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

Halliburton complained of prices in Iraq
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Reso...7531293120600/

LONDON, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Oil companies working in Iraq complained of a "mafia" type atmosphere that drove the price of security up considerably, leaked U.S. diplomatic cables reveal.

Officials at oil services company Halliburton complained the price of security in Iraq was "unwarranted" during a modestly secure environment in 2008, confidential U.S. diplomatic cables leaked by WikiLeaks and published by London's Guardian newspaper reveal.

"Halliburton Iraq country manager decried a 'mafia' of these companies and their 'outrageous' prices, and said that they also exaggerate the security threat," wrote U.S. provincial reconstruction leader John Naland in a January cable.

An unnamed Halliburton executive complained of "questionable" reports on the vulnerability of its employees working in Iraq.

The Iraqi government and oil companies were also encouraged to get rid of most of the Westerners working as private security contractors in the country.

"According to XXXXXXXXXX, the government of Iraq is anxious to 'get rid of all the white faces carrying guns' in their streets," the cable reads.

Iraq oil revenue hits year's high
http://gulfnews.com/business/oil-gas...-high-1.736370

Baghdad: Revenue from Iraq's crude oil exports rose to $4.62 billion (Dh16.9 billion) in November, the highest level this year, the State Oil Marketing Organisation said.
The average oil price for exports was $80.59 a barrel, compared with $77.10 in October and $73.07 in September, SOMO said yesterday.
Revenue from the southern oil hub of Basra climbed to the highest level this year to $3.69 billion with exports of 46 million barrels in November.
Shipments from the northern oil hub of Kirkuk, often the target of insurgent attacks, dropped to 11.3 million barrels from 12.5 million barrels in October. Sales from Kirkuk generated $925 million compared with $993 million the previous month.
Overall exports last month dropped 2.4 per cent to 57.3 million barrels, or about 1.91 million barrels a day, compared with 58.7 million barrels, or 1.89 million barrels a day, in October.
Iraq is seeking foreign investors to help boost oil production, which has suffered from insurgent attacks and lack of investment.
The government awarded 12 oil development contracts to international companies since the US-led invasion.

Iraq wants to lead oil world
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/...0381293712780/

BAGHDAD, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Iraqi oil production is increasing to the point that it will dominate oil policies on the global stage, a deputy prime minister for energy said.

Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul-Karim Elaibi claimed Monday that output had increased 100,000 barrels a day to 2.6 million bpd and will hit higher targets "sooner than expected."

Iraq plans to boost production to as much as 12 million bpd by 2017, which would put the Iraqis near Saudi Arabia's current capacity.

Hussain al-Shahristani, who left the post of oil minister to become the deputy prime minister for energy in the new Iraqi government, said his country would be at the forefront of world oil producers when production hits 12 million barrels of oil per day within the next six year, Iraqi news agency Azzaman reports.

"Iraq shall dominate international oil policy in terms of distribution, prices and marketing," he said.

Iraq has signed 15 oil and gas production contracts with major international energy companies to boost production.

Iraq gets most of its revenue from oil sales, though rich natural gas deposits have drawn international interest. The country aims to sign off on gas deals with Royal Dutch Shell and Mitsubishi by the end of January.

Navy chief's praise for Iraqi forces
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/newshome...aqi.6674795.jp

A NAVAL officer who faced rocket fire in Baghdad says he has seen progress in the region after returning to the Arabian Gulf.
Andrew Burns, commanding officer of the frigate HMS Somerset, faced heavy fire when he worked in Iraq in 2004 flying from camps to embassies in Black Hawk helicopters.

But the 41-year-old, who lives near Emsworth, says the security situation is muADVERTISEMENT

ch improved and that the Iraqi Navy is working well to defend its coastline and two valuable oil platforms.

Commander Burns has just returned from a five-month patrol of Iraqi waters with Somerset, which combined anti-piracy work with 200 ship boardings aimed at improving maritime security.

He said: 'We have worked extremely hard across the deployment to help provide reassurance to the people using the Arabian Gulf.

'We have patrolled around Iraq's most valuable oil platform and have visited several countries in the region to improve relations with Britain.'

The Type 23 frigate travelled through the Suez Canal in the summer and was on high alert for pirates raiding off the coast of Somalia.

The ship provided cover as she travelled east for the tankers transporting fuel and goods from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean.

Somerset then moved north into the Arabian Gulf where she carried out ship visits to promote peaceful trade.

Her key role though was protecting the Al Basrah Oil Terminal 12 miles off the coast of Iraq, which is the country's biggest source of income.

Oil terminals provide around 80 per cent of Iraq's Gross Domestic Product by enabling super-tankers to collect oil transported by pipeline from inland fields.

Cdr Burns said: 'We have an important role to play defending it, though the Iraqis are getting close to the stage where they can carry out that role for themselves.

'It's encouraging to see Iraq's development from 2004.

'At that point the security situation was not great, but you've now got Iraq exporting its oil which is great for its prosperity.'

Gulf Keystone Seeks Move To FTSE
http://www.emii.com/Articles/2742016...e-To-FTSE.aspx

Gulf Keystone Petroleum is seeking to move up to the main market in the first half of next year, Financial Times reports. If admitted to the main list, the Iraq-focused oil explorer will move straight into the FTSE 250.
Gulf Keystone will also be one of a select group of companies that have moved upwards from Aim in despite not yet having turned a profit nor pumped any oil. The company is yet to make any money for its investors, which include institutions, such as Prudential and Halifax...........................

Iraq advisers seeks a third of Gulf Keystone oil wealth
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...il-wealth.html
Gulf Keystone Petroleum is facing a legal battle over its Iraqi oil fields, after an advisory company run by a former US special forces officer filed a claim for up to 30pc of its lucrative reserves.
The £1.25bn AIM-listed explorer saw its share price dive 17 to 167½p after disclosing that it is strongly contesting a suit filed 12 days ago in London’s Commercial Court. It has also been hit with a request for arbitration proceedings in New York.
The claim has been brought by Excalibur Ventures LLC, described on its website as offering advisory services related to Iraq – from project finance to translators and security. It is run by Rex Wempen, co-founder of the US-Iraq chamber of commerce and former security consultant.
Excalibur is claiming that it introduced Gulf Keystone Petroleum’s management to opportunities in Iraq’s Kurdistan region and had a contract to develop the area together three years ago. It also applied for a freezing order on Gulf Keystone’s assets, which was rebuffed by the London court.
Gulf Keystone is expected to argue that it never had a contract with Excalibur, but admit that its chief executive Todd Kozel had worked with Mr Wempen through a private company Texas Keystone.
Texas Keystone has a commercial relationship with Gulf Keystone, providing “professional management and administrative services” worth up to $2m in some years. It is Texas Keystone that “initially led the pursuit of opportunities” for oil exploration in Kurdistan, from which Gulf Keystone later profited.
Texas Keystone signed a contract with Excalibur, which it will argue was cancelled on the grounds that its partner could not get approval from Kurdistan’s oil ministry.
“To my knowledge, and from correspondence with the ministry, Excalibur was not a qualified bidder for oil contracts,” Mr Kozel said.
Texas Keystone negotiated Gulf Keystone’s contract with the Kurdistan regional government for the Shaikan oil field, which is estimated to hold up to 4.2bn barrels. In return, it got a 5pc stake in the field and Gulf Keystone pays its operating expenses.
Mr Kozel said: “We believe we have very good grounds to vigorously challenge these claims in both the US and UK courts. We are confident of being able to defeat these claims in any legal jurisdiction and meanwhile, we remain focused on building upon our considerable operational success and continuing to prove the full value of our world class acreage.”
The Sunday Telegraph revealed in September that Gulf Keystone was planning a move to the main market and the company insisted on Wednesday this was still the plan.
Gulf Keystone said it did not receive notice of the claims until December 23, and has since been taking legal advice.

Turkey Flexes Economic, Political Muscle In Iraq
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/31/132475...muscle-in-iraq
December 31, 2010
Turkey is stepping up its role in Iraq, vying with Iran as a regional power. These powerful neighbors use investments and building projects to ensure long-term influence. The competition is heating up as the U.S. prepares to withdraw troops from Iraq by the end of next year.

Northern Iraq is the staging ground for Turkey's bid for economic dominance, and the Marina restaurant in Irbil is the kind of place that businessmen come to make deals. The food is pricey, and the live entertainment is in Turkish, a sign of Turkey's growing role. In the central market, Turkish products are available in every shop stall.

Local university professor Birzo Abdul Qhader surveys the goods on display.

"These baskets are Turkish, the plastic flowers, towels, the children's clothes," he says.

Turkish builders are active, too. A Turkish firm designed and built Irbil's new international airport. Turkish companies have invested in new five-star hotels and housing estates. And in the energy sector, state companies are exploring for oil in the south, while private oil companies are staking claims to discovered oil near Irbil.

"They've basically traded the stick for the carrot," says Greg Gause, who teaches about the politics of the Middle East at the University of Vermont.

"The Turks have predominant influence of any foreign power, even rivaling the U.S., and they've done it through a clever and low-key strategy," he says.

The economic boom in the north is due to the relative stability in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. It is also due to a dramatic shift in Turkish policy.

"[The Turks] are a very serious player in the Kurdish economy, which is doing much better than the rest of Iraq," Gause says. "But they've also gained a lot more day-to-day influence than they've ever had in the past."

Turkey's Historic Shift Toward Iraq

For years, Turkey opposed Kurdish autonomy in Iraq and did not recognize the Kurdish regional government, preferring to deal exclusively with Baghdad. Turkey has long feared that Kurdish aspirations for independence would incite Turkey's own Kurdish minority. The Turkish army conducted cross-border raids against the PKK, separatist Kurdish rebels who are fighting for an ethnic homeland for Kurds.

The Turks have predominant influence of any foreign power [in Iraq], even rivaling the U.S., and they've done it through a clever and low-key strategy.

- Greg Gause, University of Vermont
But the government in Ankara, dominated by the AKP, or Justice and Development Party, has made a historic shift, symbolized by an official visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu and the opening of a Turkish consulate in Irbil. Turkey's overall trade with Iraq has jumped to more than $6 billion a year, and Ankara's goal is to raise trade to $25 billion in five years, making Iraq its top trading partner. With Iraq's vast oil reserves, Turkey aims to be a major energy bridge from the Middle East to Europe.

Eric Davis is a Middle East specialist at Rutgers University. He notes that the Turkish chamber of commerce and industry has been lobbying the government not to allow the military to attack PKK forces whenever it wants, because that threatens investments in the north.

Indeed, stability in the north has led to a housing demand, which opened opportunities for Turkish contractors. Turkish laborers are building thousands of housing units in Irbil. Success in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq has led to bids farther south.

"Maybe we will go further down to Basra," says construction manager Serdar Kutsal, who has plans for a project in Karbala, south of Baghdad. "We will — but most likely we will go with our Kurdish friends."

In Baghdad, a Turkish consortium outbid an Iranian group for an $11 billion project to renovate Sadr City, the capital's largest Shiite neighborhood. Turkey is contesting Iran's economic dominance in southern Iraq with a consulate in Basra that focuses on trade.

"Different kind of influence — I know what Turkey is trying to do, and it is definitely a win-win policy," Kutsal says.

This is a historic rivalry, says Davis of Rutgers University. "This is like going back to the Ottoman Empire and the Safavids ... in the 1500s. This is the old struggle for Iraq between the Turks and the Iranians," he says.

Building Ties In Kurdistan And Baghdad

In the modern contest, carried out in business suits rather than military uniforms, Turkey appears to have Arab and American backing to keep Iran in check. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited Ankara to get Turkish support for his bid to form the new government. He also sought approval in many more visits to Tehran.

"I think that's the long-term Turkish goal here, and in many ways, the long-term Iranian goal is to so tie the business and economic elements that their influence becomes so pervasive that it's unquestioned," says Gause of the University of Vermont.

Iran has historic political ties to Iraq's Kurds and Shiite Arabs and used those connections to press for an Iraqi government in line with Iranian interests. Turkey flexed political muscles, too, says Joost Hiltermann with the International Crisis Group.

"The regional states absolutely had an influence — but none of them was able to impose the solution it wanted," he says.

With so much at stake, Turkey continues to build ties to the leadership in the Kurdistan regional government as well as Baghdad. In a telling piece of political symbolism, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan, the leader of a predominantly Sunni Muslim nation, attended the Shiite commemoration of Ashura, one of the most important holidays on the religious calendar. It is a gesture that will likely be noted by the dominant Shiite leaders in Baghdad. The Turks have shown that religion can be good for business.

In an office in Irbil, Turkish businessman Ardel Ahiska explains that it is good to be a Turk in Kurdistan.

"It is a big market for the Turkish businessmen, Turkish trade man," he says. "We will be rich together."

Azerbaijan and Iraq establish an intergovernmental commission on economic co-operation
http://abc.az/eng/news/main/50500.html

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has endorsed an agreement signed on 10 November between the governments of Azerbaijan and Iraq on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural co-operation.

Under the presidential decree, the Cabinet Ministers is to submit within a month the proposal for membership of the national part of the relevant Azerbaijan-Iraqi intergovernmental commission. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has been prescribed to inform the Iraqi side about agreement approval.

OPEC December Oil Output Rose to Four Month High, Bloomberg Survey Shows
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...vey-shows.html

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ oil output climbed to a four-month high in December, led by increases in Nigeria and Iraq, as rising oil prices encouraged production, a Bloomberg News survey showed.

Production gained 135,000 barrels, or 0.5 percent, to an average 29.185 million barrels a day, according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. Production by members with quotas, all except Iraq, rose by 100,000 barrels to 26.8 million, about 2 million above their target.

Compliance with the quotas, which took effect in January 2009 to strengthen oil prices that had tumbled to below $40 a barrel, was 53 percent in December, down from 56 percent in November. Prices have risen 6.8 percent on the New York Mercantile Exchange so far this month and touched a 26-month high of $91.88 a barrel on Dec. 27.

Nigeria’s output surged by 100,000 barrels a day to 2.22 million, a four-year high, according to the survey. It was the largest increase by any member.

Africa’s biggest producer exceeded its quota by 547,000 barrels, the largest of any member as producers recovered from disruptions in November. Those included a force majeure on production of Bonny Light crude due to a leak in the Trans-Niger pipeline and militant attacks earlier in the month that lowered output on both the Oso and Okoro fields.

Iraqi Output

Iraq, OPEC’s third-largest producer after Saudi Arabia and Iran, pumped an average 2.39 million barrels a day, up 35,000 barrels a day from November, according to the survey. Iraqi oil production exceeded 2.6 million barrels a day for the first time in 20 years, newly appointed Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al- Luaibi said this week at a press conference in Baghdad.

Angola cut output by 30,000 barrels to 1.7 million, the biggest reduction of any member. The country pumped 183,000 barrels a day above its target.

Iran pumped 25,000 barrels a day less in December than November, bringing the average to 3.7 million barrels a day. That remains 364,000 barrels over its quota, the second-largest overproduction level by any member.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest oil producer, boosted output by 15,000 barrels in December to 8.25 million barrels a day, or 199,000 above its quota.

More than 15,000 industrial projects are idle in Iraq’s Basra

More than 15,000 industrial projects have come to standstill in the southern Province of Basra in the years since the 2003-U.S. invasion of Iraq, the head of Basra’s Chamber of Commerce said.

M. Awad said most of the projects belonged to the private sector in which tens of thousands of people used to work.

He said they came to standstill for various reasons among them power shortages, looting and the economic policies the U.S. pursued in the aftermath of its invasion.

“The industries were the backbone of the province’s economy as they produced a variety of goods,” he said.

He said the policy of opening Iraq’s borders for the influx of goods of any kind and origin forced Iraqi industrialists to shelve their factories and projects.

“The hike in arbitrary imports and absence of any government subsidies to support the domestic industry can be cited as among the reasons for the status quo,” he said.

He said the authorities have even failed “to rehabilitate large-scale state-run industries which are mainly concentrated in the Province of Basra.”

If the situation continues, we will soon see the death of the domestic industry, he said.

He said neighboring countries subsidized their exports to Iraq, including agricultural products which can reach Iraqi markets at prices lower than those Iraqi farmers can afford.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index...01-01\kurd.htm