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

Sadr to extend activities halt decision

Sayyed Moktada Al Sadr had earlier issued a statement during which he announced that all those who breach the decision of activities halt will be dismissed. Yet, it seems that this decision will be extended for 6 additional months. Sadrist Movement sources revealed that the Leader of the movement insists on extending this period. Sources told Al Hayat Newspaper that Al Sadr will announce this issue in the few upcoming days. To that, an official in the bloc who refused to reveal his name said that the next step would be to head towards participating in institutions and to resort to law as a referee.

Based on these principles, Sheikh Hazem Al Talkani, another official in the movement expected that extending the decision of activitiesn halt will not be the last and it would carry on until restructuring Al Mahdi army and transforming the same into a humanitarian organization akin to Badr forces.

Yet, the aforementioned decision warns that Sadrist movement could undergo further splits especially that this decision contradicts the reports submitted by the committees established by the movement especially the parliamentary committee. Actually, the reports utter that the decision of activities halt facilitated targeting the movement’s leaderships, arresting its members and carrying out organized assassinations against them. The director of Al Sadr media office in Al Najaf Sheikh Salah Al Ubaidi said that some of Al Sadr leaderships asked him to cancel halt decision and added that these calls increased following the visit from Mahdi Army members who were detained in Diwaniya after the armed battles that took place there. Especially that it has been revealed that the local authority in the province mistreated Al Sadr followers.

Nevertheless, others, such as a commander of an Al Mahdi army battalion in Al Kufa, went even farther by uttering skepticism as to Al Sadr decision. The commander told Al Hayat Newspaper that there is a conspiracy against Al Mahdi army that aims to liquidate it. He also wondered whether those who staged this conspiracy are members of the movement or outsiders. In addition, he considered that the decision to dismiss is an implicit announcement of abandoning Al Mahdi army members and it legitimizes the presence of foreign troops.

Sadr to extend activities halt decision | Iraq News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

Technical and engineering teams in Missan set up a station to isolate gas

A source in Missan Oil Fields Committee said that engineering and technical cadre in the committee started to set up a station to isolate gas in order to revive and invest the two oil fields of Al Nour east of Al Amara city.

The source added that the aim of establishing isolation station is to fasten carrying on expanding oil pipeline from these 2 wells towards Al Bazerkan-Al Faw oil fields complex. He also pointed out that the overall production capacity of these 2 wells vary between 5 and 6 thousand barrels per day to be added to Missan Oil Fields Committee production capacity so as it reaches 126 thousand barrels per day.

Technical and engineering teams in Missan set up a station to isolate gas | Economics News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

US Commerce Secretary calls to invest in Iraq

From Amman, US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez called international companies to make use of the amelioration of security situation in Iraq and to invest there. He also stressed that investment would ensure work opportunities the thing that would bring hope to people and change their perspective to Iraq’s future. Gutierrez added that the economic growth in Iraq would have a positive reflexion on Jordan and the entire region. As to trade exchange between Iraq and the USA, the US secretary said that figures are still tiny, yet, they scored good points because of the increase of oil prices in the international market. Thus numbers grew from 8 billion dollars in 2003 to reach approximately 28 billion dollars relying to a large extent on oil.

US Commerce Secretary calls to invest in Iraq | Economics News | Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network

Update......

Russia Forgives Iraq's $12 Billion Debt, Sees Oil Deal
Kudrin said his ministry agreed to write off $11.1 billion of Iraqi debt immediately, another $900 million in the next few years and restructure another $900 million for 17 years.

Russia agreed on Monday to write off most of Iraq's $12.9 billion debt in a deal that opens up Iraq for $4 billion in investment from Russian firms, including oil major LUKOIL.

Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told reporters Russian companies would be allowed to invest up to $4 billion in Iraq under a new inter-governmental memorandum signed with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari.

"We have an agreement from the Iraqi side to pay special attention to the previously signed deals," Kudrin told reporters. He named LUKOIL, whose stock rose 3.5 percent, outperforming the market.

"There is a government pledge to treat us with maximum care. As to the legal subtleties, they will depend on legislative changes," Kudrin said after talks with Zebari.

Moscow had already forgiven Iraq the bulk of its debt. The remaining $12.9 billion dated back to Soviet-era supplies of military equipment.

Monday's deal was expected to go through unconditionally after the latest round of debt talks in mid-2007 produced no result because Iraqi officials said they considered Moscow's demand for preferential access to Iraqi oil unacceptable.

Moscow has insisted on the revival of the Saddam Hussein-era deal by LUKOIL to develop Iraq's huge West Qurna field. Iraqi officials have said Russia also wants to participate in the development of another major field, Rumaila, in return for a debt write-off.

Analysts had long been sceptical about LUKOIL's chances of returning to West Qurna, one of Iraq's biggest oil deposits, given the heavy U.S. influence over the country's government.

The deal's revival is complicated by the fact that the government of Saddam Hussein scrapped it just before being toppled in 2003, saying LUKOIL had done nothing to launch the field, which could produce 600,000 barrels per day.

The world's top oil companies have been maneuvering to win a stake in oilfields in Iraq despite huge damage to the country's infrastructure from decades of wars and sanctions.

Kudrin said his ministry agreed to write off $11.1 billion of Iraqi debt immediately, another $900 million in the next few years and restructure another $900 million for 17 years.

Newsmax.com - Russia Forgives Iraq's $12 Billion Debt, Sees Oil Deal

Iraq Must Spend $15 Billion To Up Oil Output to 4 Million B/D - Official

Iraq will have to spend $15 billion to raise oil production to its target of 4 million barrels a day in the next few years, the head of Iraq's state bank said Monday.

Hussein al-Uzri said during a speech at a U.S.-sponsored conference on Middle East and North African trade and investment in Jordan that Iraq is currently producing 2.4 million barrels a day of oil and its exports average 1.9 million barrels a day.

He also said Iraq is suffering huge losses from flaring natural gas. Flaring is used to dispose of natural gas often found with deposits of crude oil but which can't easily be used for economic activities, because of a lack of pipelines and other infrastructure.

Al-Uzri said "we are losing 72 million barrels a day" of oil equivalent every day by flaring gas.

Company News Story

thanks for this great info.

thanks for great info

Originally Posted by Seaview

Iraq Must Spend $15 Billion To Up Oil Output to 4 Million B/D - Official

Iraq will have to spend $15 billion to raise oil production to its target of 4 million barrels a day in the next few years, the head of Iraq's state bank said Monday.

Hussein al-Uzri said during a speech at a U.S.-sponsored conference on Middle East and North African trade and investment in Jordan that Iraq is currently producing 2.4 million barrels a day of oil and its exports average 1.9 million barrels a day.

He also said Iraq is suffering huge losses from flaring natural gas. Flaring is used to dispose of natural gas often found with deposits of crude oil but which can't easily be used for economic activities, because of a lack of pipelines and other infrastructure.

Al-Uzri said "we are losing 72 million barrels a day" of oil equivalent every day by flaring gas.

Company News Story

72,000,000 x $ 90 = $6.5 Billion a day?? Not Likely!

Top Iraq MP: Constitution fix then Oil Law

Political disputes over Iraq's Constitution need to be resolved before progress on the oil law, said the deputy head of the Parliament's Energy Committee.

"This will make the way to pass the law of oil and gas," Abdul-Hadi al-Hasani told United Press International in a phone interview from London. "It will be very easy to be passed because we won't have any disagreements. Roadblocks now are not technical, they are political."

Iraq's Constitution was written vague enough to garner enough support for passage in 2005, but the lines of control over Iraq's oil sector and other issues of federalism are now unclear. Iraq's Kurds support a more decentralized version than most parties in the national government, and both claim the Constitution backs their position.

An oil law has been under negotiations for more than a year. Hasani said his committee, which is to vet a version to be voted on by the entire Parliament, was given four different versions.

At issues is not only varying interpretations over oil control, but how international oil firms will be given access to the currently nationalized Iraq oil sector -- the third largest in the world.

Experts predict there's much more oil -- perhaps double the 115 billion barrels of proven reserves -- to be discovered once Iraq is fully explored. Iraq has sizeable gas reserves and potential is great as well.

Iraq's Kurds, frustrated by Baghdad's deadlock, passed their own regional oil law and signed dozens of controversial production-sharing contracts. Iraq Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has called them illegal, saying it is the national government's job to sign such deals. He has threatened companies that signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government will be blacklisted from upcoming bidding rounds for fields in the rest of the country. SK Energy of South Korea and Austria's OMV have already been cut off from Iraqi crude supplies.

The oil law is part of a package of legislation, which includes laws governing the collecting and redistribution of all revenues, the reorganization of the Oil Ministry and the reconstitution of the Iraqi National Oil Co.

Hasani said it's important to equip and train INOC to be a modern state-owned oil company with a major role in developing Iraq's oil sector. He said international oil companies are needed as well, both to develop the oil and help stand up INOC.

"However," he added, "we don't want to lose our own sovereignty, our own interest and our control over the oil."

Top Iraq MP: Constitution fix then oil law - UPI.com

Article 140 not to be sent to federal Court official says
The question of Article 140 is not expected to be sent to the Iraqi federal court as announced by an Iraqi official source.

An official source in Baghdad asserted that all the political blocs in the Iraqi council of representatives support the idea of not sending the article 140 to the Iraqi federal as the issue is relevant to the constitution. The article was expected to be sent to the court on 28th February, While the members of the court stated that if the question of the article is sent to them, it will be settled within days.

The deputy head of Kurdistan Alliance bloc, Saadi Barzinji, told PUKmedia that all the political blocs in Iraqi council of representatives agreed with our view showing that the article 140 remains unchanged.

PUKmedia :: English - Article 140 not to be sent to federal Court official says