Thread: Archive News - Iraqi Dinar Think Tank - 06/10/2010 - 24/01/2011

Iraq’s Batna Oil Field resumes production after 20 years of stoppage

Northern Iraq’s Batna Oil Field in Nineveh Province has resumed production after 20 year stoppage, with Iraqi cadres, an official in Nineveh Oil Comission said on Tuesday, expressing hope that its production would exceed 2,000 barrels per day (bpd).

“The comissioning of Batna Field, one of the oil fields in northwest Mosul’s Zummar town, stopped more than 20 years ago, shall add a new production energy, exceeding 2,000 bpd, in Nineveh Province,” the official source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq News Agency.

The source said “Batna Oil Field had been rehabilitated and commissioned by Iraqi cadres of the state-owned North Iraq’s Oil Company,” without adding further details.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=138544

Church killings may put end to Christianity in Iraq

The killing of more than 50 Iraqi Christians among them two priests in a single incident as they celebrated mass on Sunday could empty the country of its dwindling Christian minority, a senior Christian official said.

Abdullah al-Nawfali, head of the department representing different Christian denominations in the country, said the incident, the deadliest against Iraqi Christians since the 2003-U.S.-led invasion, has sent the wrong message to those opting to stay.

“There is a danger that the incident at Our Lady of Salvation church will boomerang on the presence of Iraqi Christians in Iraq,” Nawfali, who is a director-general at the Iraqi Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, said.

“The incident is certain to lead to more emigration among members of the community,” he said.

However, he urged Iraqi Christians to show “patience and stay put, asking the government to provide the necessary protection.”

“The incident at the church of Our Lady of Salvation is a very dangerous precedent which I am afraid will put the presence of Iraqi Christians in Iraq in jeopardy.”

“Iraqi Christians were not at all prepared for such a calamity as their numbers have already been halved since 2003,” he said.

In the meantime, he said the option to flee the country was “the worse of two evils.”

“Emigration is a second death, but it happens outside instead of inside the country,” he said.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index...11-03\kurd.htm

Iraq parliament 'to elect speaker' next week

Iraq's parliament will convene on Monday to elect a new speaker and two deputies, the first steps in forming a government nearly eight months after inconclusive elections, the acting speaker said.

"A session will convene on Monday to elect the president of the parliament and his two associates," the caretaker speaker, Fuad Massum, said in a statement.

The Sunni-dominated Iraqiya bloc of former premier Iyad Allawi narrowly won the March 7 election with 91 seats in the 325-member parliament, followed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shiite State of Law Alliance with 89.

Neither has been able to muster the majority needed to form a government, despite back-door negotiations with various Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs that also picked up seats.

Last month, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court ordered parliament to resume work and get on with the business of forming a government.

The ruling was the result of a case a dozen civic groups brought against Massum in mid-August accusing him of violating the constitution by leaving open the Council of Representatives' first session, without any progress on the election of a new speaker.

That, they alleged, was blocking the election of a new national president and prime minister.

Massum told AFP that the court's ruling was "a correct decision. I will follow it, and I call on all MPs to do the same."

In Damascus, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday called for the speedy formation of a government of national unity in Baghdad, after meeting visiting Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdel Mehdi.

Assad said it was "necessary to accelerate the formation of a unity government in Iraq that enjoys popular support for restoring security in this country."

Constitutionally, Iraq's parliament must choose a speaker and two deputies, then name a president, whose first job is to name the leader of the coalition with the largest number of seats in parliament to try to form a government.

The constitution stipulates that a speaker, president and prime minister must be elected in that order.

Iraq's four main political blocs, none of which holds a parliamentary majority, have made little progress in cobbling together a governing coalition since the general election.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidAN...%20next%20week

Iraq FM welcomes Saudi hosting talks on new government

Iraq's foreign minister said on Wednesday his country welcomed a Saudi proposal to host talks for resolving a deadlock over forming a government, nearly eight months after polls.

"It is a good initiative and we welcome it because it comes to serve the people," Hoshyar Zebari told a news conference in Iraq's first official reaction to the proposal.

He added, however, that "we are surprised because we did not receive any official notification, and heard about it through the media."

Iraq has been without a new government since a March 7 election in which the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc led by former premier Iyad Allawi won 91 seats, followed by incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law with 89.

Despite intense back-room negotiations, neither side has been able to muster the 163 seats required for a majority in Iraq's 325-member parliament.

Late last month, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah invited Iraq's political leaders to meet in Riyadh after the mid-November Eid al-Adha holiday to bridge their differences and agree on a government.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal had said Iraqi political leaders had signalled support for the Saudi proposal, but there was no immediate official reaction from Iraq.

Prince Saud told reporters that Riyadh and Arab League sponsors of talks in the Saudi capital would only serve as facilitators.

"Saudi Arabia is not going to be an observer or take any part," he said.

He added that there were no preconditions and no time-limit was being set for the discussions, and that Saudi Arabia "will support any solution reached by the parties."

Asked whether Iran, Riyadh's rival for influence in Iraq, would be welcome as an observer or participant, Saud replied: "There is no intention for any international presence in these meetings; (they) are only for the Iraqis."

Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia has backed Allawi against the Shiite Maliki, whom they had long seen as too close to majority-Shiite Iran.

But Riyadh and other regional governments have grown concerned at the impasse and the effect it could have on Iraq's overall stability in the wake of the scheduled withdrawal of US troops at the end of next year.

In Baghdad, an MP close to Maliki, who is seeking to keep his job, had scorned the invitation shortly after it was made.

"This Saudi initiative is not positive, and that country does not have a role to play because it has not been neutral in recent years; it has always had a negative attitude" toward Maliki, Sami al-Askari said.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidAN...w%20government

Abdul Mehdi: Iraq government talks ongoing

Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi met with Syrian Vice President Farouk Al Sharea in Damascus.

Following the meeting, Abdul Mehdi noted that talks over the government formation are ongoing between the different political parties stressing that distributing positions and responsibilities has not been discussed yet.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...s-ongoing.html

Al Maliki visits wounded in hospitals

Iraqi outgoing Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki visited Iraqi wounded in hospitals, victims of violence taking grip of the country.

Baghdad Streets seemed empty in the morning after the night curfew on account of intelligence reporting 45 suspected car bombs.

http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News...hospitals.html

Expert: 70 percent of Iraq's natural gas burn daily without success and harm the environment

Experts have warned of the continuation of gas flaring in some countries in the region, said at a conference ADBIC 2010, said burning gas as such represents a major environmental problem where the cause of this process in the emission of approximately 400 million tons of carbon dioxide globally.

And confirmed the Daily Bulletin for the exhibition ADBIC the importance of the role played by the global partnership to reduce gas flaring of the World Bank and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy .. noting that this initiative highlights the effects of the burning of associated gas from oil wells in the Gulf region in the air and works with many national and foreign companies and global institutions.

The Daily Bulletin (ADBIC Daily News) The burning of gas represents a major environmental problem where it causes the process to the emission of approximately 400 million tons of carbon dioxide globally (which is equivalent to the proportion of more than 1 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions globally).

Said Paulo de Sa, Director of the oil and gas sector and mining in the World Bank that result from the process of burning gas, environmental consequences and economic consequences requires us to face .., noting that the reduction of gas flaring and increasing the use of natural gas would contribute effectively to the reduction of climate change and energy efficiency .

For his part, said Sam Nader, director of carbon intensity in the Abu Dhabi Future Energy (the source) that the initiative of Abu Dhabi's multifaceted renewable energy to organize the first forum in Muscat recently came to analyze the opportunities and challenges for projects to reduce gas flaring in the Gulf region and Arab as well as understanding the ways in which funding carbon which would make gas flaring reduction projects economically feasible.

The Middle East and North Africa, the second highest region in the world in terms of rates of gas flaring associated with a burn rate of associated gas where about 30 billion cubic meters, enough to feed the plant for liquefied natural gas production capacity of 20 million metric tons, or 6 units of liquefied natural gas medium-sized .. as Iraq is the third highest among 20 countries in the world in the rates of burning gas.

However, the global partnership to reduce gas flaring of the World Bank called on the Iraqi government to proceed in establishing projects to stop the gas burned in the air.

Another matter of interest and experts in this partnership, 70 percent of Iraq's natural gas that is emitted with the process of extracting oil burned every day to no avail and even damaging the natural environment and violates the rules of the Kyoto Protocol, which was joined by Iraq years ago.

The research raised in the forum Muscat that the burn per day of Iraqi gas enough to supply Jordan, for example twice with electric power and to mobilize 300 thousand gas cylinder per day .. According to the Commission on oil and gas parliamentary Iraqi loss of Iraq from the burning gas is 80 million dollars a day.

Experts believe that if he did not take swift action to address this problem with the development of oil production sum of the first licensing round and the second will increase the rate of burning gas to one billion cubic meters annually, which is sufficient to provide electrical power for countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt with Kthavathm population and industrial .. This results in burning emissions of more than a million tons of carbon dioxide.

It is expected to reach Ksairalamalip for Iraq alone to $ 16 billion annually in the year 2016.

And announced the former Iraqi electricity minister Karim Wahid further contracts to supply Iraq gas turbines of the two / GE GE / and / Siemens / corresponding to 10 megawatts, which Iraq has desperately needed .. Stressing that the success of this plan requires the provision of natural gas to the turbine.

The Shell International has offered a plan to stop this burning on the basis of partnership with the South Gas Company in Iraq and Mitsubishi of Japan.

Experts believe that Iraq, which has remained for decades, long a producer of Naftla still unable so far to exploit its wealth of invasive and surprised by these experts neglect the Iraqi government and gas projects at the same time import of Iraq's need of gas from neighboring countries while burning gas oil per day, leaving the exhaust into the atmosphere equivalent to Run 3 million cars.

Therefore, many decision-makers in the gas industry world advised the Iraqi government to ignore the causes that prevent the building industry developed for gas in Iraq to keep up with the global trend towards gas as an alternative clean, cheap energy .. and advised Iraq to benefit from the experience of Qatar and United Arab Emirates and Russia, which has become the gas sector where one of the sectors the task of national income and the energy industry.

Experts believe that foreign investments in Iraqi gas will shape the future of gas industry in Iraq to make it a gas resources on the task at the local, regional and resource indispensable for the European market .. In light of assertions that Iraq's fields producing gas made him assume the center's tenth largest gas reserves in the world.

There are international companies such as / Shell / are ready to provide advanced technologies for the exploitation of gas fields Almassahbamahrouk Basra to convert it to energy production while reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide affecting global warming and the environment in general in Basra in particular.

What is meant by the process of burning of associated gas from wells and treatment plants, oil refineries, gas, or both as a means to get rid of it or as a preventive measure to relieve the pressure.

This process of burning natural gas, most often in remote areas, they lack the necessary infrastructure to transport natural gas or the presence of domestic gas markets.

Has served the global partnership to reduce gas flaring since its founding in 2002 to encourage the efforts of various international aimed to eliminate the process of burning gas, such as the re-injected into oil reservoirs to increase oil production rates or converted to liquefied natural gas for shipping or transporting it to markets via pipelines or use the site to generate electricity.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...onomy&id=32132

Ministry of Transport: laying the foundation stone for the first floating hotel in Iraq

Transport Ministry announced that the Minister Amir Abdul-Jabbar Ismail laying the foundation stone for the first floating hotel in Iraq, which is the largest tourism and leisure project witnessed the province of Basra.

A source at the ministry told the independent press (Iba) project involves the first stage of building a hotel and a marina, restaurants and casinos on the Shatt al-Arab, while covering the second phase construction of scene and floating movie theater and the hotel will that has been laying the basis of the 48 resolved and 16 room salon and a large hall for the celebrations .

The source added support to the project contract signed by the shipping company with a local company running the joint and falls within the terms run 50% of the employees of the maritime transport, which would alleviate the salaries of the company in addition to get the company to 16% of imports and the value of the contract, which extends to fifteen year $ 10 million project is the first of its kind in Iraq as a floating hotel does not have a Before this great achievement.

http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php?nam...onomy&id=32163

Iraq is approaching from the membership of the World Trade Organization

The head of the Iraqi negotiating with the World Trade Organization, on Tuesday, that the committee reached the semi-final stages with the organization lead to Iraq's accession to it soon.

The purity of net debt to Kurdistan News Agency (Rn) "The Committee reached the semi-final stages to get Iraq on the World Trade Organization membership, after that was exceeded most of the obstacles faced by the two sides on matters of technical and purely commercial."

The net that "the obstacle that prevents access to Iraq's WTO membership is a file of Iraq's debt, which will hopefully be resolved soon, according to financial strategy, considering." As he put it.

The net that "the World Trade Organization were previously wary of government plans to support the Iraqi dinar, and elevate it to a value of U.S. dollar and the high differential cash between them," he said, adding that "Iraq has a good capacity to support the Iraqi dinar, which is qualified to be a member of organization that will support the trade in the country in a clear and consolidates the efforts of the government in the development of trade in the country. "

The team was Iraqi to join the World Trade Organization was established in December 13 / December 2004, and presented a memorandum to obtain membership of the Organization on 16 September 2005, the adoption of Iraq, an observer in the January 24, 2007, and began the meetings of the first round of the Group work in 2007, followed by a second round of meetings in 2008, then the third round the end of 2009.

Was the establishment of WTO TOW under the Convention on the Bretton Woods end of 1944 in the United States, was established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank under the Convention itself, the organization has currently approximately 150 countries.

http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/192927/

Talabani denies the withdrawal of his candidacy for the presidency for the benefit of the Iraqi

Denied Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Wednesday, agreeing to withdraw his candidacy for the presidency in favor of the list of "Iraq" led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, according to a presidential statement.

The statement, which received news agency (now) a copy of it, that "a number of newspapers and other media attributed to an anonymous source said President Jalal Talabani, agreed to withdraw his candidacy for the presidency for the benefit of the Iraqi National List, provided that is associated with the approval of the President of the Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani and dedicate the site to a predetermined figure. "

The presidential statement that "the Office of the President categorically denies this story fabricated and based on any incorrect information."

The press sources have been moved two days before the source, who declined to be named, as saying that the Adviser Vice President for National Security Affairs Anthony Blenkn request last week from President Jalal Talabani explicitly to step down from running for the presidency for a second term for the purpose of a settlement satisfactory to the Iraqi List, and accelerate the formation of government.

According to the source, "Talabani expressed his approval of the proposed prerequisites for the U.S., the first to be Ayad Allawi (exclusively) is the candidate for the post of President of the Republic, and the second obtaining the approval of the President of the Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani on the proposal.

The presidential statement stressed that the "coalition of the Kurdish blocs nominated Talabani for the presidency, and declared the Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani, more than once that the Kurds are committed to this nomination as a deserving national, and not political."

And he added "So Talabani is not free to waive the resolutions issued by the Kurdish parties together and supported by the majority of other political forces, particularly the National Alliance, which has the largest bloc in the parliament."

The Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani, has been renewed, in a statement issued late last month, Kurds hold the position of the presidency.

Barzani said after the meeting of the coalition blocs of Kurdistan in Irbil in the presence of Talabani said that "the actions of some characters and the Iraqi authorities increase the determination to claim this position, because it is right As the second component in Iraq," stressing that "we will not accept to handle others problems at the expense of the Kurds."

Some of the leaders of the Iraqi List, and other statements may have suggested their desire to take personal Arab Iraqi presidency of the Republic, because of the identity of the majority Arab population, and represents that statements by Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, who stressed the need to be president of Iraq, the Arab world.

And confirms the coalition Kurdish blocs that his alliance with any other cluster is subject to approval of the negotiating paper consisting of 19 items, including granting the Kurds the post of presidency.

http://alanenews.org/news.php?action=view&id=2373