Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 16/08/07 - 03/11/07

Railway project for Kerbala cement factory to start building

The cadres of the state company of the rail road have implemented the sub-line project directing for Kerbala cement factory with cost of $150 million.

Meanwhile, the cadres of implementing projects directorate have continued their works at the Ministry of Transport.

An official source at the State Company of the Railroad stated to as-Sabah newspaper: the project is branching from Kerbala station located within Massyab-Kerbala-Najaf-Sumowa project with length of 95KM and with appraisal cost reaches to 150 million.

Railway project for Kerbala cement factory to start building | Iraq Updates

Iraq statement due Monday

The prime minister will on Monday make his long-awaited Commons statement on the UK's involvement in Iraq.

Following talks in Baghdad last Wednesday Gordon Brown said that he planned to withdraw 1,000 soldiers from Basra by Christmas.

His spokesman told journalists that Brown would use Monday's statement to set out his long-term thinking and aims for the region.

The spokesman also said that chancellor Alistair Darling will outline the comprehensive spending review the following day.

The timetable has fuelled speculation that Brown will call an election on Tuesday October 9 following Darling's announcement.

That would lead to a general election on November 1, or possibly November 8.

It also emerged that the prime minister was considering a request from David Cameron for Conservative frontbenchers to meet senior civil servants to discuss a possible change in government.

By convention opposition politicians are given the chance to meet senior officials ahead of a general election to discuss how their policies would be implemented if they gained power.

Brown's spokesman said: "I think the prime minister is considering it and will reply at an appropriate time."

Iraq statement due Monday - Yahoo! News UK

Iraq To Seek Term Contracts To Sell Kirkuk Crude - Oil Min

Iraq is planning to ask international oil companies to buy its crude oil produced from its Kirkuk northern oil fields through term contracts rather than the current auction system, the country's Oil Minister said Friday.

"We are going to ask companies to buy Kirkuk crude through term contracts during the second half of this month," Hussein al-Shahristani told Dow Jones in a telephone interview from Baghdad.

The minister said that some 300,000 barrels a day of Kirkuk crude will be available for sale. "We are hoping to increase that amount gradually," he added.

Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization, or SOMO, has been selling Kirkuk crude through auctions because the country couldn't guarantee sustainable exports from its northern oil fields due to frequent incidents of sabotage against the export pipeline following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Before the invasion, Iraq used to export around 800,000 barrels a day from the north via the Turkish port of Ceyhan port.

Nasdaq 100 Flash Quotes

Iraq eyes big drop in foreign forces by end of 2008

Foreign troop levels in Iraq could drop to less than 100,000 by the end of 2008 if Iraq's own forces were ready and security threats had diminished, Iraq's national security adviser said on Wednesday.

Mowaffaq al-Rubaie was speaking after two days of testimony in Washington by the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, who has recommended cutting U.S. forces by about 30,000 by next July because of reduced violence in Iraq.

That would bring down U.S. troop numbers to around 130,000, roughly the level before an increase ordered by U.S. President George W. Bush early this year.

"Maybe it is not far from the truth if we said that by the end of next year, multinational forces could be less than 100,000," Rubaie told a news conference.

"This all depends on the security circumstances and the level of the threat, whether from inside the country or in the region. This also depends on the level of training of the Iraqi forces."

He did not talk specifically about U.S. troop numbers -- currently at 168,000 -- but the overwhelming majority of foreign soldiers in Iraq are American.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that, as U.S. troop cuts take effect, "American forces, in lower numbers, (will) turn to other responsibilities", including ensuring Iraq's stability and helping ward off what she called Iranian aggression.

"Iraq has very troublesome neighbours. Iran is a very troublesome neighbour," she said, noting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's promise to fill any vacuum left by departing U.S. forces.

The United States needed a stable Iraq and other allies in the region "to resist both terrorism and Iranian aggression," Rice said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show.

Iraq eyes big drop in foreign forces by end of 2008 | Top News | Reuters

Iraq official sees strengthening diplomatic ties

Iraq's foreign minister said on Monday several Islamic countries are strengthening their ties with Baghdad and called for an end to Iranian meddling in his country's affairs.

Hoshiyar Zebari added that an immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq would spark a regional conflict and give safe-haven to al-Qaeda and other militants, echoing statements by the Bush administration.

Saudi Arabia was among the nations diplomatically embracing Iraq, Zebari said in a speech at Harvard University, having recently agreed to raise its level of diplomatic representation in Baghdad to the highest level.

"Many other Islamic countries like Indonesia, like Azerbaijan, have also agreed to send their ambassadors to Baghdad. Also, the United Arab Emirates," he said.

"We have been able to discern a perceptible shift in favour of Iraq by many countries which until now had been much less engaged. These impressions were confirmed during meetings last week at the United Nations in New York."

While Iraq is unhappy with Iran for "interfering in Iraq's internal affairs," Zebari said Baghdad must mend its poor relations with Tehran.

"The United States presence there (in Iraq) is temporary. One day they will leave," he said. "We need to forge good neighbourly relations with each other.

"Iraq has sometimes become a battleground between the United States and Iran to settle scores. The message we've been giving out to both to keep their differences away from Iraq because we have too many things on our plate."

The United States accuses Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq, a charge it denies. Iran blames the U.S. occupation for Iraq's problems and also complains about the detention of its citizens by U.S. forces in Iraq.

Zebari described the situation in Iraq as "difficult, challenging and even critical" because of violence. But he said a recent visit to Iraq by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner could lead to better relations between Iraq and the European Union.

"France, once the standard-bearer against the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, is now eager to be much more engaged with Iraq," he said. "That is a notable development because France's increased engagement would likely mean a greater engagement by both the United Nations and by the European Union."

After a visit to Iraq in August, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Europe must fully back a wider U.N. effort to bring peace to Iraq and should avoid trying to "punish" the United States.

Kouchner's visit to Iraq was seen as underlining a change in tone between Paris and Washington since the election of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has taken a much more U.S.-friendly approach than his predecessor Jacques Chirac.

Iraq official sees strengthening diplomatic ties | World | Reuters

UPDATE 2 - Kuwait's Agility in $250 mln Iraq telecom option

Kuwaiti logistics provider Agility (AGLT.KW: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday it agreed a $250 million option to buy a stake in Iraq's Korek Telecom as Agility seeks to diversify away from its core business.

Agility's Dubai-based private equity unit, Alcazar Capital, agreed a "strategic" partnership with Irbil, Kurdistan-based Korek, Agility said in a statement on the Kuwaiti stock exchange Web site.

The purchase would provide Korek with "financial, administrative and operational flexibility that would enable it to focus on fulfilling the terms of Iraq's mobile licence contract," Agility said.

The two companies still have to reach final agreement on the transaction, it said without elaborating on the nature of the option.

Agility set up Alcazar this year to make acquisitions as part of a strategy to reduce its reliance on contracts with the U.S. military to supply troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, its main source of income.

"We have such a strong network, especially in emerging markets, and quite often see very strong and lucrative business opportunities ... outside our core business," said an Agility spokeswoman.

The planned stake in Korek would help the telecoms company hold a planned initial public offering within four years as its licence requires, Agility said without elaborating.

"This partnership forms a concrete step to meeting that objective," Korek Chairman Mustafa Barzani was quoted as saying in the statement.

Korek paid $1.25 billion for one of three mobile phone licences Iraq sold in an auction last month and has 1.2 million customers, mainly in Iraq's northern Kurdish region.

EXPANSION

Agility's profits have surged during the past five years on supply deals with the U.S. military.

In June, it was part of a group with U.S. firm DynCorp International (DCP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) that won a 10-year, $50 billion logistics contract to supply food to U.S. troops in Iraq.

Shares of Agility closed 1.1 percent lower on Tuesday after the statement.
The company has said it is considering listing its shares in London or on another international exchange. Shares of Agility are also traded in Dubai.

UPDATE 2-Kuwait's Agility in $250 mln Iraq telecom option | Reuters

Dozens of militants killed in air strike

At least 25 suspected Iraqi militants were killed in an air strike on Friday targeting a "special groups" commander working with Iran, the US military said.

US troops engaged in heavy firefight west of Baquba during a raid against a commander linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Qods force.

Quoting intelligence reports, the US military said that the commander was "responsible for facilitating criminal activity and is involved in the movement of various weapons from Iran to Baghdad."

Police and ho****al sources said 25 people were killed and another 35 wounded in the US air strike in the village of Jezan Al Imam near Khalis, a town northwest of Baquba.

They said four houses were also destroyed. They did not say whether the commander was among those killed.

Gulfnews: Dozens of militants killed in air strike

Iraq Telco Services Markets Anticipated to Reach $1.5 Billion for Cellular Systems and $2.26 Billion for Wireless Local Loop Systems

Research and Markets has announced the addition of Iraq Telecommunications Market Opportunities, Strategies, and Forecasts, 2007 to 2013 to their offering.

The number of mobile subscribers in Iraq for the three largest companies is at 9 million users at the end of 2006, representing a mobile penetration rate of approximately 33%.


The market added a total of 1.36 million subscribers over the quarter to end-2006, representing the strongest number of user additions since launching service in December 2003.

There are a large number of operators besides the top three, operating outside the registered spectrum. Many of these are using a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) wireless local loop or WiMAX equipment.

The addition of 9 million subscribers in a little over three years is a significant achievement given the state of security on the ground in the country. Nationwide competition has been a positive development in the Iraqi mobile market with Iraqna having begun 2006 with over 40% market share, and losing share in each quarter of the year, to end the period with a 32.8% share among the top three cellular providers.

Iraq telco services markets at $1.19 billion in 2006 are anticipated to reach $1.5 billion for cellular systems and $2.26 billion for wireless local loop systems.

Iraq Telco Services Markets Anticipated to Reach $1.5 Billion for Cellular Systems and $2.26 Billion for Wireless Local Loop Systems: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Hello DontDenyDatDinar it appears that you have not posted on our forums in several weeks
OK, here ya go:

Hunt Oil Deal with Kurdish Govt Creating Tension in Iraq

The Hunt Oil contract is the first major deal since UN sanctions were imposed on Iraq when it invaded Kuwait in 1990.

No details of the contract have been released but the Dallas company, which has links with the White House, has said it would begin its geological survey work in the province of Dahuk, near Iraq's northwestern border with Turkey, by the end of this year and would begin drilling in 2008.

Washington regards passage of the oil legislation as key to efforts at national reconciliation in the country, which is wracked by an insurgency and sectarian violence.

The draft law was passed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's national unity cabinet in July but faces tough passage in the 275-seat legislature, where the Kurdish bloc has 53 seats.

The US official said there was strong expectation that the law would pass through parliament before the end of the year.

RIGZONE - Hunt Oil Deal with Kurdish Govt Creating Tension in Iraq

I read what you put on the other forum.

I thought the Hunt Oil Deal was regarding the exploration and drilling of oil. I think the article I posted is regarding how Iraq sell it. At the moment through Auctions - soon to be through Contracts from the second half of this month.