government if Sunni grievances were ignored, but a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney to Iraq last week appears to have softened the Sunnis' stance.

The bills are likely to face fierce debate in parliament.

Some lawmakers from the ruling Shi'ite community, who were oppressed during Saddam's rule, have expressed virulent opposition to seeing former Baathists take up government jobs.

Non-Arab Kurds, also persecuted under Saddam's pan-Arab policies, resist wording on the Arab identity of Iraq.

Sunni Arabs, meanwhile, fear federalism will allow Kurds in the north and Shi'ites in the south, where Iraq's oil reserves lie, to break away into their own states. Sunni Arabs live mostly in central and western Iraq, which is poor in oil.

By Mariam Karouny

Additional reporting by Waleed Ibrahim.

© 2007, Assyrian International News Agency