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

Originally Posted by CharmedPiper

I find this interesting, this is the numbers I pulled from the Trade Bank of Iraq....Looks like the local banks are recognizing the "street" value.


BUY SELL
Australian Dollar ( AUD ) 994.440 1,091.44
Canadian Dollar( CAD ) 1,081.53 1,186.55
Swiss Franc ( CHF ) 1,034.19 1,134.56
Euro ( EUR ) 1,664.26 1,825.67
British Pound ( GBP ) 2,470.18 2,709.08
Japanese Yen ( JPY ) 10.59052 11.61861
US Dollar ( USD ) 1,261.50 1,382.80

Updated: 1/1/2007 8:18:00 AM

I find this interesting as well, i've noticed the past week or so their rates are waaaay different than cbi's, normally they stay pretty close to what cbi states

Thank You for the responses, I've been working in country for 39 months and on the Dinar train from the start when a local I worked with in Tall'Afar said this was the best investment for Iraq. As for the locals in Mosul the holiday is over and back to the day to day route. They are holding on to their money and waiting for the government to come back to work to see how they will start the new year.

Originally Posted by PatKat

Thank You for the responses, I've been working in country for 39 months and on the Dinar train from the start when a local I worked with in Tall'Afar said this was the best investment for Iraq. As for the locals in Mosul the holiday is over and back to the day to day route. They are holding on to their money and waiting for the government to come back to work to see how they will start the new year.

Welcome to RolClub PatKat.

I (and the rest of us) look forward to your views and observations "on the ground" in Iraq.

I have a question for you....

Do you get a sense of stability when you are out and about, or do you have the overpowering feeling that something bad is about to happen (fear?).

I commend all who are serving in one capacity or another in Iraq and I'm curious to know how you see things, from your perspective.

The media wants us to believe Iraq is on the brink of civil war and I'd like to know your take on that.

Thank you.

Pentagon helping restart old Iraq government factories in jobs program
By PAULINE JELINEK
04 January 2007 (AP Worldstream)

As President George W. Bush ponders how to salvage the Iraq military campaign, business minds at the Pentagon are moving ahead with a part of the equation fighting Iraq's unemployment and trying to boost its economy.

Under a new program, the Defense Department is already helping reopen factories that were owned by Saddam Hussein's government and abandoned by occupation authorities shortly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The Pentagon may also start providing them with contracts to support U.S. troops.

One factory restarted operations in the last two weeks, and nine more are to open by the end of this month, a Pentagon official said Wednesday, adding some 11,000 Iraqis to employment rolls.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been released yet.

Pentagon officials declined to identify the facilities for fear they or their employees could be attacked amid the country's increasing violence.

Reopening factories that produced everything from cement to buses for Saddam's regime is among the ideas that have been discussed by Bush as he struggles to find the way forward in Iraq after nearly four years of war.

Bush is expected to announce a new Iraq strategy next week.

He is widely expected to say he wants to send additional U.S. troops there.

Military commanders have long seen employment as one of the keys to slowing the violence. The idea of restarting factories differs from some previous reconstruction efforts that have had limited success in that it's aimed at providing long-term employment for factory workers as opposed to short-term jobs that came with individual rebuilding projects.

The Pentagon formed a task force six months ago that has identified some 200 factories _ producers of textiles, industrial equipment and other goods _ that could be restarted.

Paul Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense in charge of business modernization efforts, said in a recent interview that putting idle Iraqis back to work should help calm violence because it will leave fewer disgruntled men willing to plant bombs or commit other crimes for money.

"I believe there's an indisputable correlation between peoples' livelihoods ... and unrest, civil unrest, social unrest," he said.

Iraqi unemployment is thought to be from 20 percent to 60 percent, with inflation above 50 percent. More than 1.5 million Iraqis, mostly professionals, are believed to have fled abroad, according to the U.N. and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which recommended a new Iraq strategy to Bush last month.

Officials hope the factory reopenings will be the first wave in a series of restarts that will stretch throughout the next year to restore jobs lost after the 2003 invasion. At that time, occupation officials of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority decided to do nothing with the government facilities, hoping they would quickly be taken over by the private sector.

Privatization of the businesses never happened as violence gripped the country and disrupted the economy. But if the factories start producing and become well-functioning enterprises, that could be a step toward any privatization effort the new officials may decide upon.

Under the new program, private as well as government factories would be restarted. The American military expects to be among the customers for some of the restarted operations.

"We buy a lot of items, all kinds of items," such as cement and furniture, Brinkley said. "We import a portion of that. But if there are Iraqis who make things that we can buy, it just makes lots of good sense to buy it from Iraqis ... to stimulate the economy, build good will."

The U.S. military is spending more than $100 billion (A75 million) annually for the war. Brinkley said he hopes to spark the Iraqi economy by funneling some of it to newly restarted factories.

While the average worker in American supports four people, the average Iraqi workers supports 13, Brinkley said.

"For every Iraqi you put back to work, it has a huge cascading effect," he said.

Pentagon helping restart old Iraq government factories in jobs program | Iraq Updates


January will be full with activity once it opens the 7th/8th!

Test oil well produces 8,500 barrels in Iraq

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OSLO, 04 January 2007 (Gulf Daily News)

A test oil well in northern Iraq produced 8,500 barrels per day (bpd), the most of three wells tested in the first post-war drilling by a foreign firm, Norwegian oil company DNO said yesterday.

"We are very pleased with the well and how the project is progressing," DNO managing director Helge Eide said of the results from the Tawke number 4 well.

Two previous tests of the field had produced flow rates of about 5,000 and 4,000 barrels per day, he said.

The wells could be put into production during the first quarter of 2007, as soon as a processing plant is ready.

DNO is the first western company drilling for oil in post-war Iraq under a 2004 deal with the Kurdistan regional authorities. It is uncertain, however, how far the deal will be respected by the central authorities in Baghdad.

The company said that drilling of the Tawke 4 well began on December 14 and that the test was via a 2-inch choke.

Oil samples confirmed similar quality of crude as produced in tests of Tawke wells 1/1A and 2.

The drilling rig would be moved about 1.1km east to drill a new well.

Originally Posted by Maddawg

Test oil well produces 8,500 barrels in Iraq

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OSLO, 04 January 2007 (Gulf Daily News)

A test oil well in northern Iraq produced 8,500 barrels per day (bpd), the most of three wells tested in the first post-war drilling by a foreign firm, Norwegian oil company DNO said yesterday.

"We are very pleased with the well and how the project is progressing," DNO managing director Helge Eide said of the results from the Tawke number 4 well.

Two previous tests of the field had produced flow rates of about 5,000 and 4,000 barrels per day, he said.

The wells could be put into production during the first quarter of 2007, as soon as a processing plant is ready.

DNO is the first western company drilling for oil in post-war Iraq under a 2004 deal with the Kurdistan regional authorities. It is uncertain, however, how far the deal will be respected by the central authorities in Baghdad.

The company said that drilling of the Tawke 4 well began on December 14 and that the test was via a 2-inch choke.

Oil samples confirmed similar quality of crude as produced in tests of Tawke wells 1/1A and 2.

The drilling rig would be moved about 1.1km east to drill a new well.

While I was in Iraq we saw pools of oil ON TOP OF THE GROUND. A couple of months ago DNO reported hitting oil at 350 meters. This well was started on Dec.14th. and produces 8500BD. And, they are only moving the drilling rig 1.1 km, a little over a half mile. I would like to think that every two weeks they can put a well like this one into production. Thank You.

Originally Posted by PatKat

Just a note from Mosul Iraq, we are not able to buy any Dinar for the locals for the past two weeks.

Hello Dinar gang

My friend Mahier from southern Iraq called home yesterday. They told him that the IQD was 1216 to the dollar on the street, but they also told him IQD is almost impossible to get hold of.

This pretty much confirms PatCat's info.

Has anyone heard anything regarding the announcement that was supposed to be made today? I think Iraq is about 8 hours ahead of us and just wanted to find out the context of the announcement. Thanks for any informatin. Happy New Year to all!!

Originally Posted by PatKat

Thank You for the responses, I've been working in country for 39 months and on the Dinar train from the start when a local I worked with in Tall'Afar said this was the best investment for Iraq. As for the locals in Mosul the holiday is over and back to the day to day route. They are holding on to their money and waiting for the government to come back to work to see how they will start the new year.

Didn't we just see an article last night about the extension of the holiday until Sunday?

Good Morning Gang. I like to check the rate of IQD on yahoo U.S. Dollar to Iraqi Dinar Exchange Rate - Yahoo! Finance
and today, I noticed a rather sizeable increase in dinar. What's the strangest thing is that this yahoo converter always has worse rate than CBI, but yesterday and today, for the first time the rate is better. Something is cookin' I can smell miles away!