Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 08/09/09 - 09/01/10

Ministry of Oil: we seek to prepare the designs for three refineries in Kirkuk and Maysan and Nasiriyah

Attributed the Undersecretary of the Ministry for oil refineries Chandler Ahmed decrease in the production of oil derivatives to the ongoing maintenance and rehabilitation of the major refineries.

Chandler explained in a press statement that the refineries operating at present can not be described at maximum capacity due to the continued rehabilitation units in the critical units, such as improving the gasoline, causing a reduction in production.

He added that the ministry in the process of developing designs for three new large refineries in each of Kirkuk and Maysan and Nasiriyah to meet the future needs to meet the increase in consumption.

Regarding the impact of new refineries in meeting the need of local oil derivatives, Chandler explained that it depends on the timing for implementation of such projects require large investments and time for implementation.

http://www.radiodijla.com/cgi-bin/ne...?id=2009-09-23

Finance Minister finishes 2010 Budget

The Iraqi Finance Minister, Bayyan Jabur, submitted to the Council of Ministers on Thursday the project of the 2010 federal budget.

"The Council will start debating the budget early next week," said a release posted on the Ministry's website.

It said that the budget will be sent to the parliament before Oct. 10, 2009, for final approval.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZA...10%20budget%20

Iraq: calling banks to launch its activities Investment

A group of Iraqi private banks formulate a unified stance to demand CBI repeal of article 28 of the Banking Act, which legitimized the Coalition Provisional Authority that ruled Iraq after 2003, in a step leading to the amendment in the law of large banks. The article contains the articles and paragraphs of the banking sector is restricted with respect to investment projects or partnerships.

The President of the Board of Directors of «Ashur International Bank» Investment Wadi Nuri al-Handal said in an interview to «life», that article 28 of the Banking Act has become a burden on banks, restricting domestic investment. He added that the cancellation contributes to activating the activity of banks, in addition to other banking operations, such as loans and the issuance of bonds, which recorded a decline due to security conditions in Iraq, which has reduced demand for credit banking sector, despite the financial sector capacity and the size of its capital and deposits.

In addition, Director General of the Department of Banking and credit of the Central Bank of Iraq and Walid Idi, said the private banks the right to make comments on the paragraphs contained in the Banking Act, and explained that the Board of Directors of the Central Bank will examine the proposals, received from the private banks, noting that Article 28 of the Banking Act subject to considerable debate about their effects in the performance of private banks in different sectors, or their participation in the activities of investment.

He pointed to the growing need to know what they need from the banking sector, positive legislation, including the granting of credit in the areas which fell considerably, no longer than 22 percent of the combined bank balance compared capitalized private banks in excess of $ 1.5 billion.

http://translate.googleusercontent.c...OdBp0mx3tpyHDQ

Iraq on collision course with OPEC or itself?

The Iraqi government has great expectations for its massive, low-cost oil resources. By opening the door to international oil companies for the first time since Saddam Hussein's Baathist party nationalized oil concessions in 1972, the government is hoping to increase crude oil production to six million barrels per day (bpd) from 2.5 million in five to six years. The successful implementation of its oil development plan would put Iraq on a collision course with OPEC.

The most likely factor to impede the rapid development of Iraq's oil resources, besides another oil price war, is a civil war between Arabs and Kurds. Wars and their aftermath have been impeding Iraqi oil ministry plans to rapidly ramp up oil production for the past three decades.

Despite the first of two licensing rounds being a relative flop, Iraq could still easily meet its production goals; a testament to the country's incredible resource base. On June 30, the Iraqi oil ministry awarded only one of eight 20-year service contracts -- six major oil and two gas fields -- up for bid after asking the leading consortium to accept drastically lower service fees.

BP and China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) agreed to accept US$2 per barrel, rather than US$3.99 per barrel, to re-develop the Rumaila field, the country's largest explored oil field. Rumaila has 17.7 billion of proven oil reserves, more than a half of the United State's total reserves. The BP/CNPC consortium has agreed to increase Rumaila's production to 2.85 million bpd from one million within six years, which would place it second in productivity to Saudi Arabia's Ghawar field.

Learning from its mistakes, the Iraqi oil ministry has softened the terms for the second bid round, to be awarded in December. The second round is for 10 oil and gas fields, and the goal is to produce an additional two million to 2.5 million bpd from these fields within four to five years.

If Iraq was to increase production to six million bpd during the next six years, the annual increment would be almost 600,000 bpd. The demand for OPEC crude oil (excluding inventory changes) increased by an average of 500,000 bpd per year over the past decade.

It is unlikely the other OPEC members (such as Saudi Arabia) would allow Iraq to grab all the incremental demand for OPEC crude oil and more over the next six years without a fight, especially since OPEC-11 spare capacity has increased to 6.6 million bpd because the Global Recession, and the Saudi's 1.2 million bpd Khurais field is just coming on line.

Although violence in Iraq has dropped significantly since the Shiite-Sunni bloodbath in 2006 and 2007, northern Iraq remains the country's most dangerous region. Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia retains a foothold in Mosul, Iraq's largest northern city, where bombings, shootings and assassinations remain almost everyday occurrences. The Sunni extremists are attempting to ignite ethnic tensions between Arabs and Kurds in the north, as they previously did between Shiites and Sunnis in central Iraq.

Al-Qaeda's potential to start a conflagration in the north is great, given the Kurds desire for greater autonomy if not outright independence. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has enjoyed de-facto independence from Baghdad since the end of the Gulf war in 1991 and is resistant to the Iraqi government's drive to re-centralize power.

In contrast, the KRG is advocating a highly flexible federal system that would allow it almost complete control over the region and to extend its borders to the "disputed areas" beyond the "green line" separating Kurdistan from the rest of Iraq. The KRG believes it should have full control over the natural resources in the region, not the central government, and has awarded a number of contracts to oil companies to develop its oil fields

Despite allowing two new fields in Kurdistan -- Tawke operated by Norway's DNO International and Taq Taq operated by Addax Petroleum, now part of China's Sinopec -- to export a total of 100,000 bpd through the northern pipeline running to the Turkish port of Ceyhan since June 1, the Iraqi government continues to deem all contracts signed by foreign firms and the KRG as illegal. To date, Baghdad has failed to pay either DNO or Addax for its exported oil.

The disputed territories that the KRG claim as their own involve 11 to 15 areas outside the green line containing a mix of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and smaller ethnic groups, with the city and province of Kirkuk at the heart of the matter. Kirkuk produces about a fifth of Iraq's oil and holds about 16% of its proven oil reserves. More important, Kurds view Kirkuk as their "Jerusalem." Heavily armed Kurdish Peshmerga forces have kept Iraqi army units from entering the disputed territories under their control.

U.S. officials, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and General Raymond Odierno, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, have warned that ethnic tensions could break into armed conflict between the Iraqi military and Kurdish Peshmerga, or even a civil war between Arabs and Kurds, particularly after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq at the end of 2011.

*Vincent Lauerman is president of the Calgary-based consultancy Geopolitics Central, and the former editor of the journal Geopolitics of Energy. He has been analyzing and commenting on geopolitical issues and the world oil market for more than 20 years.

http://www.financialpost.com/news-se...tml?id=2028866

Shell & Iraq Ithiian to sign a partnership deal after the approval of oil & gas law
Negotiations between Shell and the giant Mitsubishi and Iraq to finalize the contract to set up an investment company associated gas to extract oil from the southern Basra fields ...

It was the month of September is the end of the current time limit set by the two sides to end the negotiations, which began a year ago and the signing of the contract.

However, delayed passage of the Law to join such agreements in Iraq has prevented the signing of the contract on time. The U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, during his testimony before Congress recently that "companies that want to sign oil contracts with Iraq that it did not foresee the issuance of oil and gas law before the end of elections in January next."

On the delay in reaching agreement on the company, said Spokesman of the Ministry of Oil, said the project "a very large and needs to build a sound foundation to reach an agreement that would guarantee the rights of all parties to obtain the optimal investment," adding that "consultations are continuing until reaching a final agreement formula in terms of technical aspects and financial, legal, and until the completion of those requirements, the ministry will announce it, "noting that" the period of negotiations agreed upon a year of the date of signing the Agreement of Principles, nearing completion, and may be extended for another period."

The Ministry of Petroleum and in September signed an agreement of principles in September 2008 with Shell International, which established the conditions to establish a preliminary joint venture to invest in gas associated with oil produced from the fields of the province of Basra in southern Iraq.

In the case of adoption of these conditions, the South Gas Company will own the majority of shares by 51% in the joint venture, while Shell will own 44% and Mitsubishi 5%. The company will collect and joint development of gas processing and associated crude which is produced in Basra, and then sell the natural gas processor with associated products such as condensate and liquefied petroleum gas for use in local markets and export to world markets.

http://translate.googleusercontent.c...ToiU6DTG0g-UHQ

President Talabani calls on the United Nations decision to end the sanctions and the clear implications of the former regime's invasion of Kuwait

Delivered by President Jalal Talabani on Friday before the word Iraq 46 th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The president asked the United Nations to cancel all its previous resolutions adopted against Iraq after the invasion of the former regime of Kuwait, saying that those decisions affect the sovereignty of Iraq, and no longer have any justification.

Talabani added: "We want a clear decision of the Security Council end the decisions it made, and arranged the financial commitments in Iraq continue to suffer under the burdens."

Talabani addressed in his speech wave of bombings that have hit Baghdad in Wednesday, hit a bloody genocide and crimes against humanity, stressing that the greatest challenge facing Iraqis in the coming period is to the success of the forthcoming legislative elections in January next year, saying that the success of these elections will the country on track and will strengthen the political system based on democracy, pluralism and the peaceful transfer of the Authority.

http://translate.googleusercontent.c...W1ZwIhoAFeY6LA

In his speech to the UN .. Talabani: the time has come to reconsider the decisions relating to Iraq

Called Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the UN Security Council pass a resolution that comes out of Iraq subject to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

Talabani said in a speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations at its fifty-fourth and sixty: "We and the Iraqi people behind us and look forward to such a day when Iraq is not shackled restrictions of Chapter VII sanctions and we are working towards a settlement of issues relating to Iraq in the UN Security Council issues inherited from the former regime, and arranged on our commitments to work to meet them.

He stressed that Iraq will continue to work with relevant parties and stakeholders in the United Nations to reach a settlement satisfactory to all parties and without prejudice to our obligations under Security Council resolutions.

Talabani said that the situation in Iraq, and as a result of the major positive developments that occurred since the fall of the former regime and get rid of the dictatorship, it is fundamentally different from the situation which existed when the UN Security Council adopted resolution 661 in 1990.

He said that after the adoption of Security Council resolution 1859 in 2008, and the issuance of the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in response to the fifth paragraph of that resolution, the time has come for the Security Council acted in response to the report of the Secretary-General, under the mandate entrusted to it and its responsibility in the maintenance of international peace and security, to reconsider decisions relating to Iraq, which was passed by a Chapter VII resolution from 661 to 1990 and the form in which to return to the international status of Iraq was Itboowha before making those decisions.

Talabani stressed that Iraq, since the collapse of the former regime in 2003, was keen to respect international legitimacy and to deal with Security Council resolutions relevant to Iraq and the situation between Iraq and Kuwait brother highest degree of responsibility and respect.

On the other hand Talabani said that there is a real threat facing Iraq at the current stage as a result of this intervention in its internal affairs, which to the extent of committing the most atrocious crimes against innocent citizens and the various components of the Iraqi people, men, women and children and the elderly.

And that these criminal operations and the legacy of large numbers of the victims live up to the crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity, punishable under international law.

He noted that operations of this level of organization and complexity and magnitude can not be planned, funded and implemented without the support of the forces and external parties. The indications and preliminary investigations into the presence of third parties involved in these processes.

Talabani said that the Iraqi government found itself compelled to resort to the United Nations in order to protect its citizens and stop the bloodshed of the innocent Iraqi, adding that he looks forward to helping the international community and its support for Iraq's position in the formation of an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate the crimes of terrorism against the people of Iraq.

UN Secretary-General of the United Nations has designated the senior official level to assess the extent of foreign intervention, which threatens the safety and security of Iraq and terrorism crimes as war crimes, genocide and looking forward to better cooperation and coordination with neighboring countries and the relevant States to control the border and exchange information and coordinate efforts and to prevent groups that sponsor terrorism action against Iraq and under any guise whatsoever.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...itics&id=15737

Sami Atrushi: Parties Act will be migrated to the next parliamentary session with a number of controversial laws

MP Sami Atrushi on the mass of the Kurdistan Islamic Union that the parties law will, among other controversial laws which will leave for the next parliamentary session.

Atrushi said in a statement received by the independent press (Iba) a copy of it on Friday due to "the sensitivity of the decisions contained in the law relating to the formation and registration of political parties and join their financial resources, accounting and control and their relations, and other details of a controversial".

Atrushi noted that the political blocs in parliament has been unable to resolve details of the law because of differences between them on one hand, and concern for the parliament to other laws and especially the revision of law on parliamentary elections and the state budget for 2010, in addition to the preoccupation of parties and blocs to prepare for the elections and the formation of coalitions.

The Committee did not begin the appropriate procedures fundamentalist legislation introduced the bill for first reading today.

And that the Presidency of the parliament and the fear that the provisions of the bill received substantive objections of the political blocs to prevent further legislation began submitting it to the masses to agree on them before being submitted to the Council, noting that "this has not been pursued by the Presidency with other laws, especially by granting long been distributed copies since the previous legislative term."

The Atrushi that differences on the articles of the draft law, which contained many of the government of the Parliament will not be able to resolve.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...itics&id=15723

Anwar: KAB requested to approve laws, not postpone

Ahmed Anwar, an Iraqi MP from the Kurdistan Alliance Bloc (KAB) told PUKmedia correspondent “for several times, the KAB has requested to approve the important laws and not to postpone them, including the laws of elections and general census.”

Anwar expressed his wonderment from the accusations of MP Waiel Abdul Latef to the KAB, which stated that the KAB is postponing important laws in the Iraqi Parliament.

http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...13509&Itemid=1

2010 budget were calculated according to the price of $ 60 a barrel

Ministry of Finance submitted the draft federal budget law for 2010 to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, while hotline to receive complaints from citizens.

An official source at the ministry in a statement to the "morning", Finance Minister Baqir Jabr Al-Zubaidi, a draft federal budget law for 2010 to the Secretariat for the Council of Ministers in order to be sent to the House of Representatives prior to the tenth of next month, the deadline for submission according to the law and then discussion and approval at a later time. He explained that the budget calculated price of a barrel of oil at 60 dollars, and the rate of export two million barrels a day, referring to the budget support from the non-oil revenues notably the tax and customs. devoted to the different level Office of the Inspector General in the ministry figures 07,901,943,712 and 07,901,919,107 to receive complaints citizens on the performance of the ministry, the document said in a press statement of the ministry.

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