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

OPEC might raise oil production if necessary

An official from the oil sector said that Iraq has increased the official price of Basra crude oil exports for consumers in the United States and kept it stable for agents in Asia and Europe. The official said that Kirkuk crude oil selling price will be determined within few days. Basra crude oil price for exports to the United States has increased to Texas crude oil price decreased by 6,65% in comparison with Texas crude oil price decreased by 9,5% in January. As for the agents in Europe, Basra crude oil price for transportation in February has remained stable at average prices of Bernt, Fortess, Osberg and Ecofisk deceased by 5,10 % without any change in January.

In a separate context, a source in the navy cargo said that Kirkuk oil exports through the northern pipeline into Turkey are still interrupted. The source said that oil has not been pumped through a pipeline to Turkish Ceyhan port since Friday despite that an Iraqi official confirmed that pumping was resumed on Saturday.

On the other hand, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al Badri said that OPEC will raise oil production if necessary in its coming meetings in February and March, affirming in return that world supplies are sufficient in the time being while competitors are behind the prices increase.

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network | Economics News | OPEC might raise oil production if necessary

Fate of oil unites feuding Iraqi factions

Several Shia and Sunni political factions united yesterday to pressure Kurds over control of oil and the future of the city of Kirkuk, which Kurdistan wants to annex to its self-rule region in the north.

The budding front, which includes one-time enemies such as Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's secular faction, believe the country should have a strong central government.

In contrast, the Kurds and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, a major Shia party, have championed a federal system that would give a limited role to the national government and greater powers to the regions.

Officials from the factions that signed the statement said they wanted to find a political solution to the status of oil-rich Kirkuk, which Kurds wish to annex by referendum. The Iraqi Constitution called for a referendum to be held by the end of last year, but with the deadline passed the factions now question whether it is still required.

The groups also protested any contracts signed by provinces or regions with foreign companies to develop oil fields. The Kurdistan regional government has signed such contracts recently, ignoring protests from Baghdad.

The factions indicated their statement did not form a new political bloc but did commit them to promoting a strong role for Iraq's national government.

Usama Najafi, a lawmaker with Allawi's party, said at least 120 lawmakers in the 275-member parliament had endorsed it.

It also was signed by representatives of nearly a dozen blocs, including the Turkmen, Yazidi and Christian minorities. The Shia Dawa-Iraq party and supporters of former Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari signed as well, in what could create more stress on the parliament's leading 85-seat Shia coalition, which has already seen two parties defect.

The communique also reveals divisions in the 44-seat Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni bloc, between parties that support and oppose Kurdistan's regional ambitions.

"This is a clarification for the Kurds that their demands are too large and irrational. They have to recognize their true size in the political process," said Sheik Walid Kraimawi, a member of the al-Sadr movement's political committee.

Kurdish parliament member Mahmoud Othman said the Kurds were not surprised by the statement and considered such groups hostile to their goals. But he said it was hard to see how their positions would translate into a cohesive bloc. "It's just a communique," he said.

The document could give Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki leverage to extract Kurdish compromise on the status of Kirkuk and oil resources management.

WHAT THEY SAID. "My life isn't a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side. I have my own opinions about what we should do about Iraq, but since I'm not around to expound on them I'd prefer others not try and use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably didn't support." - Maj. Andrew Olmsted, in his final blog entry for the Rocky Mountain News, which he asked a friend to post if he died. He was killed Jan. 3 in a rebel attack near Sadiyah.

Fate of oil unites feuding Iraqi factions -- Newsday.com

Update......

US helicopter sparks fire at oil refinery in Iraq - Summary

Sparks from a coalition helicopter hovering over the west of the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Tuesday caused a major fire at a large oil refinery, the Iraqi Ministry of Petroleum said. Sources told the Iraqi news agency Voice of Iraq (VOI) that sparks from the flying helicopter interacted with gases of the petrol purifications taking place around the refinery, sparking many blazes in the area.

Earlier in the day, a local official had said an act of sabotage was the likely cause of the fire at the Shuaiba refinery west of Basra.

The fire started at two units producing gasoline and spread to other parts of the refinery. Firefighting vehicles and civil defence units converged on the scene from all over Basra province.

Shuaiba refinery - the largest in southern Iraq - has frequently been targeted by insurgents who are seeking to disrupt Iraq's efforts to restore oil production to full capacity.

Frequent attacks on oil installations in the north and south, causing power cuts and chronic fuel shortages, have prompted the Iraqi government to purchase fuel products from its neighbours in Kuwait and Iran.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/s...--summary.html

Rice urges Iraqis to approve budget, oil & gas bills

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday urged the Iraqi parliament to approve 2008 budget, oil & gas as well as provincial elections bills.

Rice arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday morning on a surprise visit and met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, his two deputies Tareq al-Hashemi and Adel Abdul Mahdi, Head of the Supreme Iraqi Council Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and President of Iraq's Kurdistan region Massoud Barazani.

"Passing the Justice and Accountability Law is a good step on the road to reconciliation," Rice told a news conference with her Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zibari, in Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone.

She added, however, that there was "still a lot of work to be done," pointing to the need for provincial elections and the fact that a national oil and gas bill is still stalled before parliament.

Rice encouraged the prime minister to promote the progress of the other benchmark legislation, including provincial elections, constitutional amendments and a law to share the country's oil and gas resources among the different sects.

She said that since her last visit to Iraq a month ago, she had seen "continued progress on the political front, particularly in the reconciliation that the Iraqi people themselves are carrying out at the grassroots front."

The oil and gas draft law is currently one of the most controversial issues in the Iraqi arena, and there are differences between the political blocs on the law. It concerns the primary wealth of the country; the Sunni Parties had reservations about its present form, and Kurds’ objections concern the relationship between their regional government and the central one in Baghdad.

If the present oil and gas law is passed it will give Iraqi and foreign investors the right to establish oil facilities and refineries and invest them for a period of 50 years, after which they revert to the Iraqi government.

"Rice discussed with President Talabani and his two deputies as well as president of Kurdistan important issues like approving the accountability and justice law," a presidential statement said earlier received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

"This law is clearly a step forward for national reconciliation, it is clearly a step forward for the process of healing the wounds of the past," Rice said.
The law is an alternative for the debaathification law, enacted by former U.S. civil administrator Paul Bremer, who ruled Iraq after the fall of the former regime in April 2003.

Since it was first announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in June 2007, the draft has been facing fierce opposition and several reservations, mostly by the Sadrists, who occupy 30 out of a total 275 seats in parliament.

Once the law is passed, about 30,000 Baathists, or members of the former ruling Baath Party, would be allowed to return to their original jobs and receive their retirement rights.

She also talked bout the cut in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, underlining that U.S. President George Bush will take the decision after meeting American military leaders in Iraq to consult with them.

Aswat Aliraq

ISX higher by 0.17%

The Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX) index increased by 0.17% on Tuesday compared to the previous session, closing at 35.210 points.

Traded shares in Tuesday's session exceeded 417 million at a total value of 859 million Iraqi dinars by implementing 248 contracts in the banking sector.

Non-Iraqi investors participated with over 11 million shares, totaling more than 20 million Iraqi dinars by implementing ten contracts.

According to the daily analysis of the capital market, the banking sector's index closed at 36.330 points, 0.778% lower than the previous session, while the industrial index, in which nine companies traded, ended at 11.229 points, stable compared to the previous session.

The statement concluded that 28 companies were traded in Tuesday's session out of 94 companies registered in Iraq's Stock Exchange, of which three indexes went up, eleven dropped, and fourteen maintained their previous price.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraq sets a plan to provide ratio cards

Iraqi Trade Minister Abdul Fallah Al Sudani announced that his ministry is studying a three stage plan for thee years in order to support ratio cards in view of equipping the private sector, thus it becomes in charge of food products in return of turning the ministry into a monitoring party. Al Sudani noted that the first stage of this plan has started on January 1, 2008, according to which the level of wealth and poverty is determined in addition to specifying the willingness of citizens to receive ratio cards or financial aids. As for the second stage, the private sector is therein involved in providing citizens with all necessary food products. The third stage consists of turning the ministry into a monitoring party examining the distribution process.

In the same context, Al Sadrist Bloc MP Fallah Chanchal called on the government to preserve ratio cards since they provide aid to a large component of the Iraqi people mainly unfavorable category. Chanchal called on the government to increase ratio cards through increasing the trade ministry allocations of 2008 budget.

Iraq sets a plan to provide ratio cards

Iraq Defence Minister Outlines 'Shopping List' of Defence Procurement Requirements

With only a month to go before the forthcoming Iraq Defence, Security & Communications Summit, Iraqi Minister of Defence Abdul Qadir Obeidi has restated the key requirements for the defence sector in Iraq, unveiling a shopping list of key services as Iraq looks to ensure its security.

The Minister, who is in Washington this week for discussions with Pentagon officials, stressed the importance of securing key military apparatus such as ground vehicles, helicopters, tanks, artillery and armoured personnel carriers.

The declaration of such requirements is well timed, coming ahead of the forthcoming summit, which will take place in Dubai on 16-17 February 2008. The Minister will lead of delegation of senior Iraqi officials from the Defence Ministry, alongside representatives from Interior, National Security, Science & Technology and Communications.

The summit provides a unique opportunity for international suppliers to sit down and hold private discussions with the Minister and his delegation of senior Director Generals, as the Ministry looks to allocate its new multi-billion dollar budget on improving Iraqi security.

The summit looks set to be a huge success and will welcome senior executives from the leading global defence contractors, including the likes of BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, SAIC, DRS, Bell, Harris, Oshkosh, EADS, L-3, Agility, Aegis, EODT and Zain.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=5349

Referring article 140 to federal court promotes mistrust - Kurdish MP

Kurdistan Alliance (KA) on Tuesday considered referring the constitution article 140 to the federal court as a “dangerous initiative” promoting mistrust over constitutional issues.

“Referring article 140 to the federal court to assess its validity promoted mistrust feelings towards understanding constitutional issues and reflected deviation from the right track”, MP Mohamed Sharif, of the Kurdistan coalition, said in parliament session.

He added “it marked huge defects in the parliament’s legal knowledge and would leave overreaching consequences in the future”.

The Iraqi parliament referred the constitutional article 140 to the federal court to decide the legal status and in the wake of a heated debate between Kurdish and Turkomen as well as other parliamentarians over the article validity.

Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution deals with disputed areas including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk .

According to the article, the dispute over Kirkuk should be solved over three stages: normalization, census of population, and a referendum on the status of Kirkuk as to whether it should remain an independent province or be annexed to the Kurdistan region.

These phases should have been finalized on a deadline of December 31, 2007 but their application was postponed for a period of six months.

The Kurdistan Alliance (KA), the second largest parliamentary bloc, holds 58 out of total parliament’s 275 seats.

Aswat Aliraq

Bukkehave to deliver cars to Iraqi Ministry

Bukkehave Ltd. has been awarded a contract to supply eight armored vehicles for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iraq.

The request was made on Dec 2 through Bukkehave’s local Iraq office for eight new Toyota Land Cruisers with certified ballistic armoring to B6 level. Bukkehave quoted the same day for factory new models and the order was placed on Dec 5.

Bukkehave was offered the job over 3 other competitors because the right vehicles were available, and could be delivered almost immediately. Bukkehave also offered 2 years of free vehicle servicing including labor and spare parts according to the service books.

Servicing is to be carried out with Bukkehave’s highly respected partner, No Lemon, who operates a workshop in Baghdad.

Bukkehave has been supplying vehicles and spare parts into Iraq since 1999 including oilfield trucks for Iraq Drilling Company, 100 project vehicles for the Ministry of Electricity, 500 pick-up trucks for the Ministry of Health, and 20 armored vehicles and spare parts delivered to Baghdad for another Government Organization.

Iraq Development Program - Bukkehave to deliver cars to Iraqi Ministry

Sorry if already posted.......

Iraq Defense Minister sees need for US security help until 2018

The Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qadir Mohammed said on Monday that the country would not be able to take full responsibility for its internal security until 2012, nor be able on its own to defend Iraq’s borders from external threat until at least 2018.

The minister's comments were among the most specific public projections of a timeline for the American commitment in Iraq by officials in either Washington or Baghdad. And they suggested a longer commitment than either government had previously projected.

Pentagon officials expressed no surprise at Mr. Qadir’s projections, saying that he had been consistent throughout his weeklong visit in pressing that timeline, and also in laying out requests for purchasing new weapons through Washington’s program of foreign military sales.

"According to our calculations and our timelines, we think that from the first quarter of 2009 until 2012 we will be able to take full control of the internal affairs of the country,” Mr. Qadir said in an interview on Monday, conducted in Arabic through an interpreter.

“In regard to the borders, regarding protection from any external threats, our calculation appears that we are not going to be able to answer to any external threats until 2018 to 2020,” he added.

He offered no specifics on a timeline for reducing the number of American troops in Iraq.

Mr. Qadir sketched out a shopping list that included ground vehicles and helicopters, as well as tanks, artillery and armored personnel carriers.

Those, he said, are needed as Iraq moves toward taking full responsibility for internal security. In the years after that, as his nation assumes full control over its defense against foreign threats, Iraq will need additional aircraft, both warplanes and reconnaissance vehicles, he said.

Iraq Development Program - Iraq Defense Minister sees need for US security help until 2018