Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 15/04/08 - 26/08/08

Here we go yet again........

Kurdish Parliament Speaker says KRG Oil Contracts Legal

The oil contracts signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) with a number of foreign corporations were "legal" and concluded in accordance with the Iraqi constitution and the powers granted to the natural resources ministry, said the speaker of the Iraqi Kurdistan region's parliament.

"The natural resources minister has expounded in detail the steps accomplished by his ministry and the oil contracts it signed with the foreign corporations," Adnan al-Mufti said in statements to Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) after a session held by the parliament to hear the minister.

The minister also touched on the differences between the KRG and the Baghdad central government as well as efforts exerted to solve these problems, said Mufti, adding these contracts are based on the Iraqi constitution and the law on oil and gas passed by the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament.

A heated controversy took place between the Iraqi oil ministry and the KRG on oil contracts concluded by the latter in November 2007 with a number of foreign companies undertaking oil prospecting and production.

Iraq's central government Minister of Oil Hussein al-Shahrestani had threatened to have these contracts rescinded and the contracting companies punished by prohibiting any form of cooperation between them and the Iraqi government.

Several political and parliamentary blocs criticized the contracts, which were signed without prior approval by the Iraqi government and parliament.

Aswat Aliraq

Al-Sadr calls upon his followers to stop fighting in Sadr City

The radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Tuesday called upon his followers to abide by an agreement, signed between Sadrist movement and the United Iraqi Alliance, to stop fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City. Al-Sadr urged his Shiite followers to implement the agreement, which encapsulates 16 articles and should last for only four days, according to a statement written in his handwriting.

Khalid Attiya, an official in the United Iraqi Alliance, told the media on Tuesday that the governmental-Sadrist agreement achieved peace on both sides and settled tensions in Sadr City, in eastern Baghdad.

The Sadrist movement stated in the agreement that heavy weapons would not be held and bombs would be removed from streets around Sadr City.

Sadr City has witnessed heavy clashes between the Mahdi Army, loyal to al-Sadr, and the Iraqi government since March 25.

The fighting has resulted in the deaths of some 1,000 people and the wounding of 5,000, mostly civilians.

On Saturday, the Iraqi government and the Sadrists agreed to halt violence in the Shiite enclave.

Al-Sadr calls upon his followers to stop fighting in Sadr City : Middle East World

Global Oil Output To Peak In 2022; Iraq Potential Key - CGES

Global crude oil production will reach its peak in 2022, but the decline in output could be stemmed if Iraq's production recovers, said Leo Drollas, chief economist of the London-based Centre for Global Energy Studies Tuesday.

CGES, which analyzes oil markets, says Iraq holds potential oil reserves of over 200 billion barrels, far greater than Iraqi government estimates of 113 billion barrels.

With adequate investment and stronger security infrastructure, Iraq could raise its oil production to 10 million barrels a day within five to 10 years, from the current 2.3 to 2.4 million barrels a day, Drollas said.

"The investments needed are actually not that big. They have giant onshore fields, which makes production cheap. The needed investment is $5,000 per peak day barrels. So, to increase the production by 5 million barrels, only $25 billion is needed," Drollas said.

The country would also need to open its borders to foreign investment before production levels could improve, he added.

Iraq's current production equates to some 3% of daily global demand, ranking the country as one of the world's biggest producers. Production ground to halt during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

That stoppage, and the uneven return of the industry in the following four years, has been one of the biggest disruptions to global oil supplies.

Company News Story

And another version of the one that's going around

PM’s Advisor, Economists Criticize CBI’s Monetary Policy

Iraqi economists, including the economic advisor to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, demanded the Central Bank (CBI) to abandon its tight monetary policy, because of its negative impact on the national economy, particularly the policy as to changing the value of the dinar exchange rate against the dollar at the daily auction which might cause a deficit in the general budget.

"The tight measures taken by the Central Bank as to the Iraqi currency value and attempts to raise its exchange rate against the U.S. dollar would damage the Iraqi economy as a whole," Abdel Hussein al-Anbaki, Maliki’s economic advisor, told a symposium held on Monday in Baghdad.

Al-Anbaki who delivered a paper entitled “Until when tight monetary policy effects shall continue?” said, "the Central Bank’s attempts to raise the value of the dinar had changed its value in the market and led to a decline in the value of oil revenues estimated in Iraqi dinars.”

He added that this had negatively increased the deficit and pushed for more dependence on the imports as imported goods would seem cheaper than locally made commodities.

“Despite prices of oil soared up, the economic cycle ended outside Iraq, as the beneficiaries of the flourishing dinar exchange rate started to transfer their profits from inside to outside the country,” al-Anbaki explained.

Maliki’s economic advisor also criticized the Iraqi Central Bank’s monetary policy saying “it did not tackle the inflation as imports remained very high.”

Iraqi Central Bank (CBI) runs a daily auction on Sunday through Thursday where Iraqi dinar exchange rate against the dollar is raised by a tick every week.

Meanwhile, CBI Deputy Governor, Ahmed Burihi, called upon Iraqi economists to “re-consider the causes of inflation in Iraq,” and stressed that the increased governmental spending “was inflation main cause.”

“Spending, in general, has expanded, while production shrank,” he told the symposium which had the theme (Significance of Economic and Financial Reforms to Rebuilding Iraq).

The Central Bank of Iraq, according to Burihi, is not the only authority responsible for the alleged deficit, as “CBI’s attempts to raise the Dinar Exchange rate were to control the volume of the currency liquidity.”

Burihi wonders why the government does not instruct the state-owned banks (Rafidain and Rasheed) to offer loans instead of only depositing money at the Central Bank to double the profits given that 93% of CBI deposits now come from those two banks.

Iraqi financial expert Majid al-Sori dismissed any positive results from the CBI’s policy commenting “the solution lies in developing the financial process, preferring the production rather than importing and reducing unemployment.”

For his part, Ahmed al-Wazzan, Head of Economics department at al-Mustansiriyah University, expressed optimism over the future of the Iraqi economy.

“For the first time, a monetary and financial policy is formed away from the state control,” al-Wazzan said.

The academic economist further noted “the government patronage of every single detail of the economy has gone and a market-oriented-economy is under construction.”

Hamis al-Okabi, Head of Iraqi Businessmen Association, who agreed with al-Wazzan’s view said “the ideal solution for the current economic situation in Iraq is a mixture of cooperation between the public and private sectors.”

Investment law is only part of the solution which needs also to include developing the country’s infrastructure, developing human resources and introducing high technology in work, al-Okabi concluded.

Aswat Aliraq

My opinion. This is an interesting article with some good news but nothing to suggest an imminent RV.

KRG Establishes Mechanisms to Enforce Laws Protecting Women

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is creating a mechanism to ensure the Region's laws to protect women from violence are implemented at all levels.

The KRG's Honor Killing Monitoring Commission, chaired by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, yesterday decided to create monitoring boards to ensure that the region's laws to protect women are upheld and enforced in courts.

In addition, law enforcement departments set up by the Commission specifically to protect vulnerable women and monitor and follow up crimes are to be reorganized under one body to guarantee unified procedures in prosecuting cases. This will ensure that crime prevention and data-collection departments, the police and the judiciary cooperate more closely and apply the law correctly and effectively to protect women.

The Commission also agreed that 'komalayati' bodies, traditional social bodies used to reconcile disputing parties groups led by village elders and unconnected to the government, must no longer play a role in deciding legal cases.

Following the commission's meeting, Prime Minister Barzani said, "The changes agreed today will further strengthen the rule of law in the Kurdistan Region when it comes to prosecuting those who commit crimes against women. It is essential that our courts investigate and prosecute crimes against women in the most efficient way possible. The monitoring boards, reorganization of the relevant departments, and eradication of 'komalayati' bodies will help ensure this."

Ms Nazand Begikhani, a women's rights activist and independent adviser to the commission, said, "As its first step the commission created special departments in Erbil, Duhok and Sulaimaniyah which we have agreed to reorganize today. Following this, the commission initiated judicial workshops to ensure that judges realize the sensitivity of gender-based cases. We have also changed the law so that everyone, be they Peshmerga soldiers or official party members, who commit crimes against women, are not immune from prosecution. And we are working successfully with religious leaders so that they address the subject of violence against women in their Friday prayers."

The commission, established in June 2007, part of the KRG's drive to examine and solve the problem of gender-based crimes, including honor killing. It is charged with monitoring all new and outstanding cases of honor killings and ensuring that the police and legal system process the cases correctly. In cooperation with civil rights groups, the commission raises awareness of women's rights and honor-based violence through education, the media, and health and religious institutions. It also cooperates with foreign countries in order to combat transnational honor crimes.

The Commission consists of the KRG ministers for the Interior, Justice, Human Rights, Women's Affairs, Education, Religious Affairs, Civil Society Affairs, Sports and Youth, as well as the Department of Foreign Relations, representatives from the Council of Ministers and the Police Department.

PUKmedia :: English - Home

Govt. should not rely on donor nations to finance projects- advisor

The Iraqi government should rely primarily on its financial and human resources, rather than donor countries, to carry out its reconstruction projects, a senior advisor in the Iraqi Ministry of Planning said.

"The Iraqi government should not expect donor nations to implement its reconstruction projects. It has to depend on its financial and human capabilities to finance them," Faeq Abdul Rasul told Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq, (VOI) on the sidelines of the closing session of the National Conference on Provincial Development Strategies on Tuesday.

"Iraq is able to rebuild its institutions and departments by making the best use of 2007 and 2008 budget surplus, expected to reach $100 billion, according to Minister of Oil Hussein al-Shahrestani," Abdul Rasul explained.

Meanwhile, the governor of Anbar province, Mamoon Sami Rasheed, said that provincial councils agreed on several recommendations during the three-day-old conference. Provinces will be obliged to present their annual development plans to the Ministry of Planning, the governor explained.

On Sunday, Iraq's Minister of Planning and Development Cooperation Ali Baban said in his opening speech before the three-day conference that it is time for "economic Knights' Assault and Lion's Roar" in the country, in reference to the military operations that were launched by security forces in the Iraqi provinces of Basra and Ninewa, calling on the government to "formulate a vision for the next 20 years."

Aswat Aliraq

Iraqi premier in Mosul to oversee military campaign

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Mosul on Wednesday to supervise Operation Lion’s Roar, waged last Saturday to track down al-Qaeda gunmen, a security source said.

“Al-Maliki and National Security Adviser Muwafaq al-Rubaei arrived in Mosul to directly oversee the military operation,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq (VOI) on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday, the commander of Ninewa operations, Staff Lieutenant General Riyadh Jalal, announced the commencement of Operation Lion's Roar with the aim of tracking down al-Qaeda operatives, following the arrival of "substantial" military reinforcements from Baghdad.

Mosul, the capital city of Ninewa province, lies 405 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Aswat Aliraq

Demand for dollar down in daily auction

Demand for the dollar was down in the Iraqi Central Bank's auction on Wednesday, registering at $134.695 million compared to $157.795 million on Tuesday.

"The demand hit $6.935 million in cash and $127.760 million in money transfers outside the country, all covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,200 Iraqi dinars per dollar, stable for the fifth consecutive session" according to the central bank's daily bulletin which was received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).

None of the 15 banks that participated in the auction offered to sell dollars.

Speaking to VOI, Ali al-Yasseri, a trader, said that although the demand in today’s session was down, it remained relatively high.
The Iraqi Central Bank runs a daily auction from Sunday to Thursday.

Aswat Aliraq

Kurds Announce Major Oil find

Excavators have struck three oil fields with reserves estimated at about 2 billion barrels, Kurdish region’s Oil Minister Ashti Horami said.

The discovery is a signal that the region, currently including three provinces, is rich in oil reserves. The find is tempting for foreign oil firms which are vying to win deals to develop oil fields in the region.

The Kurds have signed several production-sharing agreements with companies including Norwegian DNO ASA and Turkey’s PetOil and Gnel Enerji. They have also singed a memorandum of understanding with Australia’s Woodside Petroleum and Heritage Oil and the U.K.’s Sterling Energy.

But the deals are still in question due to resistance from the Oil Ministry in Baghdad which considers them illegal.

But Horami defended the deals, claiming that the Kurdish regional government would reap 90 percent of revenues while other governments only obtained 20-40.

The Kurds have divided their region into small exploration blocks in order to lure medium-size oil firms. “Some majors wanted to have the whole region as one block or at least be divided into two,” Horami said.

He said splitting the Kurdish region into smaller blocks gave the authorities the chance to deal with many companies and strike deals with “much higher profit margins.”

The latest find is the largest in the region so far. But the Kurds say it is of a “very small scale” in comparison to the massive recoverable reserves of the oil-rich region of Kirkuk.

The Province of Kirkuk, which the Kurds want to annex, is one of the richest in Iraq holding reserves estimated at more than 40 billion barrels.

But there is much opposition in Iraq from across the political spectrum for the Kurdish ambition to have Kirkuk as part of their self-rule areas.

Oil companies are attracted to Kurdistan because of its relative safety compared with the rest of Iraq where it is virtually impossible for foreign oil companies to work.

Horami also said his ministry would construct two new refineries with a combined capacity of 100,000 barrels a day. He declined to say which company would build the refinery and which one made the new discovery.

He said the region has so far signed 20 oil development deals with firms from the U.S., Australia, Canada, South Korea, India and Turkey.

Azzaman in English

Iraq water project nearing completion

Al Takadoom, Iraq, A project to provide clean drinking water to the people of Al Takadoom village in Iraq's Wassit Province is nearing completion. The project was begun last year by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at a cost of approximately $600,000 and is being handled by the USACE Wassit Resident Office.

According to Maj. Clay Morgan, resident engineer at the Wassit Office, the project entails the design and construction of a new 50 cubic meter per hour compact water plant, an above-ground storage tank, and a 10 kilometer distribution network.

The project is more than 75 percent complete and is expected to be finished in a matter of weeks, said Morgan. He said the facility will provide drinkable, salt-free water to about 1,000 persons.

The south of Iraq suffers from high salt content in its water as well as a history of neglect by the prior regime, making clean water a precious commodity.

Morgan said the project employs about 20 Iraqis. Wassit is one of nine provinces in southern Iraq served by USACE's Gulf Region South district.

Iraq Development Program - Iraq water project nearing completion