Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 06/05/09 - 04/09/09

Iraqi Council of Representatives and the United Nations host a conference on "The Future of Iraq"

organized by the Iraqi Council of Representatives and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, the two-day conference in Baghdad, under the title "the future of Iraq," which was devoted to discuss the issue of sharing and imports of oil, gas and water. To make the conference held on 14 - June 15 is the possible logistical support provided by the United Nations Office for Project Services and the financial support by the European Union. The event is a follow-up to the round-table discussions on federalism and the management of oil and gas resources that were previously held in Baghdad and Erbil in the period between July 2008 and April 2009.

Participated in the discussions, which lasted for two days and the ministers of oil, water resources, electricity and planning as well as senior adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister and the Iraqi President and the Vice-President of Iraq, in addition to the members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives and the Parliament of the Kurdistan region and officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government and representatives of the provincial councils, academics and members of the community Bank and United Nations officials.

The participants emphasized the broad agreement between the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government on the principle of sharing of imports, including the automatic transfers. It was also agreed that the issue of imports of specific distributions of the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government are among the key outstanding issues which must be solved together with the central government the issue of financing for projects of national strategy.

Participants also examine the key challenges in the management of water resources as well as to review the actions taken by both central and provincial governments at various levels to solve problems. They also stressed the need to establish a national council for water resources to enhance cooperation in the organization and management of water in addition to the launch of a strategic and coherent national water legislation that would address the environmental and agricultural needs and the needs of electricity and oil production. Participants also called on the United Nations to provide support for the regional dialogue on the management of the Euphrates water.

At the conclusion of the conference, the participants expressed their firm commitment to work to resolve outstanding issues in the case of oil and gas resources also commended the efforts of the United Nations in support of fixed constitutional dialogue in Iraq. Participants also urged the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq to continue to facilitate the ministerial dialogue - on sharing the parliamentary oil and gas imports was also agreed to conduct consultations during the follow-up to summer with the main actors with the potential effectiveness of the administration to follow up the matter after the end of the month of Ramadan.

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Iraqi oil minister called to explain deals

The Iraqi parliament has summoned the country's oil minister to answer questions about the benefits of his plan to welcome back international oil firms this month after more than three decades.

A spokesman for the ministry said eight services contracts would be awarded at the end of this month to the winners of Iraq's first post-war oil and gas licensing round, despite new calls for the government to postpone or cancel the deals.

"Our technical committees entrusted with organising the awarding session on June 29 and 30 are proceeding so that the first bidding round will be carried out on schedule," Asim Jihad, the spokesman, told Dow Jones.

But on Tuesday the oil minister, Dr Hussein al Shahristani, and senior E.xecutives of Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company (SOC) and Iraq Drilling Company must appear before parliament to explain why foreign companies are needed.

The summons follows public criticism of the proposed deals from Fayad al Nema, the SOC director general. The contracts "would put the Iraqi economy in chains and shackle its independence for the next 20 years", and would be a waste of Iraq's oil revenues, Mr al Nema said on Monday.

He and 20 other senior SOC officials said in a memo that Iraq had so far spent about US$8 billion (Dh29.38bn) to rehabilitate oilfields included in the bidding round, and that it was not reasonable for foreign companies to share the fruits of that investment.The fields produce about 80 per cent of Iraq's crude output of 2.45 million barrels per day.

The officials' objections were unexpected because Mr al Nema was only recently appointed to head SOC and was presumed to be loyal to Dr al Shahristani.

Mr al Nema's predecessor, Kifah Numan, had criticised the minister for delaying approvals for technical work that might have stemmed production declines from Iraq's big southern oilfields.

Mr Jihad said that Mr al Nema's comments had been "meant to shake international companies' confidence in the oil ministry's plans to develop the Iraqi oil sector".

Separately, 140 Iraqi members of parliament have signed a petition seeking to question Dr al Shahristani over the oil ministry's failure to restore Iraq's crude output to its level before the 2003 invasion.

Ali Balou, the head of the committee, said parliament had the power to "hinder, cancel or suspend" any laws written by the government and expected to do so to stop the contract awards.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZA...ain%20deals%20

Al-Saadun to PUKmedia: It’s time to legislate oil-gas law

In a statement to PUKmedia correspondent, Lawmaker from the Kurdistani Alliance Bloc Muhsin al-Saadun said “the legislation and the application of oil-gas law has become easier in this time as compared to previous times, especially after the end of the fears of the Iraqi people, parties and neighboring countries from the export of Kurdistan Region crude oil abroad”, he added “It’s time to legislate oil-gas law in the Iraqi Parliament.”

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...11644&Itemid=1

Rizgar Ali calls on federal government to inform Kirkuk of its oil contracts

In a press statement on Wednesday June 17th, the head of Kirkuk provincial council Rizgar Ali called on the federal government to inform Kirkuk administration of the oil contracts, which are signed with international companies, that are related to Kirkuk Province.

“According to Article 112 of the Iraqi Constitution, we called on the Iraqi government to coordinate with the local administration in Kirkuk when it signed any oil contracts in Kirkuk Province. This procedure will allow the provincial council and the local administration to observe the oil contracts and work with the federal government, especially the ministry of oil, regarding this issue”, Ali said.

He also called on the Iraqi Parliament to approve the law of allocating half a dollar for each oil barrel, which was sent from the Iraqi cabinet to the parliament.

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...11651&Itemid=1

CBI dollar sales drop on Wednesday

Demand for the dollar dropped in the Central Bank of Iraq’s (CBI) auction on Wednesday, reaching $130.795 compared to $138.450 million in the previous session.

“The demand hit $19.800 million in cash, covered by the bank at an exchange rate of 1,176 Iraqi dinars, and $110.995 million in foreign transfers outside the country, covered at an exchange rate of 1,173 Iraqi dinars per dollar,” according to a CBI news bulletin received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

None of the 18 banks that participated in today’s session offered to sell dollars.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=114762

Hadi: Rewarding oil-producing provinces is good step if includes the Kurdish ones

In a statement to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi described the Federal Government proposal to allocate half US Dollar per barrel of oil to the provinces which the oil is extracted from its territories as a good step but it should also include Kurdistan Region oil-producing provinces (Erbil, Duhok).

“We demand the equity in carrying out the law in all governorates of Iraq oil-producing, because it gives the ability to further enhance the level of services provided to the population in different areas”, Hadi added.

He also said that the oil fields in Khornmalla area in Makhmour district are geographically and historically locate within the province of Erbil.

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...11647&Itemid=1

An economist looks forward to the leading role of the private sector under a market economy mechanisms

Dr. Bahaa Almiah adviser at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to the need to give the leading role of the private sector in economic activities in the leadership of Iraq, explaining the importance of moving away from most of the economic activities that were within its terms of reference. Almiah said in an interview (to the extent) that the Constitution expressly provides that the Iraqi economy must be part of a free economy and a market economy, which has many mechanisms for pointing out that after six years of change are still not yet understand the nature of the system of market economy mechanisms and application. Almiah and that this issue is not simple and gets the overnight, but need a clear understanding of the nature and feature of the free market and therefore we are working within the mechanisms of market economy

Referring to the idea of possession and control of the State, while we must move away from these activities and work to encourage the private sector which the leadership of the economic process.

He explained that the institutions of the State Almiah productive and service institutions are failing and profitability and turn out the most important of many reasons hidden unemployment and the lack of specialists in many of these institutions and the State Tnqlhamn fact that red is the loss to the Green, a fact indicating profitability if it turned into profitable enterprises to be sold the form of stock companies and companies not to people so that the distribution of national wealth to the largest possible number of citizens and give them the opportunity for the circulation of the shares of these companies when they are profitable and here I mean the stock price Banah today if it did not achieve the return of the State, but if we invest small sums will be achieved through weakening institutions profitable and not losing.

Almiah pointed to the existence of gaps in the Investment Law No. 13 of 2006, despite recent amendments by the Council of Ministers and the Council recommended the sale of the ownership of the land and then sent to the House of Representatives to approve the amendment to the law on investment, even allowing for investors to own land in the housing sector and there are many obstacles in the experience of Iraq investment experience of a young woman pointed out that this policy is not a new experience for us and now we learn from the experiences of other countries that have preceded us in the field of investment cooperation and investment between the Iraqi and other investment bodies in the region as well as international institutions to support the investment, but it must be understood to have the nature of the market economy and the role of the private sector-led economic process, whether the private sector and non-Iraqi and Iraqi sensitivity to go beyond the foreign investor and there are many Atafrq between a foreign investor or an investor and a national and we have to work on the development of the private sector.

For its part, said Shatha al-Musawi, MP (to the extent) that government action which many of the confusion and contradiction, and wrapped Balillabip and the lack of clarity of purpose and direction for the legislation but they amount to the House of Representatives and the mentality of ancient fossils are entirely contrary to the objectives which were announced by the trends towards a free market and liberalization of the economy and encourage the private sector and the fact that this contradiction between the statements and application to let us in the debate in parliament, while there are laws passed by more than a year, a Gaphip on the shelves of the House of Representatives because of the resolution of the state and directed al-Moussawi said: The state-owned companies state-owned companies are inefficient and non-productive and I do not think it is a good investment in the event of sale, privatization, because it will be of high cost and limited capacity of the State and this weakness is not due to a decline in resources, and even Ozadt State resources, the ability to re-construction of this massive destruction of infrastructure due to financial reasons, even if we got the best price for the state oil construction can not only because it does not have the technical capacity for the year 1980 since we Anglguena of the world, and lost a lot, including the ability to supervise projects.

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The Conference of the International Covenant on the end of the year

Proceeded to the Deputy Prime Minister Rafie al-Issawi discussions in the United States to bring the wrath of the country and met with the seventh item Isawi Aisha Rose Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations High Commissioner for Economy and Development.

The Deputy Prime Minister and the government statement, according to Rose, the draft resolutions submitted by the government to get rid of the consequences of international resolutions previously issued, especially after the Security Council resolution on a review of international sanctions for Iraq to get the money item VII. It should be noted that a Western diplomat recently revealed, the will of the UN Security Council to lift the number of UN resolutions imposed on Iraq during the two meetings will be held this month, and expected of the UN resolution would keep Iraq under Chapter VII.

But according to the foundations and new mechanisms to enable then to get rid once and for all of these sanctions, with the write-off of two or more, among the six remaining international resolutions imposed on Iraq.

The statement said al-Issawi, Ibrahim Gambari also met with representative of UN Secretary-General on the International Covenant and discuss the ongoing preparations for the convening of the Conference of the International Covenant on the end of the year 2009 on the coordination and development of the agenda of this conference, attended by the foreign ministers of the world. He met with Deputy Prime Minister during his visit the United States the Turkish ambassador to the United Nations and the current chairman of the Security Council, Baki sheltering, and discussed with him the prospects of bilateral relations, Iraq - Turkish, and the need to frame the terms and according to international standards so as to achieve the common interest of both countries.

But in Baghdad has left Stefan de Mistura, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the country almost two years after he took office.

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Update......

Agreement between Iraq and the International Monetary Fund

Advisor, Central Bank of Iraq is harmful to Iraq Qasim and the International Monetary Fund were close to agreement on a loan of 5.5 billion dollars for five years for the State would be able to withdraw in three phases.

The harmful in a press statement on Wednesday that the Fund was submitted on the proposed terms of the loan during a recent meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman and included a call for financial reforms and restructuring of state banks and the reform of the banking sector.

The IMF called on Iraq to reconsider in the program receive food rations so only those in need of subsidized products, and also suggested the central bank's commitment to work to stabilize the currency and the fight against inflation.

He said the delegation, which participated in the negotiations does not have the right to accept or reject the proposals, but the atmosphere was positive and the Iraqi side was satisfied with the views put forward.

He added that the proposed agreement, which will include three segments of the SDR is the size of each of them 1.2 billion dollars, or a total of about 5.53 billion dollars before the Iraqi government to study it.

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Lukoil chief meets Iraqi PM ahead of oil announcement

The head of Russian energy giant Lukoil, which is bidding for contracts to develop Iraqi oil and gas fields, met Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday.

Their meeting comes a week after Maliki met the chief of French energy group Total, and less than two weeks before Baghdad is to unveil which foreign firms have won coveted contracts to work in Iraq.

"We would gladly welcome Lukoil to Iraq, because it has a great deal of experience," Maliki said, according to a statement released by his office, during a meeting with Lukoil chief Vagit Alekperov.

"Iraq is trying to open its doors to investment from international oil companies to raise oil production, which is the principal source of our revenues," he added.

Alekperov, meanwhile, said Lukoil was "trying to train Iraqi engineers at Russian institutions."

Two E.xecutives from US energy firm Chevron also visited Iraq on Wednesday to discuss the terms of contracts that oil companies will be awarded, when the oil ministry reveals, on June 29 and 30, which companies will work in Iraq.

Lukoil and Chevron are among 31 energy firms pre-selected by Iraq, a list made up of major foreign oil companies and state-owned enterprises, to develop six major oil fields and two major gas fields.

Four companies have withdrawn from consideration for the contracts.
According to the website iraqoilforum.com, the pre-selected firms comprise 11 Asian firms, nine European, seven North American, two Australian and two Russian.

Although only eight contracts will be awarded, energy firms could join forces to develop some fields.

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