Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

hope this weekend does not end up like the last few,lets all hope we finally come out on top

Hi Gang,

I just posted a Poll in regards to a reval. Just a little something to get us through the weekend
http://www.rolclub.com/iraqi-dinar-d...-close-rv.html

Originally Posted by CharmedPiper

Unemployment in Iraqi affairs
Report : Amir Hasson on
Introduction : memory Bahjat
Comment : Ali Mohsen


· Report : Welcome Dear viewers, in the Iraqi inputs, break observers to the happenings Alamurvi Iraq believe that the welfare and prosperity of the Iraqi economy will start first in overcoming all obstacles and difficulties which may face government elected to overcome the difficult steps reflect us to a new stage of advancement and construction Every government program would boost economic activities in a resource-rich country like Iraq oil in addition to other resources such as agriculture, industry, tourism and other resources. if we have to seek the government to find solutions to the remnants of the difficult era in which this economy than spending on wars. Nearly a decade of economic sanctions. and also make up this episode in the last three years following the occupation, and change the volume and Ziad unemployment and the transition perhaps others to the system programmer socialist long long decades to a free accompanied by a clear deterioration in the security and services.

Comment ...
Iraq is characterized by wealth, mainly oil, which is one of the first countries producing and exporting, including possessed of a strategic reserve of this wealth, in addition to that enjoyed by the geographical location of the center not to mention the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which provide fresh water and drinking water and a fertile ground unfit for cultivation as well as a wealth of other like sulfur, phosphate and other minerals not forget another resource is religious tourism civilian in Iraq, where many of the holy religious sites and archaeological areas, which were also attracted to a financially from the thousands of visitors and tourists every year is different corners of the planet.

Spokesman ...
Already Iraq's considerable resources and a great potential and Aiaoz Iraq absolutely nothing in the way of economic development and also suffers from extreme poverty, we find these things, lack of resources, lack of skills and poverty in other countries but, unfortunately, we see it more economically advanced of our beloved.

Comment ...
Manifestations of economic growth is apparent in Iraq after the nationalization of oil in 1972 until the beginning of the 1980s of the last century as the country has entered a fierce war with the state of Iran to stopping the wheel of development and construction, the siege imposed on Iraq by the United Nations due to the entry of Iraqi troops into Kuwait, the beginning of the 1990s and since that time, the Iraqi citizen of a tough economy suffering passed the worst period for the level of inflation in the Iraqi dinar to the detriment of the economy directly and continue to decline in the economy even after the occupation of Iraq Webb Afterward subject to conditions of stability between them.

Spokesman ...
Economic advancement is linked to the availability of a combination of factors, these factors highlighted the need for the accumulation of capital, Mali the need for capital is the absence of such capital can not make any new investments. We must open the door to foreign investment, But opening the door to foreign investment must be unconditional and specific sectors in which the state wants to play.

Comment ...
A strong economy is necessary for the state to build programs needs to invest seriously and imports of wealth and put them in the straight.

· Report : So Dear viewers, and you are welcome to Mr. Jabr Al-Zubaidi, the Iraqi Minister of Finance welcome your professor in the program.

· Zubaidi : Hello, and Welcome.

· Report : beginning Siadjeh minister will ask whether the Iraqi economy, relying only on imports of Iraqi oil and other imports absent Iraq's natural resources and many installations can be used for Iraq?

· Zubaidi : In the name of God the Merciful, of course, undoubtedly the current Iraqi economy over the past fifty years or more is one-sided economy depends on oil sales and thus inherited a sound economic policy-it started visas elected government in a far-reaching policy over the next four years is a five-year plan to transform Alaghtassa d to the multi-faceted Mthlath in tax policy and not linked to inherited policy or taxes or customs charges that the Iraqi economy as well as the development of local industry, including supplementary Aloztneh and other supplements, So I say we need time to move from reliance on oil, or 97% of Iraq's budget for the year 2000-5000 and six ratios to God less than the 70th% in the next four years.

· Report : So you now you change what in the current tax system, which is different in this system?

· Zubaidi : this system, when it inherited the ministry is based solely on the staff and some deductions are limited to a very limited extent the terms in a meeting with one of the officials in taxes and general manager and directors of departments in taxes when the stated figure, which comes from taxes crop I said that the supermarket in Europe possible to obtain this amount, Iraq can not a when you get 28 two million such a meager amount and very little so ashamed that the rights quotes. For example, the mobile phone companies have three major companies get huge profits too, Similarly popular sell us the air, talking in the air and we sell dollars and go to their pockets and this is something good to contribute to invest in Iraq, but there must be a share of the citizen through a tax guide us resolutely to these companies and asked them to submit complete records on what they get from the profits.

· Report : and there are other companies since the beginning of their entry in Iraq?

· Zubaidi : I will turn to ... Complete records even begin to accounting, I will not allow the marginal tax in the new Iraq and today the tax in the whole world, when you go to Europe controlled until the President of the Republic. The tax basis of the work and the economy of major countries, today, the tax can not shirk from any human being, We have limited staff and we began to take a portion of their salaries, but the commercial sector and investment and not say in the meeting because we Snfajie these companies also Vjana mobile phone companies who did not expect to attend the official tax records and hold them, but asked him to go to the main computer to know how many calls per day, how much n outrage taxes. These taxes help the Iraqi economy so as not to be one-sided and obtain additional funds supporting the Iraqi economy. I believe that the current law Alastthmaler who will read the second reading in the Economic Committee, which I am the Deputy Chairman and brother Dr. Barham and members of the Minister of Trade and Minister of Oil and the Office of Financial Supervision and will finish the second reading and hoist to the Cabinet even Aghervi the House of Representatives, the Council of Ministers, I think it is CNN Khtlv God.

· Report : Yes, Mr. Minister, also developed strategic future studies for the advancement of the Iraqi economy listening and watching together and colleague memory Bahjat authorized Dear viewers, the memory of our colleague and Bahjat meeting with Aldectormahdi Hafiz.

· Introduction : Thank you, welcome Emir Dear viewers, and we welcome the visiting deputy in the parliament and former minister of planning Aldectormahdi Hafiz Welcome to you.

· Hafiz : Welcome to you.

· Introduction : the 50th-page report cited by the Emir colleague in the two thousand and five entitled : strategic national development from 2005 to 2007 Why has this report?

· Hafiz : this is the truth and national development strategic document requested by the donor states and institutions in order to determine the priorities and sectoral plans in Iraq so that they can identify their financial identification of this plan and the reality is the development of the first version, which was published in the year two thousand and four and presented to a meeting in Tokyo in Aktau Mainland two thousand and four. The study is based on the new developments and changes in different sectors, and became a guide for the development of sectoral policies, but regrettably this program, so to speak, it was possible to achieve all the desired goals due to the security situation in the country had deteriorated so egregiously very hampered projects designed and submitted and approved and the availability of Ha money and the second reason that the donor countries themselves because of this and other factors may Matnat to provide the necessary aid, for example, say that some donors began to feel Iraq has won new financial resources due to high oil prices and that it is able to provide a portion of these funds to reconstruction in Iraq. These factors collectively had soured Jdiba in default, which took place in the implementation of all projects.

· Introduction : in your opinion, what is Dr. Mahdi Abroz immediate treatments that the government had taken to improve the per capita income?

· Hafiz : this issue is directly linked to the improvement of income, the economic factor is the key element in improving the quality of life and raise the standard of living and those running primarily in the volume of unemployment in the country. Now in Iraq, there are approximately two million jobless people annually and is almost two hundred thousand people to the labor market must provide two hundred thousand jobs annually Caspian Sea to the existing unemployment, if the Iraqi forces workforce of about seven million are unemployed, including two Mloin any 30% this very serious problem for the economic situation and living for Iraq, in addition to this there has been a deterioration of services and, alas, the deterioration of services amounted to a very large extent.

· Report : Welcome Dear viewers, and once again we continue our conversation with you Mr. statement Jabr Al-Zubaydi, the Iraqi Minister of Finance, Mr. Minister, we return once again to the ages, this important topic and you talked about two billion or more to activate something of infrastructure and service throughout Iraq. We want real ages when Esibda and finance reconstruction?

· Zubaidi : Construction is to build the first two parts of infrastructure that is lacking in Iraq for example, the fact of drinking water in Basra circulating in the pipes of asbestos, Today, asbestos in the world since nearly forty years ended, it was found that cause cancer, This model of the infrastructure destroyed in Iraq and therefore, there are more than two billion and 2 billion of these earmarked directly to the provinces but the amounts allocated to ministries. This kind of reconstruction to drink citizen drinking water and sewage to go to their places to get rid of them and prayed to the streets of the citizen to reach his car safely this is not the real ages ages rightful I point being made is that you establish refineries at lightning speed, so that no imports of petrol and oil is able to give it to any company. There are many companies met me and say we are ready in two years that Anbqi the problem of electricity in Iraq even begun in this since the beginning of what we have nothing left to worry and all of this because of the law, "the investment law."

· Report : What other investment law?

· Zubaidi : is the need to be debated and I Penny Pink spoke at the Council of Ministers and to the brothers and, frankly, we are still possess mental socialism can not leave with these substances could be Gadrtne I am because I lived on the 20th Ssne abroad and toured and read and Basle dealer, I do not believe in socialism mentality that wants the state to send the n supermarket. The state can not be to sell oil, kerosine, gas, which brings wheat and rice this is not reasonable. The state must be directed to the major strategic industries, such as oil extraction from the earth and minerals, We are now in another world, We have oil wells drained from the neighboring countries and we are watching do not have one go and put the oil wells to withdraw from the dome between the two countries, and many of the examples I say that we have the problem of inflation and must chart the financial policy of Iraq therefore you before increasing inflation, which reflected negatively on the citizen and the citizen feels directly b told in an indirect and thus reduces the citizen who is inflation. We now before this study in the preparation of the budget 2000-5000 and seven Why work on the issue and the issue of salary inflation and how to deal with income and tax rate. the study does not promise you that settled overnight, but the creation of God in the long future, we find that the employee or the Gulf tends to work in the private sector rather than to go to the government.
· Report : So, Mr. Minister, we stand and watch this present report on the situation Alaghtassadaraghi and put the Iraqi people and the size of existing unemployment when the Iraqi people. Dear viewers, and stopped short.

Comment ...
What to see Sobh, a new day begins even Iraqis daily journey Between economic crises and the search for job opportunities amid unemployment is a phenomenon to weigh on the daily details of a citizen in an attempt to support his family away from want and need.

Residents gathered to rent workers.
Sitting from morning to afternoon waiting for the work and go home without him, from six to five in the afternoon there was no work and we Sahabin Sahabin families and children and call on the government to provide job opportunities for these young people seated here.

Comment.
Business activity of the unemployed work is for many of them to waste their energies and their minds are supposed to be utilized in many areas of nation-building in posts in the level of their possessions potential.

Citizen out of work.
We unemployed for what? Why not provide the opportunities for the unemployed? Secondly we graduates Why do we provide the steadfast job as certificates and scientific progression?
Citizen out of work.
We are working day and month sit. Only relatives and knowledge Itainon Why?

Another citizen out of work ...
Our fill of promises and we are sitting here young and old, sitting in rented houses and must pay rent and we have families and we do not have work.

Comment ...
Questions suffering is on the table from interested citizens, as it will make its own contribution is to take the government seriously ago.


· Report : Welcome Dear viewers, once again, Mr. Minister of Finance, unemployment in Iraq, the volume of unemployment and inflation increased and you stated that the increase in inflation and whenever we ask is responsible for the salaries of state workers in the field say that the Iraqi officer was paid three thousand dinars, and now more than 200 thousand dinars, and as has become a mantra. Now the unemployment soar, and have negative effects on the livelihood of the Iraqi individual, it also had negative effects on the political situation in general how to answer these details?

· Zubaidi : I think it was the first alliance is a lot of institutions, the army and the Interior and the police and some institutions of the former regime resolved this way, the reason for a large part of the problem, that we are addressing that in the Ministry of Finance and the continuous meetings to solve this issue, and not saying that will happen in the near future, but has a certain the solutions to openly call a prosthesis and must find a comprehensive solution to this problem can not be aimed million between the officer and a soldier and officer and a policeman, or worked in a manufacturing or non-military because of the decision made a mistake in my view, The second aspect : Iraq has money and is capable of implementation of projects and should be dismissed with these amounts in the area of investment as we have already failed Iraq to undertake this task, whether the provincial or Baghdad or projects and strategic part of the reason security and I am not of those who pin all on the Security Council and there is a detachment to serve The Iraq for some states, such as Africa and Iraq is an example in terms of security and we have been able to construct and reconstruct What happened in the Zafaraniyah now is a good example where built electric plants there and Mosul there reconstruction Therefore, I say that we should not attach everything on the peg of security for the investment and work and make clear the Arab and foreign Iamra in this country and the country in which the possibilities and the financial and monetary Zaloda of the country very well and I am talking minister and the beginning of the financial figures .

· Report : should the state even if live free economic system that Tofferslv bank advances to build real estate projects or simple home, one of the rights?

· Zubaidi : God willing we will produce citizens that the Land Bank will conduct its activities in the coming six months.

· Report : pause again with Dr. Mahdi Al-Hafiz to tell us about the plans and what can be provided by the State, especially in the investment, Yes, my colleague memory.

· Introduction : Doctor Is it true that the investment will be the best solution? Why did not the law governing this place so far?

· Hafiz : investment is very important, extremely important for Iraq to the conditions that need to sums of money to provide jobs and addresses and provides services for example electricity is estimated that Iraq needs about $ 15 billion so that the electricity or electricity to rise to meet the needs of the population and we have the problem of unemployment which need billion v so that they can have jobs and we have medical services and the process to the end. Iraq currently depends only on the production of oil, which provides revenues cover the needs of the State budget, but if we have other burdens to the state budget becomes Iraq in the event of disability Investing important because contribute to the building of the country's roads, ports, airports, hospitals, and hence the importance but can not be achieved unless it is necessary climate that gives security to investors, which calls to be a law properly regulated national controls.

· Introduction : Return to unemployment. Can the establishment or development of vocational training centers or the opening of a number of educational centers for young people to practice and learn many trades?

· Hafiz : There is no doubt that because of technical and vocational rehabilitation is very important, because it can not create jobs without qualifications, the person who put it in the post must be shells of their requirements. This is an essential and necessary to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Higher Education and other ministries concerned in this matter to take upon themselves to vocational rehabilitation programs and technical support for youth to be the level of need.

· Report : Welcome again Dear viewers, Mr. Minister, the subject of recent talk is the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar. It seems that the state insists, or preserve the value of the Iraqi dinar 148 against the dollar but this offset by a significant increase in prices, spending and Asaaaralmwad food and fuel prices How can the government help the Iraqi citizens to these increases?

· Zubaidi : this issue split the two prices and the financial aspect and talk about the monetary side. Monetary value of the Iraqi dinar must revert to the previous level, or at least to acceptable levels as it is in the Iraqi neighboring states.

· Report : say there's a statement to Mr. Jabr deleting 0 of currency?

· Zubaidi : I stated that I suggest to my brother, Mr. Governor of the Central Bank which is responsible for monetary policy, Klin to have a delegation with me and Oil Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank met with the International Monetary In one of the meetings proposed to the governor to strengthen the Iraqi dinar is dear and decent Iraq as history, civilization, at least that was the Iraqi dinar equivalent of three dollars and little to equate dollars on the psychological Even when sorrow for one hundred dinars, you assume Bscheholh hundred dollars and not with a corresponding cent dollars today any bearing hundred and fifty thousand dinars, in addition to the strength of the economy and, of course, the governor has another view. Turkey rose six zeroes from its currency and many African States were also subjected Iraq to strong tremors. This aspect God we have great hope that working together, and suggested that the International Monetary Fund to strengthen the Iraqi dinar and we will discuss this subject either side of financial and price increase it is natural that all the things back and take photo, we can not sell oil or gasoline in Iraq three cents, and sold in neighboring countries Fifty cents is medicine be very aware that there smuggling of money for Iraq and its people, and must find a solution could not be found from whatever solutions police and the Customs and security can not, therefore you have to put fiscal policy to reach the price of gasoline, such as neighboring countries, if not more of them.

· Report : Mr. Minister, to watch together this report, which shows the economic and financial situation of the Iraqi people.

Dear viewers, we see this report and then complete dialogue with the Minister of Interior.

Translated version of http:/%252
Fwww.alsharqiya.com%2Fdisplay.asp%3Ffname%3Daboutu s%5C2006%5C008.txt%26storytitle%3D&langpair=ar%7Ce n&hl=en&ie=UTF8

This why I believe the 1.48 rate is the one Iraq wants. In a nutshell this article explains the desired rate and why they need it. Smugglers stop smuggling if they can sell their goods for top dollar in Iraq rather than truck it to Jordan. Plus with the RV there is no harm, no foul to Jordan's economy or other neighboring countries. Iraq's currency rate affects the region, which why the MOF wants the former level. Remember the region is accustomed to a high Iraqi Dinar. The current low rate is what is fouling up the works.....

As a side note; the BofA retailing dinar just might mean full convertibility prior to that date. I think they are getting ready for the big boys to jump in. On their foreign currency index i believe they are only retailing internationally traded regime.

So whether its tommorrow, monday, tuesday or wednesday we can assuredly say it's very soon IMO

Originally Posted by AlwaysDreaming

I believe this was from June or July 06. It's one of those articles you can't help but want to read over and over!!

No this article is a transcipt from that meeting in Sept. '06 It's the one that SGS was communicating on yahoo MSG.


Good stuff huh?

On this Wonderful Note, I will see you guys tomorrow if not late tonight. I have cleaned the thread and yesterday's post are you know where. I did Bold in Black alittle more in the Article.

Originally Posted by CharmedPiper

Unemployment in Iraqi affairs
Report : Amir Hasson on
Introduction : memory Bahjat
Comment : Ali Mohsen


· Report : Welcome again Dear viewers, Mr. Minister, the subject of recent talk is the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar. It seems that the state insists, or preserve the value of the Iraqi dinar 148 against the dollar but this offset by a significant increase in prices, spending and Asaaaralmwad food and fuel prices How can the government help the Iraqi citizens to these increases?

· Zubaidi : this issue split the two prices and the financial aspect and talk about the monetary side. Monetary value of the Iraqi dinar must revert to the previous level, or at least to acceptable levels as it is in the Iraqi neighboring states.

· Report : say there's a statement to Mr. Jabr deleting 0 of currency?

· Zubaidi : I stated that I suggest to my brother, Mr. Governor of the Central Bank which is responsible for monetary policy, Klin to have a delegation with me and Oil Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank met with the International Monetary In one of the meetings proposed to the governor to strengthen the Iraqi dinar is dear and decent Iraq as history, civilization, at least that was the Iraqi dinar equivalent of three dollars and little to equate dollars on the psychological Even when sorrow for one hundred dinars, you assume Bscheholh hundred dollars and not with a corresponding cent dollars today any bearing hundred and fifty thousand dinars, in addition to the strength of the economy and, of course, the governor has another view. Turkey rose six zeroes from its currency and many African States were also subjected Iraq to strong tremors. This aspect God we have great hope that working together, and suggested that the International Monetary Fund to strengthen the Iraqi dinar and we will discuss this subject either side of financial and price increase it is natural that all the things back and take photo, we can not sell oil or gasoline in Iraq three cents, and sold in neighboring countries Fifty cents is medicine be very aware that there smuggling of money for Iraq and its people, and must find a solution could not be found from whatever solutions police and the Customs and security can not, therefore you have to put fiscal policy to reach the price of gasoline, such as neighboring countries, if not more of them.

· Report : Mr. Minister, to watch together this report, which shows the economic and financial situation of the Iraqi people.

Dear viewers, we see this report and then complete dialogue with the Minister of Interior.

Translated version of http:/%252
Fwww.alsharqiya.com%2Fdisplay.asp%3Ffname%3Daboutu s%5C2006%5C008.txt%26storytitle%3D&langpair=ar%7Ce n&hl=en&ie=UTF8

Originally Posted by DayDream

The Associated Press
Oct 28, 2006 2:32 PM

BEIJING - China and Iraq are reviving a $1.2 billion deal signed by Beijing and Saddam Hussein's government in 1997 to develop an Iraqi oil field, Baghdad's oil minister said Saturday.

Officials will meet next month to renegotiate the agreement over the al-Ahdab field, said Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani. He was wrapping up a three-nation tour to secure investment for Iraq's oil industry.

"If agreement is reached very quickly then I expect them to start working right away," al-Shahristani said at a news conference.

China is the world's second-largest oil consumer and has been investing heavily in trying to secure access to foreign supplies.

State-owned China National Petroleum Corp. signed the al-Ahdab deal in the midst of U.N. sanctions that barred direct dealings with Iraq's oil industry. Beijing was waiting for sanctions to end when the U.S. invasion in 2003 overthrew Saddam's government.

The new Baghdad government courted Beijing because Chinese producers have been willing to invest in Angola, Sudan and other countries considered too dangerous or politically isolated.

All other energy contracts signed by foreign producers during the Saddam era also must be renegotiated after Iraqi lawmakers enact a new oil and gas law, which is likely to happen this year.

Beijing had been thought to be out of the running for major contracts in postwar Iraq, with the best deals going to the United States and its allies. But the upsurge in violence there has made the country less attractive to Western producers.

Al-Shahristani said al-Ahdab would be among the first fields offered to foreign bidders, which will need to show technical and financial capability and a proven record in producing oil.

Iraq will need up to $20 billion in investment to develop its oil infrastructure, the minister said.

Al-Shahristani met with Chinese energy officials and executives of the country's four biggest oil companies - CNPC, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., China National Offshore Oil Corp. and Sinochem Corp.

He said questions about security in Iraq did not come up, because the fields that interest Chinese producers are in the south, where violence is minimal.

He said Iraq also wants to develop areas in its western desert and the Kurdish region in the north.

Cheers!
DayDream

Wouldn't they have had to passed the HCL to do this?

There was question on this so I thought I would post this article to clear up the confusion.


Speculation was rife last week about a revaluation of the Saudi riyal after it climbed through 3.75 to a dollar, a historically rare occurrence.

At the end of it all it didn't really happen. The Saudi central bank governor was quoted as saying the country did not really have the freedom to revalue its currency without consulting other countries in the GCC.

The six GCC countries are committed to moving together on currency reforms and achieving a monetary union by 2010.

More than the revaluation itself, the speculation raised questions about the wisdom of following a fixed exchange rate policy.

All the GCC countries have followed the currency peg for years, and most people in the UAE think that the policy has served the country well.

Oil, the GCC's main export, is priced in dollars and a very substantial part of these countries' imports are also from the US and in dollars.

Gulfnews: Appreciating the currency peg

Originally Posted by ronbo

Wouldn't they have had to passed the HCL to do this?

The article did say:

Officials will meet next month to renegotiate the agreement over the al-Ahdab field, said Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani. He was wrapping up a three-nation tour to secure investment for Iraq's oil industry.

"If agreement is reached very quickly then I expect them to start working right away," al-Shahristani said at a news conference.

So hopefully the HCL will be passed before then.

Cheers!
DayDream

By Hector Forster

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Japan, dependent on imports for 99 percent of its oil and gas, may turn to Iraq and Indonesia after it lost control of Iran's biggest untapped field.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government promised this week to invest in Iraq's shattered energy industry in the hope that Japan will be able to tap the world's third-largest oil reserves. State-controlled Inpex Holdings Inc. may spend $4.2 billion to develop the Abadi gas field off Indonesia.

Iran's decision to strip Inpex of its majority holding in the Azedegan field has jeopardized plans to acquire overseas assets capable of meeting 40 percent of Japan's oil demand within 25 years. The country is competing for reserves with China and India as they try to meet soaring energy demand, bidding up the cost of assets.

``The fields that Japanese companies are currently invested in won't meet the target,'' said Lalita Gupta, an oil analyst at Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. ``It's not enough to invest in the fields, just thinking about the 40 percent target and overpaying for assets, they must have shareholder value.''

Japan, the world's largest oil importer after the U.S, needs to strengthen ties with oil-producing nations and give financial aid to Japanese explorers for developing overseas projects, the Trade Ministry's draft proposal on energy policy said on May 29.

Libya, Vietnam

Japanese oil and gas companies including Nippon Oil Corp. hold licenses to explore and develop deposits in countries including the U.S., Libya, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and Canada.

Japan's government is lending Iraq $3.5 billion to finance three projects in southern Iraq aimed at helping the conflict- stricken country boost exports.

The yen-denominated loan will finance the redevelopment and upgrade of a refinery in Basra, improvements to oil export infrastructure and a project to produce liquefied petroleum gas, Shin Hosaka, director of the oil and gas division at the Trade Ministry, told reporters in Tokyo on Oct. 24.

``We don't want to miss a boat that leads to vast oil reserves in Iraq,'' Hosaka said. ``The next promising source of oil is Iraq.''

AOC Holdings Inc., a Japanese oil explorer and refiner, said on June 2 it had proposed a $3 billion plan to Iraq to upgrade war-torn oil export terminals. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., the country's second-biggest oil explorer, has a contract with Iraq's oil ministry to assess four oilfields.

Peak Production

Oil production in Iraq peaked in December 1979 at 3.7 million barrels a day, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Iraq is producing almost 2.5 million barrels a day, Oil Minister, Hussain al- Shahristani said this week. That's close to output before the March 2003 invasion by a U.S.-led coalition.

Iraq, where insurgents have attacked pipelines and oil export terminals, plans to boost production to 4.5 million barrels a day by 2010, he said in Tokyo this week.

Inpex plans to drill four appraisal wells at the Abadi natural gas field next year, aiming to start production in 2015. Inpex is studying processing options including turning the Indonesian field's output into liquefied natural gas, spokesman Kazuya Honda said on Oct. 18.

The Abadi field, situated in the Timor Sea, may hold between 7 trillion and 10 trillion cubic feet of gas, Andrew Andrejewskis, Australia's Northern Territory's director of petroleum developments, said last year. Japan consumed 2.86 trillion cubic feet of gas in 2006, according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy.

Sakhalin Threat

Developing Abadi including turning the field's gas into LNG may cost 500 billion yen ($4.2 billion) including a liquefaction plant in Australia, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said on Oct. 18.

At the same time, Japan's largest gas investment to date is under threat. The Royal Dutch Shell Plc-led Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas and oil project has been delayed after Russian authorities questioned the development's cost increase to $20 billion and its environmental impact.

Shell, based in The Hague, owns 55 percent of the Sakhalin- project, the largest foreign investment in Russia. Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. holds 25 percent. Mitsubishi Corp., Japan's biggest trading company, owns 20 percent of the venture. OAO Gazprom is in talks with Shell and the two Japanese companies about acquiring a stake in the project.

On Oct. 8, Iran slashed Inpex Holdings Inc.'s stakes in Azadegan oilfield to 10 percent from 75 percent because the Japanese company delayed developing the field. Inpex, which hadn't managed to arrange financing for the project, blamed uncleared minefields in the area.

Inpex's loss of operator rights at Azadegan may not be bad for shareholders, Morgan Stanley's Gupta said. The terms governing the development of the oilfield wasn't economically attractive, she said.

``Its important for companies to think of net profit, shareholder value and quality of assets,'' she said.

Cheers!
DayDream

Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force

Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force
This site is maintained by the Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force (IIRTF) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The IIRTF assists companies pursuing reconstruction and other business opportunities in Iraq.

October 2006

On October 10, Iraq adopted an investment law that offers an accommodating regulatory environment for U.S. business. The law will take effect once published in the Official Gazette. Although various actions must be taken before Iraq’s new investment regime is fully functional, there are several noteworthy features of the recently-approved law:

All investors enjoy equal treatment under the law without regard to nationality (Art. 10);
Iraqi workers receive priority in hiring, but investors may hire non-Iraqi workers if Iraqi workers do not have the necessary qualifications (Art. 12);
Investors who obtain investment licenses from the National Commission on Investment are entitled to additional benefits. These benefits include:
For investors in specific areas, an exemption from taxes and fees for a period of ten years from the date commercial operations begin (Article 15.1); and
An exemption from fees, for a period of three years from the time an investment license is granted, for assets imported for the purposes of an investment project (Art. 17.1); and
The law prescribes clear procedures for obtaining an investment license (Art. 19-20).
Further analysis of the investment law will be made available soon.

You can view the Investment Law here:
http://www.export.gov/iraq/pdf/investment_law_1006.pdf

Cheers!
DayDream