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

De. That. Or refuse an offer to purchase licensed oil in Iraq and announces strong profits

Source : Reuters-22/08/2007

Norwegian oil company refused Independent DE. That. Or a value of $ 700 million for the purchase of licensed oil in the north of Iraq, announced on Wednesday leap larger than expected hit 77% in the second quarter operating profits.

Rose de shares. That. Or up to 15% before receding slightly to reach by 0805 hours GMT to 10.74 kroner per share at 10.8%.

The company increased profits by calculating interest and taxes to 234 million kroner ($ 39.33 million) in the period between April and June compared with 132 million kroner a year ago. The results exceeded expectations of analysts in every survey conducted by Reuters and included nine analysts had higher expectations refers to the profits of 140 million kroner.

Friendly. That. Or is the first foreign company for oil exploration in Iraq after the invasion led by the United States.

De did not reveal. That. Or, worth $ 1.6 billion from oil company which sought to buy their activities in Iraq.

The company said it had not received an offer from the nine "remarkable financial advisor on behalf of a major international oil company" to buy licensed in Kurdistan.

It added that "the price is based on the information available in the market until early July 2007. He studied board DE. That. Or offer and decided not to pursue the matter. "

On the other hand, the company stated that it confirmed the presence of oil deposits in Two new realm talkie in northern Iraq, one hot No. 8, which said De. That. Or that the maximum rate of production tests from the 8000 barrels of oil per day.

Earlier de stated. That. Or that the average production from the field Toki hit 12841 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter, a decline from 14780 barrels per day a year ago.

In light of the previously announced lower production in Yemen, which was the center of the company's production before the acceleration of its operations in Iraq reduced DE. That. On Wednesday or production target for 2007 to between 15 and 17 thousand barrels of oil per day from earlier expectations production capacity of 20 thousand barrels per day .

He said Helg hands Executive Chairman of the company in a statement : "During the second quarter we have made important achievements new."

He added : "The results in Kurdistan drilling promising potentials of the region and licenses and began a long-term test production wells talkie during the start of the development process. This calls for optimism. "

She said De. That. Or that they have not yet begun exporting its oil production from Toki, but sends trucked to the domestic market.

It added that it "continues to make progress" in a project to extend export pipeline to Turkey, a project which the company says for a long time that it represents the best way to transport oil to world markets.

Kirkuk is seeking to resolve the fuel crisis to sell part of the production of oil fields to refineries eligibility

Source : Radio Sawa - 21/08/2007

Gamal live one of the members of the Commission and the oil industry and minerals in the province of Kirkuk's local administration of selling part of the crude oil production in order to alleviate the crisis of oil derivatives experienced by the city.

In an interview with "Radio Sawa" explained born saying :
"Equip the Baiji refinery by 150 thousand barrels of crude oil daily and the liquidator in turn processed b city 480 thousand liters, while requiring the city of Kirkuk to a million and a half million liters, as well as some areas which take their share of oil from the city of Kirkuk and inpatient طوزخورماتو both Solomon and Beck امرلي
as well as the Chamchamal area, and other areas, all of this leads to a crisis in the city. "

He pointed out that live in the city, the local administration is seeking to obtain the consent of the Iraqi Oil Ministry to allow it to sell some of its crude oil to refineries eligibility to alleviate this crisis, reported saying :

"There are four lines of civil works with international, wish to buy crude oil from the NOC to contribute to the solution of the crisis, and I personally spoke with Mr. Barham Salih during his visit to Kirkuk and the oil ministry approached this issue and allow us to sell crude oil to refineries to resolve this crisis the city."

The city of Kirkuk, also called the city of gold they swim at the Black Sea oil to suffer from a severe crisis in oil derivatives.

Iraq commodity imports may reach three billion dollars in 2007

Source : Reuters-22/08/2007

He said Iraqi Trade Minister Abdel Sudanese farmer on Tuesday that the rise in global prices is expected to push the value of merchandise imports to Iraq three billion dollars this year, compared with 2.5 billion in 2006.

He said Sudanese in an interview to Reuters in Syria that the quantities are expected to remain unchanged but the cost will rise.

Iraq needs to import about 330 thousand tons of wheat and 85 thousand tonnes of rice per month in addition to sugar and other food items distributed under the rationing system implemented since the rule of former President Saddam Hussein.

Iraq intends to resume oil flows north

Source : Reuters-22/08/2007

Said Hussein Shahrastani Iraqi Oil Minister on Tuesday that his country is preparing to resume oil exports through Turkey in a few weeks through a new pipeline built amid the violence to boost exports.

He said Shahrastani Reuters that workers have completed the testing pipeline with a capacity of 500 thousand barrels per day, which covers an area of the northern export route has been deployed especially from the thousands of soldiers to guard the line.

The minister added that "we, in fact, the tube in the hot Hell and has succeeded in the examination is ready for use ... thus increasing our ability to maneuver when there are striking pipeline alternative pipeline to increase the export potential."

He said in a visit to Damascus within the Iraqi delegation to discuss improving relations with the Syrian government, "We hope within a few weeks we begin to pump and protect the pipeline from attacks."

He said that the tests were successfully completed and new security force different from the previous force of endemic corruption and continued, "Unfortunately, the protection force installations prior to the corrupt elements."

The minister said, "we will start at about 300 thousand barrels per day and gradually we will submit to 500 thousand barrels."

The regularity of Northern flows would increase Iraq's exports, which amounted to an average of between 1.7 and 1.8 million barrels per day last July to 2.2 million barrels a day. This level remains below the levels in 1990 when the United Nations imposed strict sanctions on Iraq because of its invasion of Kuwait.

The rate of two sabotage attacks in the week has stopped almost flows Iraqi oil via the Turkish port of Ceyhan after the invasion led by the United States against Iraq in 2003, which overthrew the government of President Saddam Hussein. And since then failed several attempts to secure supplies North.

The keynote Shahrastani responsibility subversive attacks on combatants fighting government backed by the United States and members of Al Qaeda.

In the south more stable Shahrastani said that Iraq has completed talks on a pipeline export capacity of one hundred thousand barrels per day from Basra to the Iranian port of Abadan.

The project was scheduled to be completed during the year but has been disrupted meetings with the Iranian side are due to resume this month.

Most of Iraq's oil exports now come from the South and issued by sea from the port of Basra, which operate at full capacity.

Shahrastani said that was prominent critic of President of the former Iraqi oil to be sold to Iran at market prices, pointing out that Iraq does not offer discounts based on political considerations as he did Saddam.

The prison Shahrastani is a former nuclear scientist for more than ten years in the era of the Baath party before he left the country for his defense of human rights and linked to Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr is a prominent Shiite cleric executed by Saddam's government in 1980.

Since his return to Iraq defended Shahrastani to negotiate for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, saying that American withdrawal would not affect the oil sector.

He said that the presence of foreign troops did not prevent kidnappings and sabotage attacks and pointed out that the Oil Ministry is facing smuggling gangs and the killing and kidnapping of daily but that did not prevent the ministry of production.

Shahrastani said that de****e the turmoil, however, politicians divided Iraqis realize that it is not their disrupt the oil sector.

He said he expects parliament to approve the new bill next month to regulate the development of Iraq's oil reserves, estimated at 112 billion barrels de****e internal opposition to the production-sharing agreements preferred by international companies.

Shahrastani said "partnership agreements production is a controversial and removed parliamentary blocs want to add a paragraph in the law to prevent it."

He added that the ministry is not keen to participate in production agreements particularly because they have the funds and the capacity to production from existing fields.

The minister continued that the new law will provide for the review of all oil and gas agreements signed in Saddam's era and concluded by the government of Kurdistan in Iraq to ensure full national control and achieve higher revenue for Iraq.

He said that any contract conflicted with that have to be redrafted. He adds, "It is not legally controversial as opposed to portray the political process and democratic changes in Iraq."

Iraq Plans WTO Membership, Trade Minister Says

Javno - [8/22/2007]

Iraq plans to enact a business-friendly customs code and expects to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) within two years.
Reuters Iraq plans to enact a business-friendly customs code and expects to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) within two years de****e the violence damaging its economy, the Iraqi trade minister said on Tuesday.

The government began formal negotiations with the WTO in May and is committed to changing laws that contradict the organisation's rules, Abdul Falah al-Sudani told Reuters.

"By 2008-2009 I expect that Iraq will be a full-fledged member," said Sudani, who is accompanying Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on a visit to Damascus to discuss improving political and economic ties with Syria.

"We have already received four queries about a number of regulations on the books and the ministries concerned are preparing a response," he said in an interview.

Sudani said the new tariffs, which will be WTO compliant, will average 5-15 percent.

"We don't want high rates. They may help shield local industry but will also isolate us economically," he said, adding that there are several legislative hurdles to pass before the new code becomes law.

Iraqi currently levies a flat 5 percent "reconstruction fee" on imports. The U.S.-led occupation administration, which took control of Iraq in 2003, scrapped the Saddam-era customs system.

Central bank figures show Iraq's imports fell to $20.9 billion last year compared with $23.5 billion in 2005. Exports, primarily of oil, rose to $30.5 billion from $23.7 billion over the same period.

Iraqis were among the Middle East's most affluent consumers before the United Nations imposed crushing sanctions in 1990 for the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq under Saddam Hussein.

Looting after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 destroyed Iraq's industrial base further, although an end to sanctions in the same year and more liquidity in the economy drove up demand for consumer goods.

"Many of our factories are idle and Iraq is importing everything from food to electrical equipment. Even if our production is restored, Iraq by nature is a large regional consumer market," Sudani said.

Traders who met the minister on his visit to Syria said lack of security is the major factor hampering trade, but that streamlining regulations could boost the flow of goods.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=4405

Iraq needs $100-150 bln for reconstruction: Finance minister

Reuters - [8/21/2007]

Iraq needs at least $100 billion to rebuild its shattered infrastructure after four years of violence and lawlessness following the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, Finance Minister Bayan Jabor said on Monday.

"The country is devastated and we are in need of at least $100 billion to $150 billion to restore infrastructure -- from sewerage to water to electricity to bridges and basic needs of the country," he told Reuters in Amman.

He said about $4 billion had been spent on infrastructure projects so far this year, more than in all of 2006, when internal violence and the limited capacity of the Iraqi private sector meant only about 40 percent of $6 billion allocated in the budget was used.

"What happened last year was ... a failure in the government's ability to execute," Jabor said.

Iraq's 2007 budget allocated $14 billion for capital investment and Jabor said the government had withdrawn $7.4 billion from the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), where Iraq's oil income is deposited and audited by the United Nations.

"There is much better execution of projects (this year), with some ministries and governors spending over 60 percent of their 2007 budget allocations so far. This is almost double last year," Jabor said.

More than $10 billion of oil revenues deposited in the DFI's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York were last year left unspent because projects could not be executed, he said.

A report in July by the U.S. special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction blamed the government for failing to take responsibility for reconstruction projects. It said it had spent only 22 percent of its capital budget in 2006 but predicted that figure could reach 50 percent in 2007.

Jabor said next year's draft budget was expected to total about $36 billion, depending on oil production estimates, against $41 billion in 2007.

OIL PRODUCTION RISES

The finance minister said oil production had risen to 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in July from an average 1.5 million bpd in the first half of 2007, when output was affected by the sabotage of a pipeline to Ceyhan in Turkey from fields around Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

"We hope it will go to 1.7 million bpd soon and our plans in the ministry of finance are based on Iraq returning to exporting 3.4 million bpd which is its OPEC quota. The economy will recuperate when it reaches this level," Jabor said.

Iraq sits on the world's third-largest proven oil reserves and depends on oil sales for almost all its foreign currency earnings. These funds will be vital for rebuilding its infrastructure and public services, badly degraded by the war and years of international sanctions that preceded it.

Jabor said he expected economic growth to accelerate from 3.4 percent in 2006, fuelled partly by reconstruction spending.

"We expect 7 percent growth this year ... The economic outlook is much better this year," he added.

Jabor said inflation, which has added to the hardships facing Iraq's population, was 46 percent in the period to June 2007, down from 57 percent in the first half of last year. Core inflation, excluding fuel and transportation, fell to 19 percent from 32 percent.

To keep inflation in check, Iraq will not hike official fuel prices further de****e a commitment to phase out fuel subsidies under a $715 million economic program agreed with the International Monetary Fund, Jabor said.

"I used to implement previous agreements but this time I will sign a new standby arrangement with the IMF that will be free of any rise in petroleum products," he said.

Jabor said the $3.75 billion sale of three 15-year mobile phone licenses to mainly Gulf Arab operators on Friday signaled investor confidence in Iraq's long-term economic prospects.

Iraq will tap cheap donor funds for development projects, Jabor said, including a $1 billion soft loan from Iran to be signed soon. The loan will be repayable over 40 years with 10 years' grace, he said. Japan has also offered up to $3.5 billion of soft loans, Jabor added.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=4404

"Iranian Weapon" Killed Diwaniya Governor
http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php...ns/splash.html

Republican Lobbyists Aid Top Maliki Opponent
As Bush Voices Support for the Iraqi PM, Republican Firm Helps Undermine Maliki

Posted 1 hr. 46 min. ago

Republican lobbyists with close ties to the Bush administration are aiding and supporting the efforts of an Iraqi opposition leader who is calling for the ouster of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The anti-Maliki crusader is former Iraqi interim prime minister Ayad Allawi, and the Washington firm retained to spearhead U.S.-focused efforts on his behalf is the Republican powerhouse group of Barbour, Griffith, and Rogers (BGR).

IraqSlogger has learned BGR's work for Allawi includes the August 17 purchase of the Web site domain Allawi-for-Iraq.com.

In recent days, BGR sent hundreds of e-mail messages in Allawi's name from the e-mail address [email protected].

Amid growing U.S. and Iraqi frustration with Maliki's leadership and speculation about whether President Bush might welcome Maliki's departure, President Bush made a forceful statement of support for Maliki today:

"Prime Minister Maliki is a good guy, a good man with a difficult job, and I support him. And it's not up to politicians in Washington, D.C. to say whether he will remain in his position -- that is up to the Iraqi people who now live in a democracy, and not a dictatorship."
It is unclear whether Bush administration officials are aware of BGR's efforts to assist Maliki foe Allawi, who has branded Maliki incompetent and called for a new Iraqi prime minister -- a job many believe Allawi covets for himself.

Allawi argued in an August 18 Washington Post op-ed that Iraq will descend into chaos unless Maliki is replaced as prime minister.

Using the new Allawi e-mail address, BGR distributed the Allawi op-ed to U.S. Congressional staffers and others in Washington -- a development first reported by Congressional aide Daniel McAdams on Lew Rockwell's blog.

That BGR-purchased Allawi e-mail address was also used to distribute comments from Democratic Senator Carl Levin calling for Maliki's resignation.

Phone calls to BGR today seeking comment were not returned.

On its Web site, BGR describes itself as a "privately-owned Republican firm," and its founders and top executives include recently-departed Bush administration veterans, one-time Republican party leaders, and major Bush campaign contributors.

Allawi is not new to the world of Washington lobbyists.

In 2004, while interim Iraqi prime minister, Allawi spent nearly $400,000 with the Washington lobbying firm of Theros and Theros.

Allawi's relationship with BGR apparently is relatively new, however, because official Justice Department and Senate lobbyist tracking records provide no indication of the BGR-Allawi relationship.

BGR's Web site, which identifies dozens of BGR clients by name, makes no mention of Allawi.

BGR has another major Iraqi client: the Kurdistan Regional Government.

http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php...ns/splash.html

Iran: We're Making "Ghased" Smart Bombs

Claim 2,000-Pound Bomb with Guidance System can be Fired from Jets

Posted 13 hr. 2 min. ago

From the Iranian official Fars News Agency:

Iran to Start Production of Intelligent Bombs in Days

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- The production line for manufacturing an Iran-made intelligent bomb called 'Ghased' will launch operation next week. The Iranian defense ministry said that it will start production lines for manufacturing other military tools and arsenals next week on the occasion of the Week of Government.

The 2000-pound bomb, equipped with an intelligent guiding system, is produced by few countries due to the advanced technical know-how required for its production and Iran is the last in the chain of countries which have succeeded in developing the technology.

Ghased has been successfully test fired by such fighter jets as F4 and F5.

http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php...ns/splash.html

U.S. officials rethink hopes for Iraq democracy

updated 2 hours, 10 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Nightmarish political realities in Baghdad are prompting American officials to curb their vision for democracy in Iraq. Instead, the officials now say they are willing to settle for a government that functions and can bring security.

A workable democratic and sovereign government in Iraq was one of the Bush administration's stated goals of the war.

But for the first time, exasperated front-line U.S. generals talk openly of non-democratic governmental alternatives, and while the two top U.S. officials in Iraq still talk about preserving the country's nascent democratic institutions, they say their ambitions aren't as "lofty" as they once had been.

"Democratic institutions are not necessarily the way ahead in the long-term future," said Brig. Gen. John "Mick" Bednarek, part of Task Force Lightning in Diyala province, one of the war's major battlegrounds.

The comments reflect a practicality common among Western diplomats and officials trying to win hearts and minds in the Middle East and other non-Western countries where democracy isn't a tradition.

The failure of Iraq to emerge from widespread instability is a bitter pill for the United States, which optimistically toppled the Saddam Hussein regime more than four years ago. Millions of Iraqis went to the polls to cast ballots, something that generated great promise for the establishment of a democratic system.

But Iraqi institutions, from the infrastructure to the national government, are widely regarded as ineffective in the fifth year of the war.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, declined to be interviewed for this story, but they issued a joint statement to CNN that reiterated that the country's "fundamental democratic framework is in place" and that "the development of democratic institutions is being encouraged."

And, they said, they are helping Iraqi political leaders find ways "to share power and achieve legislative progress."

But Crocker and Petraeus conceded they are "now engaged in pursuing less lofty and ambitious goals than was the case at the outset."

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of Task Force Lightning, also reflected a less lofty American goal for Iraq's future.

"I would describe it as leaving an effective government behind that can provide services to its people, and security. It needs to be an effective and functioning government that is really a partner with the United States and the rest of the world in this fight against the terrorists," said Mixon, who will not be perturbed if such goals are reached without democracy.

"Well, see that all over the Middle East," he said, stating that democracy is merely an option, that Iraqis are free to choose or reject.

"But that is the $50,000 question. ... What will this government look like? Will it be a democracy? Will it not?" he asked.

Soldiers, he said, are fighting for security, a goal Mixon described as "core to my mission."

But security is far from complete in Iraq, where the government seems dysfunctional and paralyzed.

Seventeen of the 37 Iraqi Cabinet ministers either boycott or don't attend Cabinet meetings. Parliament, now on a much-criticized month-long summer break, has yet to pass key legislation in the areas of energy resource sharing and the future roles of former members of Hussein's Baath Party. U.S. officials, including President Bush, have said there is frustration with efforts by the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to promote political reconciliation.

The government is unable to supply regular electricity and at times running water in the capital. The health care system is run by one Iranian-backed militia and the national police are dominated by another. Death squads terrorize Sunni neighborhoods.

Sectarian cleansing is pushing people into segregated enclaves, protected by Shiite or U.S.-backed Sunni militias, and spurring the flight of thousands to neighboring countries.

Thousands of innocents are dying violently every month in cities and villages across the country.

Iraqi government officials concede things aren't working, but they say that's because the United States doesn't allow Iraq to really control its own destiny.

While the Iraqi government commands its own troops, it cannot send them into battle without U.S. agreement. Iraqi Special Forces answer only to U.S. officers.

"We don't have full sovereignty," said Hadi al-Amri, the chairman of parliament's Defense and Security Committee. "We don't have sovereignty over our troops, we don't have sovereignty over our provinces. We admit it."

And because of the very real prospect of Iranian infiltration, the government doesn't fund or control its own intelligence service. It's paid for and run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Abdul Qarim al-Enzi, director of the parliamentary ethics committee, asks whether it is "reasonable for a country given sovereignty by the international community to have a chief of intelligence appointed by another country."

One senior U.S. official in Baghdad told CNN that "any country with 160,000 foreigners fighting for it sacrifices some sovereignty."

The U.S. government has long cautioned that a fully functioning democracy would be slow to emerge in Iraq. But with key U.S. senators calling for al-Maliki's removal, some senior U.S. military commanders even suggest privately the entire Iraqi government must be removed by "constitutional or non-constitutional" means and replaced with a stable, secure, but not necessarily democratic entity.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/...ion=cnn_latest