Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 01/01/08 - 14/04/08

Basra incidents important step toward establishing state of Law

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Monday that the Basra incidents and the recent security developments in the country are considered an important step toward establishing a state of law.

“The Basra incidents are a message to all the outlaws who oppose democracy,” al-Maliki said during his meeting with the accredited ambassadors in Baghdad.

“The step represents the government’s justice when dealing with those who violate the law,” he added.

“The military operations targeted more than one militia and we took a decisive decision to expel and try them according to the military courts,” the premier noted.

“We urge our apparatuses to be neutral and protect the human right,” he said, explaining that he had to take the decision to fight gunmen in Basra.

“There was no real authority of the Basra local government and the real power was in the hand of the militias,” al-Maliki underlined.

He praised all efforts that supported the government against the militias, asserting that “we want to stop the activity of all armed groups.”

Basra province, 590 km south of Baghdad, witnessed six days of bloody armed confrontations between governmental forces and Mahdi Army militia.

Clashes ended when the Shiite leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, ordered his followers to abort "all armed scenes," and to cooperate with governmental forces to impose security and law.

The clashes left 210 gunmen killed and 600 others wounded as well as the arrest of 155 during Operation Saulat al-Foursan (Knights’ Assault), aimed at eliminating all armed groups in the southern Iraqi city.

Aswat Aliraq

McCain: Iraqi Army performing pretty well

In his first public appearance since his release, Imposing Law operation civil spokesman Tahsin Al Shaykhali held a press conference in which he affirmed that the government is determined with all its powers to fight outlaws. He noted that Imposing Law Operation commandment has allowed ambulance cars as well as governmental vehicles to enter Sadr and Sheala cities in order to provide services for citizens therein.

In a related context, US presidency Republican candidate John McCain praised the performance of the Iraqi government and army in facing clashes with Al Mehdi Army despite minor achievements attained so far. McCain told Fox TV channel that “overall, the Iraqi military performed pretty well, Eight or nine months ago, it would have been unthinkable.”

McCain: Iraqi Army performing pretty well | Iraq News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

US not close to end Iraq military presence

The US Institute of Peace published on Sunday noted that the United States is not close to end military presence in Iraq warning that a quick military withdrawal could lead to massive chaos and even genocide. “The US is no closer to being able to leave Iraq than it was a year ago. Lasting political development could take five to 10 years of full, unconditional U.S. commitment to Iraq”, the report concluded. It noted that the decline of violence which is still much lower than Iraq and US expectations has led to a fragile situation relying on US Forces’ presence in the country.

US not close to end Iraq military presence | Iraq News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

INTERVIEW - BP hopes to sign Iraq Service Contract Midyear

BP Plc hopes to sign within a few months a service contract designed to boost output in Iraq by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), a senior BP executive told Reuters on Monday.

The deal is one of five that Iraq is negotiating with oil majors to boost output by 500,000 bpd, or nearly a quarter, from its largest oil fields. Iraqi officials had hoped to sign the deals by early April.

"I'd say we might sign around the middle of the year," said Steve Peacock, president of BP's Middle East and South Asia exploration and production unit. "These are active discussions with serious intent, there is no sense that they've stalled or reconsidered, it's just taking longer than anticipated."

Payment terms for the service contracts were yet to be concluded, Peacock said. Iraq has said each contract could be worth up to $500 million.

Iraq wants to sign two-year technical service contracts with oil majors as part of stopgap measures to boost oil production in the absence of a vital oil law. Legislation to set the terms and extent of foreign investment in the country has been stalled in parliament for more than a year.

"In this politically sensitive and difficult situation service contacts are a pragmatic step forward for Iraq," Peacock said.

Majors would prefer contracts that offer long-term involvement in Iraq and were looking for a link in the service contracts to future development of Iraq's giant oil fields.

"Whether it gets linked into the contract or not -- it's a natural question that's on the table. These contracts are valid for a couple of years; how does that link with what comes afterwards?" Peacock said.

The longer-term link would help ensure that work undertaken under the two-year service contracts would be in line with future field development plans, he added.

Peacock said he was confident that the majors and Iraqi negotiators would come up with a contract that gave an incentive for firms to use all their skills and expertise, while at the same time respecting political opposition in Iraq to deals that gave companies a share in production.
The terms of the contracts could set the pace of oil field development for years to come, he said.

"I think it's important acknowledging the political sensitivity of using barrels as a form of reward," Peacock said.

"That shouldn't be confused with giving up national sovereignty over the ownership -- that's never in question. The question is, do you want to use barrels or cash as a form of reward? Whichever it is, I think, is going to be key for the long term. It will determine how fast production can be realised and how fast new developments can be brought on stream."

The service contract Iraq is negotiating with is for the giant Rumaila oil field in the country's south. The target to boost output by 100,000 bpd from the field was possible, although to do so in two years would require an aggressive development plan, Peacock said.

The contracts call for larger project management roles in the fields than the majors previously had. Aside from boosting production and long-term planning, the oil firms would be required to bring in supplies to Iraq. Majors will supervise the work from outside of the country as security concerns will prevent them from sending in ground staff, at least initially.

The companies have studied the same fields and for years provided training and technical assistance as they look to position themselves for any future contracts.

"We've studied the whole of the rest of the country, so we're waiting for what comes next after the service agreements. And we have an opinion on which bits we'd be more interested in," Peacock said.

INTERVIEW-BP hopes to sign Iraq service contract midyear | Markets | Reuters

Iraqi Kurd MP Wary of Oil Law

An Iraqi parliamentarian representing Iraq's Kurds says his party will not approve a draft oil law that has been altered from the February 2007 version.

Bayazid Hasan, part of the Kurdistan Alliance bloc in Iraq's Parliament, said the version agreed to by the Kurdistan Regional Government in February had been altered in the political process.

"The draft that was presented to the Iraqi Parliament is not the same as the one the KRG and the Iraqi premier politically agreed on in February 2007," he told the Aso newspaper, which is politically aligned with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the two leading Kurdish parties in Iraq. "Hence, passing the law has become a problem."

Last week Abdul-Hadi al-Hasani, the deputy chair of Parliament's Oil and Gas Committee, told United Press International there were renewed negotiations over a draft law governing development and investment in Iraq's oil sector.

Four different versions of the law have been stuck in the committee since last July. The dispute is mainly over differing opinions of foreign investment in the oil sector and the level of central versus decentralized government control over the oil strategy.

"Shortly, we'll see a new draft which there is more common ground," said Hasani. The latest draft is based on "good dialogue" between the central and Kurdistan region governments, he said, and the Council of Ministers will soon approve it and send it to his committee.

Iraqi Kurd MP wary of oil law - UPI.com

Attacks take out some northern Iraq power

Attacks on northern Iraq's power sector have halted a power plant near the Mosul dam.

"Bomb explosions on Saturday damaged a number of power transmission lines in the province of Ninewa," a source from Iraq's Electricity Ministry told the Voices of Iraq news agency. "Power plants were adversely affected."

Iraq's power sector is a frequent target of the insurgency, aimed at cutting off and harming vital infrastructure. The oil sector, especially the northern oil pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey, is also targeted.

"Engineering personnel since (Saturday) had begun working to repair the damage and hoped to return to service over the next few days," the source said.

Iraqis have seen an increase in electricity over the past year, according to the U.S. State Department.

While there are widespread complaints of unequal distribution and unreliable electricity availability, the department's Iraq Weekly Status Report said supply is currently 8 percent higher than last year, though demand has increased 23 percent.

Attacks take out some northern Iraq power - UPI.com

Sterling banks on Kurdistan in U.S. Sale

Sterling Energy will sell its U.S. assets to raise cash and increase focus on its Iraqi Kurdistan and Africa projects.

The company, with headquarters in London and Houston, announced the move Monday.

"We believe that this is a very opportune time to sell our U.S. business," said Chief Executive Officer Graeme Thomson. "In particular, I am very excited about Kurdistan and Madagascar where independent studies have indicated a combined unrisked net economic value at potentially over $2 billion if both prospects are successful at the best estimate level."

Sterling signed the controversial production-sharing contract with Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government last November. The KRG is looking to capitalize on an unexplored but prospective wealth of oil reserves despite Baghdad's desire to have central control over oil development in the country.

Sterling said in a statement the Kurdistan and Madagascar reserves combined are estimated at between 500 million and 1.9 billion barrels of oil.

Sterling banks on Kurdistan in U.S. sale - UPI.com

Found this elsewhere, the link doesn't work for me.

2008-04-07

Alshabibi: citizen started to regain confidence in national currencies

The stability of the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar

CAIRO - Muhammad Khalifa

Dr. Sinan Alshabibi Governor of the Central Bankexchange rate stability of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar, and that the bank encourages citizens to buy dinar and handling and keeping it

Where currencies began his confidence day by day and became keen on the conduct of the dollar and the dinar rather buy it as it saw Amian revealed dinar return to power, which led to the elimination of inflation, which we suffer from in the past.

He said Alshabibi told the (morning) during his participation in the Arab banking conference in 2008, held in Cairo under the slogan (the role of banks in financing investment projects in Arabic) sponsored by the Arab League, we aspire in the near future to the return of Iraqi dinar to what it was in the seventies and the beginning eighties against the dollar and other foreign currencies and we are endeavouring and serious in this regard, but added that this process is not easy and simple and depends on the supply and demand of Iraqi dinars.

And encourage the private sector in the transfer of capital between countries reported: that opportunities are open to all and free to move money to any country that wants alluding shortage of regulatory issues in this area because we are still suffering from a routine killer in most government departments, explaining that there Many banks have formed a civil relations with a wide Arab and international banks and well and bode well Annci and we were in isolation from the world banking over 30 years but at the same time we are moving very fast pace.

For his part, Associate Director of the Rafidain Bank Mohsen Abdel Hassan told (morning), which participated in the conference representatives from the banking Rafidain Bank came to participate in order to continue the banking interface between Iraq and Arab countries and return to the Arab ranks banking indicating that the participation of Iraqi banks in these conferences Arab and meetings are very positive because it is through the identification of the latest developments at the Arab Banking addition to agreements with various banks participating Conference.

He added that the Rafidain Bank has eight branches in the Arab countries two in Jordan and the other in Lebanon and Syria and Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Yemen, we have an ambitious plan to increase the number of bank branches to reach all the Arab countries, and provides services to these branches Iraqi community in the transfer of funds and other banking transactions addition to pay retirees of Iraqis who live in these countries.

He connected at the level of board chairman of the Union of Arab Banks Adnan Hamad Youssef told (morning): We have established strong relations with Iraqi banks as we work together to invest funds in the reconstruction of Iraq and through our union together, pointing out that we approached the Iraqi bank now to send a number of working in the Iraqi banks for training and rehabilitation in the Union and at the hands of expert professional bankers pointed out that we in the European aspire to attract bankers Iraqis through their support at all levels within and outside Iraq, explaining that the Federation began an ambitious plan establishment of several bank branches belonging Arab tent Union in Iraq After improvement of security.

http://translate.google.com/translat...-US:unofficial

Thanks for bringing that over bultn.

Thi Qar to receive ID118 b from its allocations last year

Thau Qar province has received all its remained allocations from 2007 budget which reached to ID118 with notifying it with the government's release of 20% of province allocations for the current year.

The governor of Thi Qar has appreciated the role played by Iraqi tribes to realize stability and security to start reconstruction processes.

Jabbar Hussein, Director of Thair Qar accounts told as-Sabah: "Finance Ministry had released all its remained allocations of the last year budget which reach ID118 b in the amount of ID69 b within regions' development plan.

Thi Qar to receive ID118 b from its allocations last year | Iraq Updates