Thread: Archive - Latest News Think Tank - 15/01/09 - 04/05/09

Vitol to bid for Iraqi oil contract

The chief E.xecutive of Geneva-based oil trader Vitol has told Reuters that the company plans to bid for for Iraq's oil and gas fields as a member of a consortium.

"These are world class fields...hopefully the situation in Iraq will improve and the international oil companies will be able to get in to help develop these oilfields," Taylor said in a interview.

Service contracts have been offered for some of Iraq’s biggest oil and gas fields and Vitol intends to bid for a role to develop the country’s reserves.

This isn’t the first time Vitol have had involvement ith Iraq. They bid alongside Anadarko and Dome Petroleum for a short term oil service contract, but the bid was halted by the Iraqi government after it was decided that longer term deals were a better option.

http://arabianoilandgas.com/article-..._oil_contract/

President Talabani, PM al-Maliki discuss Iraq’s situations

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani received PM Nouri al-Maliki in his residence in Baghdad City on Thursday March 26th, 2009. They discussed the general situations in Iraq, political process and Iraq’s relations with the other countries.

They renewed Iraq’s will to develop its relations with the regional, Arabic, Islamic and world countries and expressed their happiness to strengthen the ties of cooperation between Iraq and other countries.

They also discussed the participation of PM al-Maliki in the Arab summit, which will be held in Doha in the coming days, where President Talabani hoped for PM al-Maliki all the success in his Iraqi mission.

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...10079&Itemid=1

Iraq kidnappers claim deal to free Britons: report

A group that kidnapped five British men in Baghdad nearly two years ago claims a deal is in place to release the hostages in exchange for prisoners being held by US forces in Iraq.

"There is an agreement between Britain and the US and our group," Abu Ali, a leader of the Shiite Iraqi movement claiming to hold the hostages said in an interview with Arabic online newspaper Elaph published on Thursday.

"One of the hostages will be released very soon after the British side carries out its promise to us to convince the American side to release 10 of our leaders," he said.

The interview emerged after a video of one of the hostages, IT consultant Peter Moore, was released last to the British embassy in Baghdad by the kidnappers, a group calling itself the Leagues of the Righteous.

"If things go well, another hostage will be released very soon as well, in exchange for a group of Sadrist detainees," Abu Ali said in a reference to supporters of the anti-US Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Among the men the group wants released from US custody in Iraq are Laith al-Khazaali, also known as Abu Sajjad, Hassan Salem, Rahim Al-Shamoosi and Saad Sewar.

The British hostages -- Moore and his four bodyguards -- were seized by 40 gunmen wearing police uniforms in a kidnapping at the Iraqi finance ministry in Baghdad in May 2007.

Moore, from the eastern English city of Lincoln, was working for US management consultancy BearingPoint.

The identity of the other four men has not been revealed, although it is known they were employed by Canadian security firm GardaWorld to guard Moore.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidAN...ns%3A%20report

the central bank adviser: the re-characterization of the national economic system is still absent because of the archaic

Advisor, Central Bank of Iraq: that the re-characterization of the national economic system is still absent because of the rents of the economy and the dominance of the State to 80 percent of imports and is centered on oil revenues finance.

The appearance of Dr. Mohammad Saleh, said that the economy will describe the limits of politics, an area of overlap with the state economic trends. Stressing the need to guide the State in support of the private sector from the individual level to the level of companies and said that the benefit of starting this objective the intensification of economic activity and the appropriate funding from the state of the pressure required for the cost of funding. He pointed out that the problem of Iraq is that the stabilization policies had not been matched by strong policies in the restructuring of the economy.

He is still in favor of corporate entities, public official and filled with the unemployed lose the investment and technical points to an imbalance in the public policy of the economy.

The benefit of that is easy to attract investment in the economy has achieved a financial surplus relative Kalaguetsad Iraq, away from the mechanics a little confusion in the price and market system is incomplete in its means and its institutions, so that the economic program to achieve a level of optimal balance and away from the specter of recession, the country's continuing Twcrh rates low growth in real non-oil GDP, which does not leave its rates in a similar level of growth rates of the population of Iraq for more than two decades ago of time.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...Mfun4w8Di48-2Q

The Baghdad Chamber of Commerce seeks to participate in the investment law

Chairman of Baghdad Chamber of Commerce Amjad Jubouri government involvement in the development of the private sector provisions and paragraphs of the law of investment after the announcement of a desire to amend certain paragraphs of the Act.

He added that the pillar and mainstay of the law on investment is the private sector of Baghdad, the conference trade, for example, includes more than 300000 companies and merchant and businessman, and this means we are the true representatives of the private sector and trade in Iraq.

He said during the recent visits of the European Union and many of our officials and businessmen in France, Italy, Belgium and Germany have seen a genuine desire to invest in Iraq and to contribute to the reconstruction and construction, adding that the Iraqi economy is still in the process of recovery requires overcoming obstacles and difficulties faced by the private sector.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...1aTnOxjGLlIH-w

Iraq's Ambassador to Washington: Iraq's funds are protected until the end of the year

Iraqi ambassador in the United States on Saturday, the Iraqi money from oil sales in the U.S. banks with immunity to the end of this year after the signing of the Convention relating to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

The correspondent Samir Sumaida'ie Agency (Voices of Iraq), based in Washington, "The money from Iraqi oil sales deposited in the Development Fund of Iraq and protected with immunity from all claims and proceedings before the cases submitted by individuals and companies, after the signing of the Convention relating to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq "he said, adding that immunity and protection expires on 31 December, in January of this year.

It was stated that "one of the Americans raising the issue of persons in U.S. courts, calling for the amount of 925 million (equivalent to 1170 dinars dollar) debt to the former regime, but that the former president of the United States George W. Bush, despite the work of those issues, people and companies the process of pressure on the Congress set aside the decision to use Keep power and immunity to these amounts. "

It said the Iraqi ambassador to the United States embassy, "a continuing dialogue with the Government of the United States and the new building a balanced way out of a crisis threatening the Iraqi funds in the Iraqi Development Fund for use in the reconstruction and the provision of services to citizens."

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...IucK0VZlp4G8Qg

Samurai: the Parliament is unable to exercise its oversight role because of the weakness of the Presidency

Attorney denied the Accordance Front, Abdel Karim al-Samarrai, an intention of the parties to the front to bring down the current government led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Samarrai said that the LTTE's efforts to form a powerful new presidency of the parliament does not necessarily mean toppling the government.

He noted that the justification for these charges to block the election of a new Chairman of the House of Representatives, aiming to keep the parliament without a chairman.

The Samurai, the House of Representatives was unable to apply because of the weakness of the regulatory role of the Presidency of the Council of Representatives and the inability to achieve any one questioning the Minister of the Minister, pointing to the existence of large-scale corruption and financial management, as he put it.

Congress has for the United Iraqi Alliance, accused the Islamic Party, one of the components of the Accordance Front, the President, trying to derail the government's performance and the quest for it.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...95Np2PqzWs8e8A

The U.S. administration has had an Iraqi adviser to U.S. Vice-President

The U.S. administration has appointed Hiro Abdel Kader Mohammed Amin, an adviser for the Middle East for the Vice-President George W. Biden.

Hiro has to be worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, U.S. Department of the Middle East, and assumed responsibility for civil affairs in the U.S. reconstruction in Mosul during the years 2003-2004 and assistance to the civil governor in Iraq, Paul Bremer.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...JQEPc4__FJgmkw

Economic adviser at the Council of Ministers stresses the development of appropriate economic policy for the treatment of problems

The economic adviser at the Council of Ministers on the development of appropriate economic policy for the treatment of problems with the fiscal policy in Iraq.

"Dr. Abdul-Hussein Al-Anbuge told the independent press (Iba) on Saturday:" Iraq lacks a real sense of fiscal policy, where the Ministry of Finance responsible for financial policy-making function has traditionally been, so has the greatest need of the national economy to the policy based on the visions of adopting a mature approach to economic reform such as article 25 of the Constitution.

He added that the problems in Iraq is still going on, and affected the structural imbalance in the composition of which shows the gross domestic product in the structure of financing the State budget, exports and imports. Alluding to the existence of inequality in the distribution of income and wealth and price distortions in the system and the imbalance in the social structure.

The AL, however, that the macro-policy harmonious offset external variables Dhagzp push for economic transformation and are ready-made recipe for reform left mandated social and economic expensive.

He called Anbuge estimating revenue in the light of determining the volume of production of oil and the volume of oil exports and world prices expected to identify with the tax and the compilation of annual plans prepared in the light of the financial guidance and correction of deviations between the allocations required.

The fact that I Anbuge to the Ministry of Finance's ability to know and measure the impact of Alatralve Alanfaqa General in the achievement of the desired objectives of macroeconomic policy, as well as to measure the impact of the tax Alabye segments holders to pay the tax.

Mention that Anbuge told Al (EYBENS) that the Iraqi banking system needs to be reformed to ensure the provision of credit at less cost loan possible for investors.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl..._BBG-UMyZD_tqg

Economist calls for increased production of natural gas

invite/increase production/.. Economic expert called for increased production of natural gas to cover unforeseen expenses and to mitigate the impact of the crisis surrounding the future operating expenses.

Said Dr. Majid Al-Shara, professor at the University of Baghdad, told the independent press (Iba) said on Saturday that gas would be engaged professional opinions on the extent of its contribution to cover the costs of different kinds, where the trend now is to move to world markets for gas in addition to non-linked gas prices oil prices and the search for create an organization independent of the gas.

He has specialized studies have shown that the gas contributes to 23 percent of total domestic energy consumption is expected to double its share in the coming years as well as studies indicate that a specific gas in certain countries Kmentoj commercial monopoly, which makes the prospects for an easy one.

Shara demanded that the agreement with the Shell gas project on the south, a development of the fields and increase production and not to deal with associated gas and the transition to the development of other gas fields.

Said that Iraq had tried to proceed after the relative freedom and the exercise of a number of enticements between local parties and the dominant countries in launching negotiations with international oil companies after six years of occupation in the activation and modification of conventions on oil in an effort to find some kind of control over its oil. He said Iraq had become dependent on the proportion of 97 percent of oil revenues in financing the budget, therefore, considered to be one of resources in terms of economic outlook.

He said that studies have been focused so far on the basis that it was the second oil reserves globally, so the financial problems that accompanied the global crisis did not reflect a lack of production and its impact on the state budget, but the sale prices of currencies crises that drunk.

It should be noted that Iraq has the third natural gas reserves in the world after Russia and Iran to the BBC report.

http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl...jLjENWxDTlwEJg