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

Iraq electricity authorities annulled contracts with major international engineering companies

Iraq Deputy Minister of Electricity Raad Hares said that the specialized authorities have annulled electricity contracts with General Electric US Company, Alstom French engineering company, MAN German group and Hundai South Korean Company because the drop of Iraq oil income.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Economics...companies.html

Presidency Council approves the budget of the Federal Assembly in 2009

Council approved the Presidency, Thursday, 2-4-2009, the Federal Assembly on the budget for fiscal year 2009.

The head of the Office of the Presidency of the Republic Naseer al-Ani Received by a presidential statement that "the Council approved the general budget after the receipt of the annexes and schedules for the House of Representatives, saying it would send to the Official Gazette for publication."

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Oil announced the signing of a contract with a British company to set up a refinery Nassiriya

The Oil Ministry has signed a contract with a British company to prepare the designs for the establishment of Nasiriyah refinery, which is expected to be completed within five years.

The Director of Project Management in the Ministry of Oil Mohammad Al-Hussein al-Baghdadi, told a news briefing Thursday, said the value of the contract amounted to 128 million dollars, will be the capacity of the refinery, 300 thousand barrels per day.

Indicating that the duration of the completion of the design is 21 months, while the expected duration of implementation of the project Tstgerv three years after the preparation of the final designs.

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The Commission discussed the economic & investment Consumer Protection Act

President of the Commission on the economic and investment and reconstruction with Ambassador Haydar Abbadi economic at the U.S. embassy, Mark Will, and his how to solve the problems and obstacles that impede the access of aid to Iraq.

It was also during the meeting to discuss the Convention's economic assistance from the United States of America.

Also met a member of the Committee on the economic and investment Albulada full with the representative of the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and the representative of the Ministry of State for Parliamentary Affairs to discuss the recent amendments to the draft consumer protection law, including penalties and how it relates and functions.

Mentioned that this meeting came within the framework of activities carried out by the Commission on the economic and investment in the Iraqi Council of Representatives.

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Exhibition "gateway to Iraq," a demonstration of economic and investment leading

The General Company for Iraqi opposition that it will be the Ministry of Commerce and in cooperation and coordination with the Turkish Form of the opposition to contribute to the development and organization of the Fourth International Exhibition Iraq "gateway to Iraq" under the banner of reconstruction and investment in Iraq and for the period from May 24 -21, and it will be the next exhibition, a demonstration of economic investment and significant the land of the Middle East Exhibition Center in the Turkish city of Gaziantep.

The director of the company and added that this is the only exhibition organized by the Iraqi government in Turkey would contribute to developing the economy of the region has an important strategic role in building economic bridges between the countries that wish to invest in Iraq and the Iraqi market as well as create new opportunities for employment prospects in Iraq during the conference The seminars will be held on the sidelines of the exhibition in question.

This is the Turkish city of Gaziantep node and the gateway connecting Iraq, Turkey and European countries, the States of the Middle East and has a large industrial capacity that was chosen for this city to organize the first international exhibition of Iraq and the second and third for the years 2008 to 2007 - 2006 The number of entries for 2008 at last (718 ) participants from 36 countries and the number of visitors from around 53000 visitors (39) countries and areas exploited 25494 square meters and classified as participating in the Iraq International Fair in 2009 to three sectors / I Construction Technology / Building materials and supplies / equipment and material requirements of energy / second agriculture and food technology food / third industrial products and agricultural Assembly.

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Small: the oil law and the powers of the President of the Republic the most important points of contention in the constitutional amendments

MP from the Iraqi Alliance bloc Celalettin small that the House is not responsible for the delay in the process of constitutional amendments, and revealed the most controversial points in the amendments.

Sagheer said in a press statement published Friday that some are trying to disrupt the political wills in the process of amendment to the Constitution, stating that the House is not responsible for the delay in this process.

He explained that the most controversial points in the amendments of the political blocs is the oil and gas law and the powers of the President of the Republic and the issue of personal, federal and regional powers.

He called for the small presentation was agreed upon in the House of Representatives for a vote and then a discussion unless it is agreed by the other phase, indicating that there is no strict constitutional mechanisms to prevent the voting process on what has been agreed upon, and vote on what is agreed upon later.

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Iraq presidency approves slashed budget

Iraq's presidency has rubber-stamped a 58.9 billion-dollar budget for 2009, after billions were wiped off spending plans because of a sharp fall in oil prices, a government spokesman said on Friday.

"The presidential council approved yesterday and without modifying the 2009 budget adopted by parliament," said Nasser al-Ani, a spokesman for the council, which includes President Jalal Talabani and his two vice-presidents.

The budget, slashed by nearly a quarter in recent months, was passed by parliament in March, when oil prices had tumbled below an already downwardly revised forecast of 50 dollars a barrel.

New York's main contract fell on Friday to 51.99 dollars a barrel.
The shortfall in the country's finances comes at a difficult time for Iraq as the war-battered nation of 29 million people struggles to emerge from a brutal sectarian conflict triggered by the 2003 US-led invasion.

With violence now hovering around its lowest levels in six years, officials have pledged to set about the monumental task of rebuilding the country's shattered infrastructure.

Restoring basic services such as water, electricity and sewage disposal is crucial to ensuring that the sectarian bloodshed that peaked in 2006 and 2007 is not triggered again by civilian unrest.

A projected 20.3-billion-dollar deficit is expected to be financed by unspent allocations from the 2008 budget.
As for state revenues, 86 percent are projected to come from oil sales, based on projected exports of two million barrels a day.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidAN...58.9B%20Budget

South Korean firms vow to continue oil exploration in Iraq

South Korean firms said Friday they would continue drilling for oil in an autonomous region of Iraq despite a decision by the central government to ban them from taking part in tenders.

Baghdad's decision will not affect oil exploration in autonomous Kurdistan, a spokesman for the state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) told AFP.
A South Korean consortium led by KNOC began exploring oilfields this year in Kurdistan. A deal was signed with the region's government in June last year despite protests from Iraq's central government.

Iraq said Thursday that its oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani had penalised South Korea's top refiner SK Energy and KNOC by banning them from taking part in tenders.

It said Korean firms could bid in the future if they cancel the 2.1-billion-dollar deal with Kurdistan.

SK Energy and KNOC said they have no plan to cancel the deal.
"That's an important deal. We cannot accept the minister's remarks that it is against Iraqi law," the KNOC spokesman said.

"However, we are also ready to take part in oil exploration projects controlled by Iraq's central government."

The spokesman said Iraq should respect a 3.55 billion dollar oil-for-development deal forged between the two countries in February during Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's visit to Seoul.

That deal would allow Seoul to develop oilfields in southern Iraq's Basra area. In return, South Korea would help build power plants and other infrastructure in the war-torn country.

The deal with Kurdistan granted the KNOC-led consortium access to eight oilfields believed to hold 7.2 billion barrels of untapped crude. Five of the fields are located near the capital Arbil.

Iraq has the world's third largest proven oil reserves with more than 115 billion barrels.

But the central and Kurdish regional governments have been at odds over sharing the nation's oil wealth.

South Korea imports almost all its oil and gas. It is seeking worldwide exploration deals and stakes in foreign energy firms to secure the nation's supplies.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidAN...on%20in%20Iraq

The opening of the first tower of an oil drilling deep large West Qurna

Iraqi Drilling Company was called to order, on Thursday, digging Tower (30) west of the town of Qurna's Basra province, which is the first drilling rigs operating in southern Iraq and in the fields after the fall of the former regime, as branch manager of the South.

The head of the engineers called Yes scarf told Voices of Iraq (VOI) that the drilling company "set up Thursday, the opening ceremony of the drilling tower (30), which is the first drilling rigs working in the fields in the south after the fall of the former regime (April 2003) a relatively large digging deep", referring to the This device, "an Italian origin and is one of the advanced rigs, drilling rigs, the first start after the fall of the regime among a group of rigs imported by the Iraqi Oil Ministry recently, according to its plan to increase production."

"The Sash" The opening ceremony, held at the site of the work in the field of West Qurna and was attended by Deputy Minister for oil extraction, drilling, general manager of the Iraqi Driss Yasiri and a number of oil experts and technicians from the Iraqi Southern Oil Company and the Iraqi Drilling Company, and the number of members of the provincial council in Basra the new."

For his part, Director of the Iraqi Drilling Company Driss Optimizer Yasiri that "cadres and employees of the company, are serious and determined to make every effort to increase Iraqi oil production, and the opening of the new system the first step in the way of increased production," adding that the company "has the introduction of cadres Engineering and technical specialist intensive courses to work on new devices, which are relatively sophisticated devices, and similar devices operating in neighboring countries."

Yasiri said that "there will be soon complete the processing of a number of other rigs and rehabilitation, to participate in the drilling and reclamation operations in North and South fields."

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Iraqi facilities for foreign investors and tourists

Senior security officials said at the Interior Ministry to provide facilities for foreign investors and tourists wishing to receive foreign investment in the visa quickly and establish a period of three months subject to renewal.

The Director of Operations at the Ministry, Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said the investor to establish procedures to grant a three months take only one day after the application in Iraqi embassies, and explained that the investor can renew the residence. "The measures are the most open to foreigners since 2003, the Ministry of Interior will be obligation to protect all investors and tourists. In turn, said Maj. Gen. Yassin Yasiri, director-general of passports and residence with a plan to contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq through the support of investors and facilitate the actions of religious tourism, and public archaeological sites in the country.

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