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

Ministry of Electricity signs contract with Japan

Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity has signed a contract with a Japanese company to rehabilitate the gas-powered Taji electrical station located in northern Baghdad as part of conditions for Japan’s grant to the ministry.


An official source in the ministry has told the press that the contract was signed by Engineer Abdul-Wahhab Kadhim, general director of the electrical energy production in the central region on behalf of the ministry.

The contract includes replacing the second, third and fifth old units with new Japanese-made units. The source added that an Iraqi company will start executing the project under supervision from the Japanese side, while a Jordanian company will undertake the task of conducting surveys and phase evaluation for the project.

The ministry’s cadres themselves have been able to operate the fifth unit at the station, and that the new work processes at the Mosul natural gas-powered electrical station have been monitored via remote control equipment recently installed there.

The Ministry of Electricity has prepared a plan for the year 2008 which includes building a large number of generation units in Baghdad and the governorates and tries to reach the goal of generating, by the end of this year, more than 9,500 mega watts for the country.

Iraq Development Program - Ministry of Electricity signs contract with Japan

Iraqi Airways plans to fly to 45 destinations

The General Director of Iraqi Airways, Kifah Hasan Jabbar has announced that the company is working on renewing and rehabilitating its fleet through purchasing new aircrafts.

He also added that the company is negotiating buying many modern Boeing aircrafts to restore the fleet, but he did not discover the number or the cost of the new deal.

Jabbar pointed out that the company has 3,000 employees who can run the new fleet of the Iraqi Airways adding that the company has currently two aircrafts only while the rest are rented from private companies.

Jabbar finally stated that a delegation from his company had recently visited the UAE to view the work model of Emirates Airways, which expressed an interest in training and developing our company.

Iraq Development Program - Iraqi Airways plans to fly to 45 destinations

Update....

Oil firms wanting Iraq deals must register

Iraq's Oil Ministry said all companies interested in winning contracts need to register as Iraq moves closer to its first tenders of oil fields.

Iraq's currently producing oil fields require billions of dollars in investment -- either from international oil companies or via the ministry's companies -- and Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has said deals will be announced soon.

There have been mixed messages from the ministry, however, as to whether certain fields will be awarded in an open bidding process or negotiated between the ministry and a selected company. And the type of contract itself, a controversial aspect, has not been specified by the ministry.

"Contracts and licensing directory in (the) Oil Ministry on Wednesday called on all qualified and well-known international companies to submit their applications to work in Iraq," ministry spokesman Assem Jihad was quoted by the Voices of Iraq news agency. "Companies have to fill in application forms and submit the documents before the end of January 2008."

Rochdi Younsi, a Middle East analyst with the business risk firm Eurasia Group, said companies are largely awaiting a national oil law setting the foreign investment ground rules before agreeing to direct large sums of money in Iraq.

The registration deadline "intends to demonstrate movement on the energy front and secure international oil companies' commitment to dealing with the central government," Younsi said.

The central government has been accused by the Kurdistan Regional Government of stalling progress in the oil sector and the national oil law specifically; the central government accuses the KRG of the same.

But the KRG has gone forward with its own regional oil law and signed more than 20 exploration and production contracts with foreign firms, sparking anger from Baghdad.

"Shahristani wants to use this registration process to filter future partners and exclude firms that have already signed deals with the Kurdish Regional Government," Younsi added.

Foreign firms have stayed largely out of Iraq deals because of the legal uncertainty and security situation. Most larger companies, including the majors, have conducted studies or provided training to ministry staff.

Shahristani told United Press International in November he's in negotiations with major oil firms for "technical-support contracts" for producing super giant fields.

Iraq's overall strategy is to increase production beyond 3 million barrels per day in 2008 -- it's a goal carried over the past few years, though production has increased from an average 2 million bpd post-2003 to 2.4 million bpd in November.

To do so, the ministry has targeted not only producing fields, but discovered but not producing fields as well as exploration.

International Security - Energy - Briefing - UPI.com

Rival Shiites in Iraq Try to Make Peace

Representatives of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr met Thursday with officials from his chief rival's party in an effort to cement a tenuous peace agreement the two signed in October after violent clashes between their followers.

It was at least the second formal overture al-Sadr has made to Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim and his Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the largest Shiite political party, in less than a week.

Peace between the two - who each control powerful militias - is seen as key to preventing the outbreak of widespread fighting in oil-rich southern Iraq, where the British military recently handed over responsibility for security to Iraq's government in Basra, the last province it controlled.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, announced the deaths of three of its soldiers. Two were killed and a third wounded in a small arms attack Thursday in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad. A soldier was killed the previous day in south Baghdad when his dismounted patrol hit a roadside bomb, the military said.

A delegation from al-Sadr's office in Kufa, led by Sheik Muhanned al-Gharrawi, met with the Dhi Qar provincial governor Aziz Kadhim Alwan, a member of al-Hakim's party, and other local officials in Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. In the past, al-Sadr followers have had violent clashes with the governor's guards.

``The province should live in peace and security without armed violence and disorder,'' Alwan said after the meeting. Al-Gharrawi said the talks were meant to ``end political and military'' violence in the province and ``to protect citizens' lives.''

In August, followers of al-Sadr and fighters loyal to al-Hakim clashed in the holy city of Karbala during a religious festival, killing 52 people. In October, the two leaders signed their truce, which has largely held.

On Saturday, al-Sadr called for a reconciliation with Iraqi security forces in Karbala, where authorities have cracked down on his followers since the August violence.

Shortly after the Karbala fighting, al-Sadr announced he was freezing the activities of his Mahdi Army militia for six months - a move that both Iraqi and American officials say has been a major factor in the sharp decrease in violence.

The differences between the two camps, however, are too complex and deep to be resolved at the level of Thursday's meeting. Their rivalry mirrors class distinctions within the Shiite community as well as the longtime competition of the al-Sadr and al-Hakim families for the religious leadership of the holy city of Najaf, Shiite Islam's primary seat of learning.

The rivalry is likely to come to a head when local elections are held nationwide, possibly this year. The two camps will spare no effort to dominate provincial councils in nine provinces south of Baghdad. Beside the oil reserves, southern Iraq has a prize in the wealth and prestige of the shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala, visited by millions every year.

Separately on Thursday, al-Hakim called for unity among Shiites, arguing that closing ranks would benefit the whole of Iraq since they are the majority.

``Every one must work to support and boost this unity,'' he told supporters in Najaf.

He also acknowledged the contribution of Sunni militias, which have more than 70,000 members, to the decline in violence and called for their use in the continuing fight against al-Qaida in Iraq.

``Today, we are witnessing the decline of terrorism and the progress of reconciliation on the popular level with Sunni-Shiite solidarity,'' he said, alluding to the government's perceived failure to achieve political reconciliation among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish groups.

U.S. commanders have also credited the Sunni militias with playing a major role in the decline in violence over the past six months.
But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has been deeply uneasy about the potential for the Sunni fighters - now better-organized and armed - to switch sides again, posing a threat to stability and the Shiite domination that followed the ouster of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led regime.

Rival Shiites in Iraq Try to Make Peace | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited

Iran commits to Iraq's power sector

-- Iraq's power sector, looking for needed investors, is getting the loudest and most active response from neighboring Iran.

Most recently, Jalal Bayati, a representative of Iran's Electricity Ministry, met with the governor of Iraq's Karbala province to discuss current and future projects, the Al Mowaten newspaper reports.

Iraq's power sector is a frequent target of terrorists and insurgents, but is also lacking investment directly from Iraq and indirectly through tenders.

"We have the money, the manpower, and the fuel, but we need the material and the supervision," Electricity Minister Karim Waheed Hasan said last month during a visit to Washington, D.C. "I am here to urge U.S. companies to participate in Iraqi reconstruction."

The U.S. Commerce Department's Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force said in a release the ministry will spend $27 billion through 2016 to fix and expand the power sector.

It recently signed two major deals:

A $940 million project with China's Shanghai Heavy Industry for a power plant in the southern Wassit province.

The Iranian firm Sunir was awarded a $150 million project in Baghdad, and Iran is building a plant between Karbala and Najaf provinces.

Iraq electricity is slowly improving, though Iraqis nationwide lack consistent power and at times during last summer went days without any.

International Security - Energy - Briefing - UPI.com

N. Iraq Oil Exports stop, Storage full

Iraq has stopped exports via its northern pipeline because storage tanks in Turkey have been filled.

Abdul Razzak Mohammed al-Jiboori of the North Oil Co., a state-run firm, said levels will be drawn down over the next few days after expected sales.

Iraq Directory reports the storage reservoirs in Ceyhan, Turkey, reached 6.8 million barrels of oil produced from the Kirkuk oil fields.

This is a major feat considering the pipeline from Kirkuk to Ceyhan was mostly offline since 2003 because of attacks from insurgents.

In August the Iraq Oil Ministry said repairs and revamped security of the pipeline would improve it.

Iraq was averaging about 2 million barrels per day production last year but ended November 2007 averaging 2.4 million bpd, largely because of northern improvements.

International Security - Energy - Briefing - UPI.com

Iraqi PM Home after Health Tests

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has returned to Baghdad after "routine" medical tests in Britain.

It is not clear precisely what kind of tests he had, but he had been said to be suffering from exhaustion.

Mr Maliki himself said on arrival that he was in good health and would at once resume the work of rebuilding Iraq.

While in Britain, Mr Maliki, 57, had talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown about British hostages in Iraq and political and economic progress.
The meeting came weeks after British forces transferred control of Basra to the Iraqi authorities - a significant milestone towards Britain's final withdrawal from southern Iraq.

Recent months have seen a decline in violence in Iraq as the American troop "surge" takes hold and Sunni nationalists end their support for al-Qaeda.

But Mr Maliki has been struggling to form a new government including Sunni representatives as well as his own Shia supporters.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraqi PM Home after Health Tests

Politburo Discusses PUK’s Current Organizational and Patriotic Duties

Mr. Jalal Talabani headed a meeting of PUK Politburo yesterday in Sulaimani. During the meeting which was held in Mam Jalal residence, Current Organizational and Patriotic tasks were discussed in detail in addition of discussing the scheduled meeting between PUK and PDK Politburos which to be held on Saturday with the presence of both presidents Talabani and Barzani .A bill was prepared concerning Iraq and Kurdistan situation, Oil and Peshmerga Forces issue and bilateral relations, its determined to discuss and approve the project completely in today’s meeting.

On the other hand the meeting dealt with PUK’s current organizational and Patriotic duties in this period of the Party’s strife, considering that holding the PUK General Conference is a priority at this stage. Several preparative committees were formed in order to succeed the conference such as: Programme and Internal System, Democratic Organizations, Finance, Media, Relations, Political Report and Reforms.

Concerning Patriotic Tasks the Meeting asserted Article 140 implementation at the précised period without further extension, indicating the necessity of following the best means to activate the steps of implementing the above mentioned Article.

Accelerating the opening of a PUK Politburo in Erbil to facilitate things there was also discussed in the meeting which also decided to hold a widen meeting in the next few days, in the presence of Mr. Jalal Talabani with all offices and organizations centers and PUK Officials in the government and Parliament to explain the new PUK Policy based on accord, love and fraternity and also to set a better form in preparing the PUK General Conference Members.

PUKmedia :: English - Politburo Discusses PUK’s Current Organizational and Patriotic Duties

Iraqi Air Force receives first Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER

PUKmedia 2008-01-05 14:59:46
flightglobal.com
The Iraqi air force accepted its first of six Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER utility and reconnaissance aircraft in Baghdad on 28 December, as part of a more than $130 million deal with US industry.

Configured for pilot training, utility and VIP transport duties, the first Iraqi aircraft is now being used to support activities from Kirkuk air base, with deliveries of a further five aircraft equipped to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks to commence around April, according to the US Air Force. The Iraqi air force also last October accepted its first Cessna 208 Caravan to support multi-engine pilot training activities at Kirkuk.

Iraq's next five King Airs will carry mission equipment including General Atomics Lynx synthetic-aperture radar/ground moving target indication sensors and L-3 Wescam MX-15 electro-optical/infrared pods, under a $53 million subcontract placed with General Atomics last year.

Hawker Beechcraft declined to comment on the utility aircraft delivery to Iraq.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraqi Air Force receives first Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER

President Talabani: There is no intention by KAB to withdraw from al-Maliki’s Government

The Iraqi President, his Excellency Mr. Jalal Talabani today held a joint press conference with Kurdistan Region President, Mr. Massud Barzani in Dukan Resort, after a joint meeting between both Politburos of PUK and KDP.

Both Presidents highlighted the topics of the joint meeting between both politburos of PUK and KDP, situations of Kurdistan region and Iraq.

“ The issue of relations with the neighboring countries ,carrying out the previous treaties , emphasis on implementing the article 140 of the Iraqi permanent constitution during the next six months ,reinforcing bilateral relations between PUK and KDP , which are in good conditions, was discussed during the meeting” president Talabani said.

On his part, the President of Kurdistan region condemned the explosion hit Diyarbakir in south east of Turkey, saying “The attack is against Kurds before it is to be against anyone else and we express our condolence to the family of the victims.

Answering aqueston about the withdrawal of the Kurds from the government of Iraqi PM, al-Maliki in case their demands were not been addressed, President Talabani said “We are calling for dialogue and negotiations with Mr. al-Maliki to reach joint outcomes regarding those issues which we should agree upon and work for. There is no intention by the Kurdistan Alliance Bloc(KAB) to withdraw from the current government”.

President Talabani also condemned the Thursday’s terrorist attack in Diyarbakir, the south eastern city of Turkey ,which caused 5 killed and more than100 injured ,saying “We consider it a terrorist act against the Kurdish people and we express our condolence to the families of the victims” describing the explosion as a criminal attack.

Concerning the statement of the Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussein al-Shahristani who said yesterday he is ready to attend the Kurdistan region parliament to discuss the KRG oil contracts with the foreign companies, President of Kurdistan region said: “He can attend and explain his point of view.”

“The UN suggestion is a very positive one and during the next six months the article should be implemented, president of Kurdistan region said concerning the extension of implementing article 140 of the Iraqi permanent constitution regarding the normalization of Kirkuk and the disputed areas.

“KRG has been making all the necessary measures, and no excuses are left for protests and objections and the stance of the Iraqi Federal Government are clear which is respecting Iraq’s sovereignty” President Talabani said regarding the Turkish demands for solving the PKK issue.

On the 1975 Algiers treaty and the visit of the Iraqi delegation to Iran to specify Iraq-Iran borders and the connection of this issue with the expected Iran-US negotiations about Iraq ,president Talabani said : “US has no connection with this issue and there is an Iraqi delegation in Iran to discuss the issue.

About the law of journalism in Kurdistan region which was passed by the Kurdistan region parliament and was sent to Kurdistan Region Presidency for ratification and which caused objections by Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS), president of Kurdistan region said: “Before the objections, I was not satisfied with the law, so the law will be sent back to the parliament for further revise.”

Regarding the PM post in the KRG which is expected that PUK to take it, president Talabani said: “In principle, PM Nichervan Barzani is expected to remain in this post” without saying other details.

PUKmedia :: English - President Talabani: There is no intention by KAB to withdraw from al-Maliki’s Government