Today, we witnessed a great victory inside Iraq in the form of provincial elections. These elections occured with no notable violence and they represent an evolutionary process from ethnic barbarism to nation state. I think you will see the national psyche of Iraq lift. For the second time in their short history the Iraqi people have cast a vote for their future.
This will be one of those events where we will remember where we were when Iraq cast their votes for a new parliment and a new direction in Iraq. It is my hope these new parlimentarians will put the interests of their country first over Sunni, Shiite, or Kurdish interest. I am also hopeful that the new parliment can come together and approve the exsiting Hydro Carbon legislation which is the catalyst to an economic revolution placing Babylon back on the map in the Middle East.
Iraqi elections avoid violence but complaints loom
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Digg Facebook Newsvine del.icio.us Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer Brian Murphy, Associated Press Writer – Sat Jan 31, 5:12 pm ET AP – An Iraqi man holds up an ink-stained finger after casting his vote in the country's provincial elections …
Slideshow: Iraq Play Video Video: Blackwater's Iraq deal not to be renewed AP Play Video Video: Iraq's election test. Reuters BAGHDAD – Passing through razor-wire cordons and police checkpoints, Iraqi voters Saturday took another step in the nation's quest for stability in provincial elections that were carried off without major violence but tarnished by claims of flaws and threats of challenges.
Even before a single ballot was counted, Iraqi officials were basking in the successes — watching millions of voters wave the purple-tinted fingers that have become symbols of the country's hopes for a workable democracy.
President Barack Obama hailed the elections as significant, peaceful and important steps toward Iraqis taking responsibility for their future.
But election observers and others were examining a growing list of complaints, including claims that hundreds of people — perhaps more — were wrongly omitted from voting lists in areas across Iraq.
"There was huge amount of confusion," said Afram Yakoub, a Belgium-based election monitor who visited polling sites in the Mosul area in northern Iraq. "Names were on the center voter registry but did not appear on the (polling) station registry."
The leader of the second largest Sunni bloc in parliament, Saleh al-Mutlaq, accused the Shiite-led government of a deliberate campaign to keep the minority Sunnis "on the sidelines."
It was unclear whether the alleged problems were isolated or could cast doubts on the entire election.
But any political bitterness could further complicate another difficult task ahead for Iraq's leaders: getting hundreds of factions to accept the results as credible and then start hammering out alliances from among 14,000 candidates for the influential regional posts.
The overall picture, however, was close to the goals set by Iraqi officials desperate to portray a sense of order and confidence nearly six years after the U.S.-led invasion.
A vast security operation faced no major confrontations or attacks. Meanwhile, Sunni groups — that boycotted provincial balloting four years ago — were deeply involved in this election, anxious to claim a share of power they had given away to Shiites and Kurds.
"The purple fingers have come back to build Iraq again," said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in a nationwide address shortly after the polls closed — referring to the ink used to identify those who cast ballots.
Results are not expected before Tuesday. But possible challenges were already leaking out.
A senior Sunni leader in the western Anbar province — where former anti-insurgent militias were seeking political gains — alleged that voters couldn't reach polling stations because of the traffic ban and others in Fallujah found the door shut.
"We expect fraud ... Some will try to fill these blank ballots," said Sheik Dari al-Arsan. "We will complain about these violations."
In the southern Shiite city of Basra, voter Hadi Thegil stared angrily at election workers when he was told he wasn't on the registration list, which is compiled using information form Iraq's ration card system. He left muttering: "I feel robbed."
In Karmah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad, local election observer Sabah Hussein said he found ballots marked in advance for the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni bloc that's a partner in al-Maliki's government. It was unclear whether any others were cast.
But a U.N. election observer, Said Arikat, described the election in mostly positive terms.
"By and large, the rules were followed. We weren't aware of any confusion in the stations we visited. I am sure there will be complaints, and I'm not sure you can guard against a total absence of such complaints."
A Shiite lawmaker, Nassir al-Saadi, also found the election process generally good, but noted the real test is yet to come: how the major political bloc perceive the outcome.
"The only real gauge whether the election is credible or not is the results," he said. "If the results are fair then we can say the election was fair."
It will be a huge job sorting it all out. A total of 440 seats are at stake on the various provincial councils in the election — covering the whole country expect four northern areas.
The winners then will have to forge working coalitions from a potential patchwork: veteran political groups amid the many newcomer candidates. There also are still questions about how to ensure sufficient representation from the approximately 3,900 women candidates.
Turnout figures were not immediately available for the 15 million eligible voters. Election workers at various sites around the country reported steady streams of voters but few huge crowds, and voting was extended for one hour.
The voting began under a security net that appeared even more extensive than Iraq's last elections in 2005. Voters passed through several choke points and then individually searched — men in the open by police and women in tents by teams that included female teachers and civil workers.
In some parts of Baghdad, checkpoints were spaced 30 yards apart and Iraqi security forces, including special forces in combat gear, conducted foot patrols.
U.S. soldiers were also out in force, but remained well away from polling centers. The U.S. military assisted in security preparations for the elections, but said troops had a back seat role in the election day operations.
There were reports of isolated violence and unrest.
In Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown about 80 miles north of Baghdad, three mortar shells exploded near a polling station, but caused no casualties, said police, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.
Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds stormed an election office in the disputed northern city of Khanaqin after claiming many of them were not on voting lists. There were no reports of serious injuries. The incident was part of lingering disputes between Kurds and the Arab-run central government over control of the city near the Iranian border.
Each region carried its own distinctive mood.
In Kurdish autonomous region — which is scheduled to hold elections later — special polling sites were created for Iraqis who have sought refuge from violence in other parts of Iraq. "I hope the real winner will be Iraq itself," said Mohammad Rasid, 75, who fled Baghdad two years ago.
In nearby Mosul, considered one of the last urban strongholds of al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgent groups, Sunni Arab parties urged for a high turnout to counter Kurdish ambitions to extend their influence over the city.
The Sunni decision to boycott the last provincial ballot in January 2005 handed control of Mosul and the surrounding province to the Kurds — even though they make up less than a third of the population.
"I came to take back my city for Sunnis," said Afifa Abdul-Nafaa, 81, who came to vote in a wheelchair pushed by her son.
In the western Anbar province, the Sunni tribes which rose up against al-Qaida and other insurgents — and led to a turning point of the war — are now seeking to transform their fame into council seats and significantly increase their role in wider Iraqi affairs. Turnout in Anbar was about 2 percent in provincial elections four years ago.
And in Iraq's Shiite south, loyalists to prime minister al-Maliki appeared to receive a boost from the offensives last year that broke the hold of Shiite militias in the key city of Basra and other places.
"When the militiamen were in charge, we used to see bodies laying in the street," said Ali Majid, 25. "Now we have some order."
Zakiya Tahir, a 71-year-old woman who cannot read, pointed to a poster of a local candidate supported by al-Maliki.
"I have nothing to do with politics," she said. "I just want to feel safe again."
(www.news.yahoo.com)
raqi MP Iyad Jamal Al-Deen has alleged that there have been attempts to spoil relations between Kuwait and Iraq, warning that this issue is no longer simply about Iranian influence in Iraq but has became about Iran attempting to exert total Iranian control there.
(www.noozz.com)
Prime Minister Barzani Kicks off Conference for Strategic Agricultural Planning
Erbil, 29 January 2009 ( KRG )
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani yesterday outlined his commitment to agricultural development in the keynote speech of a two-day agricultural conference.
In his speech the Prime Minister discussed key elements of the strategic five-year plan for agriculture in the Kurdistan Region. He said, “We in the Council of Ministers have decided to make this year a year for reviving the agricultural sector, achieving a policy of self-sufficiency, and working towards ensuring sustainable food security in a short period of time.”
He added, “In order to create a strong basis and counter the effects of the destructive policies of the previous regimes, we must enact a multi-faceted programme and our own strategic vision. We must coordinate these efforts in a way that stimulates the farmers of the Kurdistan Region.”
Prime Minister Barzani outlined the main elements of the KRG’s agricultural strategy: apply modern technology, reform land allocation and ownership, encourage people to return to the land, organise and develop the entire agri-business cycle from production to marketing, promote investment, and benefit from foreign expertise and institutions. A budget of 10.4 billion US dollars has been proposed for the five-year plan.
Prime Minister Barzani noted that such development is in the interests of the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq, and thanked Baghdad for its cooperation in this sector. The Kurdistan Region had been the breadbasket for all of Iraq and is keen to revitalise its agricultural production. The conference provides an opportunity for experts to engage with stakeholders in a wide range of fields – from horticulture to irrigation.
KRG Minister of Agriculture Abdul-Aziz Tayeb Ahmad addressed the audience. “We need a sound economic policy, and this cannot be achieved without attention to the agricultural sector.” He added, “Coordination between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Parliament has helped us to begin our strategic plan in 2009.”
The Republic of Iraq’s Minister of Agriculture Dr Ali Bahadley also spoke, stressing the many common interests shared by the Kurdistan Region and federal Iraq. His presence was warmly welcome by KRG officials.
The conference, held in the Martyr Saad Abdulla Convention Centre, welcomed a variety of actors involved in scaling up agricultural production in the Kurdistan Region, including KRG and Iraqi agriculture ministries’ staff, private sector companies, farmers, research and university participants, foreign representatives, UN agencies, international NGOs and KRG officials.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
28 January 2009 ( Iraq Updates )
By A. Johnson
So Let It Be Written:
"He always said history will judge him," said parliamentarian Samira Musawi. "But God will judge him as well and God has used Bush to remove the evil of Saddam and set the Iraqi nation free”. Toward this end I write these lines with that understanding spoken by this parliamentarian, Samira Musawi, who continued: “It is now our responsibility to find the right way to direct this change."
Former US President George Bush is not the root cause of problems plaguing Iraq today. For it is also said God judges all men and knows the weight and the worth of their hearts, the reach of their strength and the breadth of their soul – so too we must know what must be replaced in the hearts and minds of all Iraqis on this monumental road to recovery created by the removal of a mad-man and his syphilitic progenitors. Is the memory of Iraq so short lived?
The Blame Game.
Now is the beginning of the pathway toward the aspirations of our children’s dreams of peace, prosperity and the fulfillment of purpose in this life. Now begins the digging out from under the rubble that littered these Iraqi streets, the insanity of terror which was the glass ceiling on prosperity and happiness for all. When I met with members of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense in Washington DC last October – they remembered being civil servants having a pension of $12 monthly.
Today, the average wage is over $300 monthly. Home values in some Baghdad suburbs easily exceed $100,000 US. When you fly into Iraq at night over a sea of lights so vast, you fail to remember all the bleakness Americans have been bombarded with on CNN. I see the innumerable changes and a sleeping giant waking from a deep terror induced coma of inaction and stagnation.
Who can forget the Saddam-era Iraq; a country governed by the arbitrary insanity of terror? Do the newly created Ministry officials and public works forget the brutal stench and odor of that very shadow slinking in every corner of every public place? The self-made mad-man squandered his country’s wealth to create lavish palaces throughout Iraq. One of twelve such vast palace compounds is found at today’s Victory Base down the bloody 12-mile stretch of road leading into Baghdad proper (known as route Irish), which still remains the public calling card of that dynasty and those terror-tactics. The wholesale slaughter and ubiquitous deaths of untold Iraqis are today’s testament to such tactics still to this day – as a plague honoring mad-men and their methods of terror whose benefit is absent of any value for Iraq as a nation.
In the aftermath of being freed, Iraqi memory has slighted itself to forget how its people had been the fodder of sport in the palace compound hunting clubs – sexual and perverted conveniences thrown from the balcony of the Perfume Palace or left to drown in palace compound lakes after a fortnight of being ravaged. Iraqi memory is short when asked to remember the governance of a mad-man cemented by the ever-wrathful and pervasive haunt of secret police in the form of neighbors, brothers, and one’s own children. Was this so long ago, Iraq?
How short are the memories of current rulers over Iraq like Al-Malaki and others in the central government? These are leaders who now parade their new-found political voices and freedoms as the epitome of an effort all their own. However, these same men had neither the spine, spirit or wherewithal to dislodge the one obstacle to their meteoric rise to power and popularity which they now enjoy – an enjoyment made all the sweeter as they no longer fear themselves being hunted as game animals on the grounds of the Victory palace game preserve.
How has this lack of memory betrayed Bush in some ironic way that even the very people of Iraq can now enjoy the right of dissent so long denied? Mistakes and miscalculations aside, Iraq is not the only one bearing the cost of this effort and few Americans have been given a hand out to make it so. The world bore the pain under Saddam. The world bore the cost to have him removed. It is humanity’s cross to suffer man’s inhumanity toward men!
This is the Iraq George Bush reached out to for whatever reasons he used or created to make it so. The reality is a great yoke had been finally removed. If we blame ourselves for anything it is that we relied upon foreign assistance to begin anew in a world where we can hold elections and have dissent and still at the end of the day return to our families and enjoy a meal made from the hands of our loved ones, and not taken for game and slaughtered for our dissent.
With that liberation came the unravelling of decades of abusive practices that were techniques necessary to prop up Saddam’s iron rule – a rule of one man and one party devoted to one man under the pretext of pan-Arab brotherhood. Meanwhile the agricultural base was devastated and sectarian and ethnic violence was justified and promulgated as the “rightful duty” of the “father of Iraq”. How can any of us as humans live with or tolerate the demagoguery of any one man while any of us kneel in prayer before the god of all men in our own way in our churches, temples and mosques?
Is modern-day Iraq less different in terms of nation building, than either Babylon or Rome whose edifices for its people were not built in one day; neither the grandness nor beauty found in the refinement of its governance and process? The collective efforts of the world descended upon a nation of less than 30 million – a country whose size is less than twice that of the US’s Idaho – a speed bump as it were on the way to the civilizations thriving today as a testament to this thing we call process. All in all, Iraq’s rise from its own ground zero has been astonishingly quick given the timelines of the world. Truly, Iraq must know: Allah Akbar.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
Karbala, 29 January 2009 ( Voices of Iraq )
Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani on Wednesday said that Iraq will enjoy a boom in the oil industry in the future, adding that his ministry has become self-sufficient and independent of the general budget.
“New horizons will be opened with the Arab and European worlds,” Shahrestani said in a lecture he gave at Karbala University on the horizons of Iraqi oil industry.
Three “discovered” oilfields in the provinces of Karbala, Najaf and Babel have been referred to specialized international companies, the minister noted, providing no information about when the fields were discovered.
The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
By BRIAN MURPHY (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
February 02, 2009 12:46 AM EST
BAGHDAD - The biggest Shiite party in Iraq once appeared to hold all the political sway: control of the heartland, the backing of influential clerics and a foot in the government with ambitions to take full control.
But the days of wide-open horizons could be soon ending for the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, and replaced by important shifts that could be welcomed in Washington and scorned in Tehran.
The signs began to take shape Sunday with hints of the voter mood from provincial elections.
The broad message - built on Iraqi media projections and postelection interviews - was that the eventual results would punish religious-leaning factions such as the Supreme Council that are blamed for stoking sectarian violence, and reward secular parties seen capable of holding Iraq's relative calm.
The outcome of the provincial races will not directly effect Iraq's national policies or its balance between Washington's global power and Iran's regional muscle. But Shiite political trends are critically important in Iraq, where majority Shiites now hold sway after the fall of Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.
"There is a backlash from Iraqis against sectarian and religious politics," said Mustafa al-Ani, an Iraqi political analyst based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Although official results from Saturday's provincial elections are likely still days away, the early outlines are humbling for The Supreme Council. The group had been considered a linchpin in Iraqi politics as a junior partner in the government that had near seamless political control in the Shiite south.
Some forecasts point to widespread losses for the party across the main Shiite provinces. The blows could include embarrassing stumbles in the key city of Basra and the spiritual center of Najaf - hailed as the future capital in the Supreme Council's dreams for an autonomous Shiite enclave.
In their place, the big election winners appear to be allies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, according to projections and interviews with political figures who spoke on condition of anonymity because official results are not posted.
It's a vivid lesson in Iraq's fluid politics.
A year ago, al-Maliki looked to be sinking. Shiite militiamen ruled cities such as Basra and parts of Baghdad and rockets were pouring into the protected Green Zone, which includes the U.S. Embassy and Iraq's parliament.
Al-Maliki - with apparent little advance coordination with the U.S. military - struck back. An offensive broke the militia control in Basra and elsewhere in the south. His reputation turned around.
And many voters appeared happy to reward his political backers in the elections for seats on provincial councils, which carry significant clout with authority over local business contracts, jobs and local security forces.
"Al-Maliki ended the militiamen's reign of terror," said Faisal Hamadi, 58, after voting in Basra. "For this he deserves our vote."
The Supreme Council, meanwhile, appeared to stagger under the weight of negative baggage.
It was accused of failing to deliver improvements to public services in the south. Also, its deep ties to Iran began to rub against Iraqis' nationalist sentiments.
The Supreme Council's leader, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, spent decades in Iran during Saddam's rule and was allowed an office-villa in downtown Tehran. After Saddam's fall, the Supreme Council was Iran's main political conduit into Iraq even though the group also developed ties with Washington.
Iran now could face limits on its influence in the south with the Supreme Council forced into a coalition or second-tier status - and also confront resistance from a stronger al-Maliki government seeking to curb Tehran's inroads.
A Supreme Council lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, acknowledged the election mood was against them.
"We controlled most provinces in the south, so we were blamed for whatever went wrong there," he said.
"The elections gave us an indication of what will happen in the general election late this year," said the analyst al-Ani. "Those who lost in this election have nearly a year to learn their lesson and change their strategy. They know now where the Iraqis stand."
Nationwide turnout in the election was 51 percent, said Faraj al-Haidari, chairman of the election commission. The figure fell short of some optimistic predictions, but was overshadowed by a bigger achievement: no serious violence during the voting.
Turnout ranged from 40 percent in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province in western Iraq to 65 percent in the Salahuddin province, which includes the hometown of Saddam Hussein.
Final figures were not yet ready for the Baghdad area, but al-Haidari said initial reports placed it at about 40 percent. Some unconfirmed reports placed the turnout even lower in the northern city of Mosul, which is considered the last urban foothold for al-Qaida in Iraq.
The timing of the election also could have hurt the Supreme Council, falling at the beginning of a major Shiite religious pilgrimage that may have left some backers unable to vote.
After the election results are known, the deal making begins. Again, the Supreme Council could be left in the cold.
The political-militia movement of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has indicated it may be willing to strike deals with al-Makiki's allies on the councils. It would be a startling turnabout.
Just last year, al-Sadr was denouncing the government as it joined American forces to dismantle his Mahdi Army's main enclave in Baghdad.
"We have no red lines when it comes to al-Maliki's coalition," said Ayed al-Mayahi, al-Sadr's chief representative in Basra. "We are looking ahead and will not be shackled by what happened in the past."
---
Associated Press writers Sinan Salaheddin and Hamza Hendawi in Baghdad, and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Basra contributed to this report.
Slow but steady return to the right track
Gulf News
Published: February 02, 2009, 22:54
Iraq's local elections have shown that the country is relatively on the right track to stability. It was also as democratic and transparent as it gets considering that the wounds of successive wars have yet to heal. Early results show that voters are increasingly choosing secular candidates, shunning for the first time since the 2003 US invasion, candidates of the religious parties.
According to news reports, voters are quoted as saying they have had enough religious rhetoric which has done nothing to improve basic services. The religious parties are in fact being blamed for the 2006 sectarian strife which almost plunged the country into civil war.
Many would argue that Iraq is still an occupied country. Therefore, Saturday's polls cannot be described as a democratic process. But the scene on the ground during the voting process clearly showed that Iraqi forces were in charge. The Americans were hardly seen around polling stations. The situation was calm, except for a few incidents which can happen during any election in a Third World country.
The experience prompted an obviously ecstatic US President Barack Obama to say that he is planning to pull out the greater part of American troops by the end of this year. This move will certainly make many Iraqis happy, especially Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki who has been pushing for a US withdrawal timetable.
Al Maliki might in fact be the biggest winner in Saturday's elections. His allies are leading the results, placing him in a stronger position to implement his plans, particularly national reconciliation and constitutional reforms, aimed at strengthening the central government - a prerequisite to maintain a unified Iraq.
The elections have given the clearest picture so far of an Iraq that is returning slowly, albeit steadily, to normalcy. And this needs cooperation from neighbouring countries.
(www.gulfnews.com)
Slow but steady return to the right track
Gulf News
Published: February 02, 2009, 22:54
Iraq's local elections have shown that the country is relatively on the right track to stability. It was also as democratic and transparent as it gets considering that the wounds of successive wars have yet to heal. Early results show that voters are increasingly choosing secular candidates, shunning for the first time since the 2003 US invasion, candidates of the religious parties.
According to news reports, voters are quoted as saying they have had enough religious rhetoric which has done nothing to improve basic services. The religious parties are in fact being blamed for the 2006 sectarian strife which almost plunged the country into civil war.
Many would argue that Iraq is still an occupied country. Therefore, Saturday's polls cannot be described as a democratic process. But the scene on the ground during the voting process clearly showed that Iraqi forces were in charge. The Americans were hardly seen around polling stations. The situation was calm, except for a few incidents which can happen during any election in a Third World country.
The experience prompted an obviously ecstatic US President Barack Obama to say that he is planning to pull out the greater part of American troops by the end of this year. This move will certainly make many Iraqis happy, especially Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki who has been pushing for a US withdrawal timetable.
Al Maliki might in fact be the biggest winner in Saturday's elections. His allies are leading the results, placing him in a stronger position to implement his plans, particularly national reconciliation and constitutional reforms, aimed at strengthening the central government - a prerequisite to maintain a unified Iraq.
The elections have given the clearest picture so far of an Iraq that is returning slowly, albeit steadily, to normalcy. And this needs cooperation from neighbouring countries.
(www.gulfnews.com)
Shiite parties' influence declines
AP
Published: February 02, 2009, 19:35
Baghdad: The biggest Shiite party in Iraq once appeared to hold all the political sway: control of the heartland, the backing of influential clerics and a foot in the government with ambitions to take full control.
But the days of wide-open horizons could be soon ending for the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, and replaced by important shifts that could be welcomed in Washington and scorned in Tehran.
The signs began to take shape last Sunday with hints of the voter mood from provincial elections.
The broad message - built on Iraqi media projections and post-election interviews - was that the eventual results would punish religious-leaning factions such as the Supreme Council that are blamed for stoking sectarian violence, and reward secular parties seen capable of holding Iraq's relative calm.
The outcome of the provincial races will not directly effect Iraq's national policies or its balance between Washington's global power and Iran's regional muscle. But Shiite political trends are critically important in Iraq, where majority Shiites now hold sway after the fall of Saddam Hussain's Sunni-dominated regime.
"There is a backlash from Iraqis against sectarian and religious politics," said Mustafa Al Ani, an Iraqi political analyst based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Although official results from Saturday's provincial elections are likely still days away, the early outlines are humbling for The Supreme Council. The group had been considered a linchpin in Iraqi politics as a junior partner in the government that had near seamless political control in the Shiite south.
Some forecasts point to widespread losses for the party across the main Shiite provinces. The blows could include embarrassing stumbles in the key city of Basra and the spiritual centre of Najaf - hailed as the future capital in the Supreme Council's dreams for an autonomous Shiite enclave.
In their place, the big election winners appear to be allies of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, according to projections and interviews with political figures who spoke on condition of anonymity because official results are not posted.
It's a vivid lesson in Iraq's fluid politics. A year ago, Al Maliki looked to be sinking. Shiite militiamen ruled cities such as Basra and parts of Baghdad and rockets were pouring into the protected Green Zone, which includes the US Embassy and Iraq's parliament.
Al Maliki - with apparent little advance coordination with the US military - struck back. An offensive broke the militia control in Basra and elsewhere in the south. His reputation turned around.
And many voters appeared happy to reward his political backers in the elections for seats on provincial councils, which carry significant clout with authority over local business contracts, jobs and local security forces.
"Al Maliki ended the militiamen's reign of terror," said Faisal Hamadi, 58, after voting in Basra. "For this he deserves our vote."
The Supreme Council, meanwhile, appeared to stagger under the weight of negative baggage.
It was accused of failing to deliver improvements to public services in the south. Also, its deep ties to Iran began to rub against Iraqis' nationalist sentiments.
The Supreme Council's leader, Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, spent decades in Iran during Saddam's rule and was allowed an office-villa in downtown Tehran. After Saddam's fall, the Supreme Council was Iran's main political conduit into Iraq even though the group also developed ties with Washington.
Iran now could face limits on its influence in the south with the Supreme Council forced into a coalition or second-tier status - and also confront resistance from a stronger Al Maliki government seeking to curb Tehran's inroads.
A Supreme Council lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, acknowledged the election mood was against them.
"We controlled most provinces in the south, so we were blamed for whatever went wrong there," he said.
"The elections gave us an indication of what will happen in the general election late this year," said the analyst Al Ani. "Those who lost in this election have nearly a year to learn their lesson and change their strategy. They know now where the Iraqis stand."
Nationwide turnout in the election was 51 per cent, said Faraj Al Haidari, chairman of the election commission. The figure fell short of some optimistic predictions, but was overshadowed by a bigger achievement: no serious violence during the voting.
Turnout ranged from 40 per cent in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province in western Iraq to 65 per cent in the Salahuddin province, which includes the hometown of Saddam Hussain.
Final figures were not yet ready for the Baghdad area, but Al Haidari said initial reports placed it at about 40 per cent. Some unconfirmed reports placed the turnout even lower in the northern city of Mosul, which is considered the last urban foothold for Al Qaida in Iraq.
The timing of the election also could have hurt the Supreme Council, falling at the beginning of a major Shiite religious pilgrimage that may have left some backers unable to vote.
After the election results are known, the deal making begins. Again, the Supreme Council could be left in the cold. The political-militia movement of Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr has indicated it may be willing to strike deals with Al Makiki's allies on the councils. It would be a startling turnabout.
Just last year, Al Sadr was denouncing the government as it joined American forces to dismantle his Mahdi Army's main enclave in Baghdad.
"We have no red lines when it comes to Al Maliki's coalition," said Eyad Al Mayahi, Al Sadr's chief representative in Basra.
(www.gulfnews.com)
Iraq gives companies two more weeks to register for tenders
Reuters
Published: February 02, 2009, 22:54
Baghdad: Iraq's oil ministry on Monday extended by two weeks a January 31 deadline for foreign oil firms to send in documentation to qualify for a second round of oil field servicing tenders, a spokesman said.
Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said the ministry decided to extend the deadline because of all the holidays declared in January, which also saw provincial elections take place at the end of the month.
"Because of all the national holidays in January, the Iraqi Oil Ministry decided to extend the deadline of January 31 to February 15 to give more chance and more opportunity for foreign oil companies to register and offer their documentation to the Oil Ministry to participate in the second round," he said.
Iraq announced a second-bidding round for oil and gas fields at the end of December, naming 11 fields it would open up for bidding for development service contracts.
The first bidding round was announced in June for 8 oil and gas fields.
In April 2008 the oil ministry published a list of 35 oil companies that qualified to compete in its first bidding round, after around 120 firms submitted paperwork to apply. Thirty of the companies bought data packages on the fields.
The fields announced in the second round could increase oil production by up to 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in a few years, Iraq's Oil Minister Hussain Al Shahristani said when he announced the tenders. That is about equal to what Iraq, which has the world's third largest oil reserves, currently pumps.
The fields announced in the first round could provide another 1.5 million bpd in additional output. The oil ministry was expected to announce the winners of the first round by the middle of this year, while contracts for the second round would be finalised by the end of this year.
(www.gulfnews.com)
Zimbabwe revalues currency again
Reuters
Published: February 02, 2009, 22:54
Harare: Zimbabwe's central bank revalued its dollar again on Monday, lopping another 12 zeros off its currency to try to tame hyperinflation and avert economic collapse.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono also said some foreign exchange controls will be relaxed and gold producers now can sell bullion directly and not to the central bank as in the past.
"This Monetary Policy Statement unveils yet another necessary programme of revaluing our local currency, through the removal of 12 zeroes, with immediate effect," Gono said in his MPC statement.
Zimbabwe's economy is in ruins and official inflation stood at 231 million per cent in July last year. Late last month the country allowed Zimbabweans to do business in foreign currencies in a bid to tackle inflation.
Gono gave no updated inflation figures but said broad money supply growth rose from 81,000 per cent in January to 658 billion per cent in December.
The country's opposition last Friday decided to join a unity government with President Robert Mugabe, ending a political deadlock that has worsened a political and humanitarian crisis.
Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who had been under heavy pressure from southern African leaders, is now set to become prime minister.
The unity government may be a step towards saving the ruined economy of a once prosperous country where over half of the people now need food aid and a cholera epidemic has killed 3,229 people and infected 62,909 others in the deadliest outbreak in Africa in 15 years.
(www.gulfnews.com)
Iraq’s Elections: Pointing the Way to the Future or a Return to Oppression?
03 February 2009 ( Fox News )
By Walid Phares
Why are the Iraqi elections important to Americans and the rest of the international community? Simply because it will show, or won’t, that “spreading democracy” is possible in that part of the world, a principle against which Jihadist forces, authoritarian regimes and many critics within the West have challenged.
The seeds of elections are now planted in Mesopotamia. With more than 140 political party and associations, hundreds of newspapers, publications, dozens of radio and TV stations — a mosaic is in existence. It will be hard on the Iranian Mullahs and on Al Qaeda to crush all this diversity across the Shia, Sunni, Kurdish and Christian lines.
Iraqi voters will tell if U.S. efforts in the Middle East since 9/11 were worth the sacrifices and if those who voted in Congress to remove the Taliban and Saddam were — or not- - on the right side of the history of democracy. Here are the voting battlefield’s challenges:
1) Regardless of the final results, Iraqi citizens on January 31, 2009 will be selecting representatives in 14 of the Republic’s 18 provinces. Since February 1963, the Baathist regime in Baghdad eliminated free elections for forty years until it was removed in 2003 by U.S. and Coalition forces. Then in four years as of 2005, the population was allowed to cast their ballots four times! In January 2005, provincial councils and a national assembly were elected. In October of that year, a referendum confirmed the constitution. In December, parliamentary elections followed. This weekend 15 million voters will select the provinces assemblies and towards the end of the year another vote will bring a new parliament and decide on the US-Iraqi defense treaty. This is more electoral exercise than in Switzerland, even though the anti-democratic forces are still a direct threat to the system.
2) The Jihadist forces of Iraq, including Al Qaeda, dislike the rise of a democratic culture and the militants plan on using the system to their advantage. Violence may erupt, more likely in diverse areas such as the Diyala province or in cities such as Mosul. But here again the preparedness of Iraqi forces, assisted by the Coalition, will tell about the readiness of the country to manage its own elections in the future.
3) The level of participation will tell us if popular trust in elections is taking root and any numbers higher than 60 % will confirm this.
4) Iraq’s electoral landscape is diverse: Kurdistan will vote en masse and their two coalitions will seize the assemblies. Participation by Christian and other minorities such as Turkomen will tell us more about future diversity in Kurdistan. In the center, the rise in participation among Sunnis will tell us more about the success of the anti-Al Qaeda element, but the final results will show the shape of future Sunni politics in Iraq. In the largest provinces of the center and the south, the distribution of seats between moderates and reformists will indicate the real winners in these elections. Whoever would win among Shia will determine the type of relationship Iraq will have with the United States in the next few years. But Kurdish and Sunni Arab provinces can deprive any Shia party from returning the country as a whole to dictatorship.
5) These elections will produce a new majority in Iraq, which will be always determined by coalition building. However, one result cannot be reversed anymore; no more return to single party dictatorship. Iraq may break in pieces, but it will never return to a Saddam-like monstrosity; and that is what authoritarians in contiguous countries fear the most.
The seeds of elections are now planted in Mesopotamia. With more than 140 political party and associations, hundreds of newspapers, publications, dozens of radio and TV stations — a mosaic is in existence. Once young Iraqis who will be voting for the first time, women who have broken the walls of gender exclusiveness, and minorities emerging from the underground, have tasted and tested this democratic exercise — a resistance to fascism and totalitarianism is born.
6) Which bring us to the Obama administration’s “Iraq Plan:” If they have already committed to the 16 months withdrawal program, so be it; but the new White House should keep in mind that hurdling out of that country without establishing real Iraqi defenses against the menacing wolves on the eastern and western borders and the Jihadi corridor from the south, will kill the forthcoming chances of a real change in the region.
The debate about why and when should we have helped Iraq against its bullies is now in the hands of historians, but as President Obama announced in his inaugural address, the destinies of that country should be secured in the hands of the “Iraqi people.” These elections are probably the last before American military begins to redeploy inside and from Iraq. The challenge for the U.S. administration is to empower Iraqis to enjoy such exercises in democracy many times more, instead of falling into obscure times again.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
RAMADI, Iraq, 03 February 2009 ( Reuters )
By Fadhel al-Badrani
Tribal sheikhs who helped drive al Qaeda militants out of Western Iraq threatened on Monday to take up arms against the provincial government because of what they said was fraud in Saturday's provincial polls.
The election was the most peaceful in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein, but there has been tension in the west of the country between Sunni Arab groups, many of whom boycotted the last provincial ballot in 2005.
Anbar province, Iraq's vast western third, was once the heartland of the Sunni Arab insurgency against U.S. troops but is now largely quiet, thanks to tribal guard units known as Awakening councils that helped drive out al Qaeda militants.
In one of the toughest-fought contests of the election, the tribes have challenged the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP), a Sunni religious party which has run the province since 2005.
With the IIP claiming the results will keep it in power, Awakening leaders alleged fraud in the voting.
"We threatened the electoral commission not to allow fraud. We said we will transform from a political entity to an armed wing against the electoral commission and the IIP because we discovered fraud," Awakening movement head Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha told Reuters.
Hamid al-Hais, head of the Anbar Tribes list in the election, travelled to Baghdad to lodge a protest.
"We will set the streets of Ramadi ablaze if the Islamic Party is declared the winners of the election," he told Reuters, referring to Anbar's provincial capital. "We will make Anbar a grave for the Islamic Party and its agents. We will start a tribal war against them and those who cooperate with them."
Electoral authorities say official preliminary results will not be announced for days and final results may take several weeks. The IIP says it came in first and expects to hold onto power in the province.
"We are convinced that we will be the first in Anbar and we will make a coalition with any entity that wants to work with us," said Khalid Mohammed al-Alwani, IIP head in Falluja, the Anbar town where there were fierce battles between U.S. forces and insurgents in 2004.
Authorities imposed an overnight curfew on Monday to prevent outbreaks of violence. Colonel Mahmoud al-Esawi, chief of police in Falluja, said the curfew would be in force from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. (1900-0200 GMT) throughout the province.
Witnesses said supporters of both sides fired guns into the air late on Sunday to celebrate perceived victories -- IIP supporters near the governor's office in Ramadi and Awakening movement supporters just outside the town.
No one was hurt, but the gunfire rattled throughout the city for about two hours.
The electoral commission has said the election took place without major violations. However, it has acknowledged that thousands of people were unable to vote because they could not find their names on registration lists.
The Kurdish regional government said it would file a formal complaint because thousands of Kurds were unable to vote.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
State-run KNOC Starts Iraq Oil Project Alone: Company
SEOUL, South Korea, 03 February 2009 ( Reuters )
State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) said on Tuesday it has started an oil exploration project in Iraq on its own, after failing to attract consortium members for the $2.1 billion deal.
Under the deal, KNOC will operate two oil fields -- Qush Tappa and Sangaw South -- and own stakes of 15 to 20 percent in six fields including the Bazian block in the Kurdish region, which is the only block to be run in a consortium, which includes South Korea's top refiner SK Energy (096770.KS).
In return, KNOC will provide $2.1 billion worth of infrastructure in the Kurdish region including power facilities, water services, sewage systems and other infrastructure.
KNOC has been struggling to reach an agreement with domestic builders, including Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720.KS) and Doosan Construction (011160.KS), over how to balance the financing of the infrastructure project.
The firms would be paid back by the Kurdish government for the projects, and receive additional payments from profits made from the blocks. But political wrangling between the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government dimmed prospects of making profits from the oil blocks.
KNOC will soon announce plans to initiate a $600 million operation, the first phase of the infrastructure project. It will offer another $1.5 billion once the prospects for crude exports from the region are clear.
The eight blocks -- five located near Irbil and three others near Sulaymaniyah -- have estimated oil reserves of 7.2 billion barrels, of which Korean firms will have the rights to 1.9 billion barrels.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
To me, this sounds like the GOI is still attempting to grow their petro-chem industry without passing the HCL. Not to worry....the big bucks won't come into the country without the HCL....greed will overcome the GOI and they will pass the HCL.
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Iraq reopens its oil reserves to foreign companies, but few rush in
By Mohammed Abbas and Ahmed Rasheed ReutersPublished: February 3, 2009
BASRA, Iraq: Next to a pipeline snaking across a desert in southern Iraq, villas built for an expected influx of foreign oil workers stand empty.
Nearby, a faded plaque in Russian and Arabic commemorates the opening of a pumping station in 1972, a reminder of the outside ties that helped Iraq develop its oil industry.
Nearly six years after the U.S.-led invasion, Iraq has started once again to open its vast oil reserves to foreign companies.
The country has begun a round of bidding for some of its largest oil and natural gas fields, hoping to attract multibillion-dollar investments.
There is still some confusion about the deals, scheduled to be awarded by June. And a lack of security, rigid bureaucracy and the absence of a legal framework is still deterring the investment that Iraq needs to update its decaying oil infrastructure.
A foreign oil workers' compound, whether Exxon, BP, Shell or whoever, would be a bull's-eye for an attack," said a senior foreign oil executive who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the news media.
Foreigners were prime targets in the years of bloodshed unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and videos of the beheading of kidnapped Westerners shocked the world.
Iraq sits on an estimated 115 billion barrels of oil, one of the world's largest reserves. But tin shacks line the road to its oil fields, and the government is desperate to use oil income to rebuild the country.
Villas that once housed Russian workers need repairs. Equipment worn down by war, sanctions and sectarian violence is hopelessly antiquated.
Deprived of outside expertise and money, Iraqi engineers have grown adept at tinkering with old equipment and salvaging spare parts, but the maintenance is only skin deep.
"We painted the tanks, improved the checkpoint, the toilets," said Khodair Abd, a supervisor at the North Rumaila field, one of Iraq's two most productive fields. But he said that such simple improvements did not aid production.
"There were companies supposed to come here for that, but I don't know what happened," he said. "This is the same station that was installed in 1972."
At the South Rumaila oil field, which has an estimated output of 800,000 barrels of crude per day, a lack of equipment means that valuable natural gas - released during extraction of the oil - is burned off in huge flares, the smoke streaming like jets of ink into the blue sky.
The violence that almost tore Iraq apart in 2006 and 2007 has fallen sharply in the past 18 months and Iraqis now believe that the time has come for foreign companies to show up.
"The excuse of a lack of security has gone," said Mohammed Nasser, an engineer at the South Rumaila plant, which dates from the 1950s and where old dials, gauges and switch panels sit next to more modern pieces of electronic equipment. "The security situation has transformed, root and branch."
Some overseas companies are taking tentative steps.
Chinese National Petroleum Co. started work this year on a $3 billion project in the Ahdab oil field, in Wasit Province, the first foreign company to begin such work since Saddam Hussein nationalized the industry decades ago.
Royal Dutch Shell in 2008 signed a deal with Iraq to collect the byproduct gas in North and South Rumaila.
A U.S. company, Weatherford International, has a deal to operate in North Rumaila and in the Zubair oil field.
But they have few, if any, workers on the ground in the country's south, which accounts for about 80 percent of Iraqi oil production.
"We probably could do a reconnaissance visit now, but that is very different from sending people in to work at compounds and bases," said another oil executive who also declined to be named. "We're not ready for that."
Despite such skepticism, Iraqi officials say they believe that the oil opportunities will ultimately prove irresistible. "International oil companies are killing themselves to sign contracts with Iraq," said Isam al-Chalabi, who was the Iraqi oil minister from 1987 to 1990.
One of Iraq's greatest lures is the ease with its oil can be pumped. The Oil Ministry has said that it costs around $2 a barrel to extract Iraqi crude.
With oil prices below $50 a barrel, down from a high of about $147 in July, the low cost of production gives Iraq an advantage over producers who pump their crude out of deep-sea wells, for example.
Of the 35 companies that qualified for a first bidding round of oil-field-servicing tenders last year, 30 have paid for technical information on about eight oil and natural gas fields.
"That implies there is a real desire to work in Iraq," the oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, said when announcing a second round at the end of December.
Shahristani said he did not see any impediment to foreign oil companies in Iraq's failure to agree on a law to give foreign companies access to profit-sharing deals, clarify taxation and define how oil resources would be divided between Baghdad and the provinces.
He is not the only optimist.
"I'm confident Iraq will become a rich oil state and that our grandsons will enjoy a welfare state like they currently do in the Gulf countries," said Sabah Ghani, 65, an Iraqi businessman. "It won't happen in record time."
Consortium of Turkish companies to invest in construction, industrial projects in Babylon
A Turkish consortium is looking at undertaking a number of investment projects in the province of Babylon, with particular attention being paid to the construction and industrial sectors.
(www.noozz.com)
Maliki Iraq poll win would mark shift from religion
Thu Feb 5, 2009 4:19am EST
By Mohammed Abbas - Analysis
BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim voters chose nationalism and security over religion in local polls, backing allies of the prime minister in a vote that could give them the upper hand in parliamentary elections later this year.
Results from Saturday's election are due later on Thursday, and early signs point to potentially big wins for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's allies at the expense of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI), which had dominated the Shi'ite south.
Maliki heads the Dawa Party, an Islamist group, but the coalition it led in the polls made little mention of religion.
Instead it sought to seek credit for growing security and promoted a message of national unity to voters tired of years of sectarian bloodshed and a failure to deliver services under the largely religious leaders in charge since 2005.
"It's not a backlash against religion, it's a backlash against promises made in terms of sectarian identity," said Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at the University of London.
ISCI, which has ties to a powerful militia formed in Iran, conceded Maliki's coalition had won a landslide in the oil-producing southern city of Basra and may have come first in Baghdad.
But it says it still came first or second in 11 of the 14 provinces that voted in what turned out to be Iraq's most peaceful election since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Big wins for Maliki's followers could mark a major shift in Iraqi politics away from religious identity, pulling the rug out from under ISCI, Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite group.
ISCI ran an overtly religious campaign, invoking Shi'ite ritual and its perceived closeness to Iraq's top Shi'ite clergy, or Marjaiya, headed by revered cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, despite his wish to remain above the political fray.
ISCI's losses bode ill for it ahead of parliamentary polls due later this year, raising fears over its next move.
"Will ISCI accept this, or will they resort to sabotage, to armed conflict, or other things?" Ghassan al-Atiyyah of the Iraq Foundation for Democracy and Development said.
IDENTITY POLITICS
Formed in exile in Iran during Saddam Hussein's reign, ISCI is well funded, and many resent its perceived foreign backing. Many voters say they have not seen much improvement in the southern provinces ISCI has controlled since 2005.
"ISCI has several strikes against it (such as) the attempt to invoke religious references, especially Sistani, when the ayatollah himself clearly rejected this," Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group think-tank said.
"It's the poor governance of the past four years, and its baggage. People have never learned to trust ISCI. They still think of it as an Iranian proxy," he added.
ISCI had also pushed for an independent Shi'ite region in Iraq's south, though little was made of this in their campaign. Maliki, in contrast, called for national unity and a strong central government, and touted the sharp fall in violence in Iraq over the past 18 months.
"Maliki changed his clothes he didn't mention Islam in his speeches, he didn't speak as the Dawa Party, but as a secularist would speak, about civil society," Atiyyah said.
Another key player in the Shi'ite south, followers of the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, also eschewed religious campaigning.
Religion loomed large over Iraqi politics amid the Sunni-Shi'ite bloodbath that followed the U.S. invasion, and a broad Shi'ite coalition corralled the Shi'ite vote in 2005.
"The (coalition) failed in government, and so the Shi'ite vote is not on the basis of sectarian identity but bread and butter issues, like security and service delivery," Dodge said.
"That leaves ISCI very vulnerable and exposed," he added.
WHAT NEXT FOR ISCI?
ISCI may have clung to enough clout to neuter some of Dawa's influence. It has a lot of money and patronage to dispense and may yet dominate through alliances, analysts say.
The possible strong ISCI losses in the provincial elections, may on the other hand, trigger an implosion of the party.
ISCI's leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim has cancer, and his son Ammar al-Hakim seems certain to replace him, a hereditary succession that may not please all ISCI members.
Also, a lot of ISCI's power has derived from its close alliance with the Badr Organization, which has seats in parliament as well as a powerful armed wing.
"The Badr Organization will now feel more encouraged to act separately, more independently," Attiya said.
(www.reuters.com)
Iraq must focus on reconstruction upkeep, U.S. says
By Missy Ryan
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq must ensure it can maintain costly public works and avoid errors that marred past reconstruction efforts backed by billions of dollars of U.S. aid, the senior U.S. military engineer in the country says.
The U.S. military has placed new emphasis on making sure that Iraqi officials, from engineers to ministers, spend more time and money on operations and maintenance, said Major General Michael Eyre, Army Corps of Engineers commander in Iraq.
The Iraqi government was now setting aside funds to ensure facilities used to generate power, treat water or provide health care can yield desperately needed services.
"They're making that commitment toward that," he said in an interview late Tuesday..
Workers must be trained to operate expensive equipment and contracts must include warranties and spare parts.
"These are things that weren't done previously."
As the violence that has gripped Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion subsides, Iraqis are focusing more than ever on basic services still lacking despite U.S. relief and reconstruction efforts worth about $50 billion since 2003.
The special U.S. inspector general for Iraq concluded in a study this week that the United States largely failed to meet goals set after the invasion to rebuild Iraqi public works.
It found that efforts to improve electricity and oil output, perhaps the two most important bellwethers of progress in Iraq after the level of violence, have fallen short despite the "sea of taxpayer dollars" spent by the Bush administration.
While rampant violence crippled reconstruction, much of blame has also gone to poorly coordinated U.S. projects, waste in the U.S. contracting system and, to some extent, fraud. In one case, a $32 million wastewater project in western Iraq fell years behind schedule and tripled in cost.
TO THE BREAKING POINT
Another problem seen again and again has been Iraq's failure to properly operate and maintain reconstruction projects and, more generally, costly public works.
Such problems are often blamed on Saddam Hussein's decades-long rule, when sanctions meant repair parts were often unobtainable and when a culture of fear prompted officials to provide services like electricity at all costs.
"What we've seen often is that there's a tendency to run equipment until it breaks then buy anew, rather than spend a lot of effort to maintain it. That's one of the lessons we've learned," said Richard Hancock, Corps program director.
In just one case last year, a $20 million power turbine, purchased under Saddam but well within its lifespan, burned out in a flash when power plant operators failed to respond to a problem. Proper training could have prevented that.
"The Iraqi government, the ministries, have recognized the importance of the maintenance function and they are putting both energy and funding toward that now," Hancock said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which since it began work in Iraq in 2004 has managed about $7 billion in infrastructure and reconstruction projects, has now shifted efforts to overseeing mainly Iraqi-funded projects.
Yet even in 2009, many in Baghdad have just a few hours of grid power a day. Oil output was 2.58 million bpd before the invasion; it is now 2.3 million to 2.4 million bpd.
(www.reuters.com)
The Dawa Party of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki was the overwhelming winner of Iraq's provincial elections, the first official results show. But while candidates in the slate backed by Dawa garnered the most votes of any party in nine of Iraq's provinces, the party fell short of being able to operate without coalition-building.
(www.noozz.com)
Voting on Speaker to be put off , says Jubouri 09/02/2009 17:48:00
Baghdad (NINA)- Lawmaker of the Arab Independent Bloc Abid Mutlag al-Jubouri has expected the vote to choose the new parliament’s speaker would be postponed until after the parliament's recess.
(www.ninanews.com)
American soldier killed in non-combatant incident in Iraq
Military and Security 2/9/2009 9:47:00 AM
BAGHDAD, Feb 9 (KUNA) -- An American soldier was killed here on Sunday in a non-combatant incident in Baghdad, according to the American Army in Iraq.
An army statement said that the soldier belongs to the multi-forces unit in Baghdad, and added the incident is under investigations.
Further information concerning the name of the soldier and the unit he serves with would be announced after the United States Department of Defense informs his next of kin.
The death toll of American soldiers in Iraq reached 4,239 since the war to liberate Iraq in 2003. This is the second soldier to die in February.(end) ahh.lb KUNA 090947 Feb 09NNNN
(www.kuna.net.kw)
Network for Peace, Peaceful Coexistence Formed in 4 Provinces
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09 February 2009 ( Aswat Al Iraq )
By SULAIMANIYA
The first regional conference about the national reconciliation and peaceful coexistence issued a final communiqué, in which it announced the formation of a (peace and peaceful coexistence network) in four provinces.
“The network consists of a number of organizations, parties, media institutions, and chieftains in Kirkuk, Salah el-Din, Ninewa, and Diala,” Atta Mohamed, director of the civilian development organization, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The first regional conference about the national reconciliation and peaceful coexistence was held on February 7-8 in Dukan resort with the participation of 100 representatives of civil society organizations, political parties, and chieftains from the four provinces,” he also said.
“The participants stressed the importance of peaceful coexistence as the only guarantee for the success of the democratic process in the country and the national reconciliation among Iraqis,” he explained.
For his part, the head of the Kurdistan parliament’s relations committee, Areez Abdullah, said that the peaceful coexistence will happen only by defeating terrorism and solving problems.
“Terrorism, corruption and the absence of services and the unfair distribution of wealth lead to the citizen’s lack of care,” Mahdi Jaber Mahdi, a professor at the political science faculty in Salah el-Din university, said.
For her part, a member from the Kirkuk provincial council, Almas Fadel, said that some scholars and Imams contribute in fanning on the fire and stirring up violent acts, asserting that their speeches instigate violence.
“The real reconciliation starts with the citizens’ trust in politicians and avoiding unnecessary clashes,” another member of the Kirkuk council, Turkan Shoukar, said.
The Civilian Development was established ion March 16, 1999 in Sulaimaniya with the support from a Swedish organization for supporting democracy and human rights.
It has offices in Kirkuk, Diala, Ninewa, Salah el-Din as well as Iraq’s Kurdistan provinces.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
Thanks for your postings on the current events. Its gotten very quiet here and although I do not post here except for a few one liners from time to time I look foward to reading this blog on a daily basis and am happy to know the current situation there. I did spend time in Iraq as a private contractor in Iraq from 7/03 to 7/06 and what an improvement since then. Hopefully soon we will see the fruits of our labor.
I also read this Blog and I am glad you are keeping it going with the information of of Iraq and Dinar, I been working now in Iraq since 2003 till present and yes there has been alot of improvement since but still alot to go.
Let us hope for all the people to find there away for peace.
Iraq awards engineering contracts for four refineries
Source: BI-ME , Author: BI-ME staff
Posted: 09-02-2009
IRAQ. Iraq has awarded Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) contracts to international companies to build four major new refineries with a combined total capacity of 750,000 bpd, Iraqi oil sources said recently.
The sources said the first contract, valued at an estimated US$65 million, was signed between the State Company for Oil Projects and Foster Wheeler of the US to carry out the FEED for a proposed 300,000 bpd refinery to be located in Nassiriyah in southern Iraq.
The Nassiriyah refinery, and the adjacent Nassiriyah oil field, were the subject of a confidential memorandum of understanding signed last August between the Oil Ministry and a partnership of Japan's Nippon Oil and Italy's Eni. Under the MoU, which has not been made public and was not included in Iraq's two bid rounds, Nippon will build the refinery and Eni will develop the oilfield to supply the refinery with crude. Both projects are to be implemented on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction basis with Nippon providing the financing for the estimated US$5 billion project.
There has been no confirmation from Eni on the report, which follows a visit to Iraq by Eni CEO Paulo Scaroni, the most senior oil executive to have visited Iraq since the US-led war of 2003.
According to a report from Platts, the Oil Ministry later invited Spanish oil company Repsol to bid for development of the Nassiriyah field, to provide some sort of competition after objections by some quarters in the ministry that the award to Eni was exclusive and non-competitive.
Sources said Repsol was responding positively to the Ministry's request.
The second contract, valued at an estimated US$27 million, was signed between SCOP and French engineering giant Technip, for a 150,000 bpd refinery to be located in the south central province of Kerbala. This is the old Central Refinery project which has been on and off since the late 1980s.
The third and fourth contracts, valued at US$60 million each, were negotiated by the Oil Ministry in Baghdad with Shaw & Webster of the US to carry out the FEED for two 150,000 bpd refineries, one to be located in the southern province of Meissan and the other in the northern oil province of Kirkuk.
The contracts were signed on the Iraqi side by the Southern Refinery Company and the Northern Refinery Company respectively.
Iraq currently has three main refining centres: the northern Baiji refining complex with a nominal capacity of 300,000 bpd; the Dora refinery near Baghdad with 90,000 bpd capacity and the 140,000 bpd Basrah refinery in the south.
It also has 15 units of an old How-Baker design with a capacity of 10,000 bpd, some of them assembled locally in recent years, which are capable of producing naphtha and gasoil only.
These units make Iraq's total installed refining capacity 680,000 bpd, but actual operating capacity during 2008 was around 450,000 bpd.
Iraq currently imports large quantities of products, to meet local demand, mainly from Persian Gulf countries, including Iran, at an average daily rate of refined products imports, including gasoline, exceeding 5 million litres per day during 2008.
In my view, Iraq is better served by importing less of its fuel needs. Relying on its own source will solidify Iraq's independence from the influence of Iran.
Once multiple streams of foreign investment enter Iraq and the money that accompanies that investment barbarism will not have a home inside Iraq.
It is my hope the secularist win the majority of the seats in parliament later this summer.
Iraq to reopen museum, symbol of 2003 looting
Wed Feb 11, 2009 3:50pm GMT
By Khalid al-Ansary
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq will reopen later this month its renowned national museum, home to priceless artefacts plundered in the unchecked chaos following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, an Iraqi minister said.
The long-awaited reopening marks a milestone in the government's efforts to retrieve and preserve artefacts and archaeological sites from Iraq's history after almost six years of theft, destruction and violence.
The country is said to be the site of the 'cradle of civilisation', the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the looting of relics -- some thousands of years old -- was seen as a tragedy for Iraq and for the world.
Qahtan al-Jibouri, Iraq's minister of state for tourism and antiquities, said the government had been renovating the museum in central Baghdad for several months and planned to open its doors to the public before the end of February.
The museum and other archaeological sites will be protected by a newly formed Interior Ministry force called the "relics protection force," Jibouri said in an interview.
The force will aim to prevent a repeat of the devastation of April 2003 when looters robbed the museum of some 15,000 priceless artefacts as part of a wave of theft from public buildings after Saddam Hussein's regime fell.
The looting hardened criticism of the United States, whose troops stood guard at the Iraqi Oil Ministry but did nothing to stop massive looting elsewhere. "Stuff happens," then-Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld quipped.
Officials have since struggled to rebuild the museum's collection, recouping about a third of what was looted.
SECURITY FIRST
Even as violence across Iraq dropped sharply, officials put off reopening the museum until its security could be assured. Now, with violence at its lowest point since the war began, the museum -- and Iraq -- has been deemed ready.
Jibouri said Iraq was trying to encourage the return and repatriation of other stolen artefacts, offering a reward and promising not to file charges for ill-gotten goods.
"A good number of relics are being returned," he said. The amount of the reward depends on officials' assessment of the piece's worth along with its authenticity.
Jibouri's ministry has also been reaching out through Iraqi embassies the world over in hopes of tracking down other artefacts plundered before or after 2003. Even under Saddam, poorly guarded archaeological sites were widely plundered.
Peruvian officials recently handed over three pieces to the Iraqi embassy in Lima, including a personal letter written on a clay tablet dating to ancient Babylon.
The museum is a central plank in the strategy of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government to bolster tourism in Iraq and protect valuable historical sites.
"The ministry is serious about carrying out its plans, but our funding is extremely limited," he said.
However, security, not funding, is still the chief concern in assessing the future of Iraq's tourism industry.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians visit religious sites in Iraq each year, but Jibouri said he hopes to broaden that to include cultural tourism and visitors from other countries.
Iraq has received funding or expertise from the United States and Italy to restore ancient sites and to build centres for training and maintaining relics, Jibouri said.
Washington provided $13 million (9 million pounds) to help restore the museum and $700,000 to repair ruins at the ancient city of Babylon, which have been damaged by U.S. and coalition soldiers.
Big oil faces poor terms in race for Iraq
Thu Feb 12, 2009 7:59am GMT
By Simon Webb and Ahmed Rasheed - Analysis
ISTANBUL/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - As Iraq prepares to pit the world's top oil firms against each other in a contest for access to prized oil fields, executives are worried they may have to almost give away their services to win risky deals.
The allure of the world's third-largest oil reserves and the potential for future, more lucrative contracts means competition will almost certainly be fierce among companies with little access to cheap oil elsewhere in the Middle East.
They cannot afford to miss out, even if the first bidding round for Iraqi contracts since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 carries little immediate prospect of the reward they crave.
"The model contract hasn't been agreed or explained and the direction this is going in is scaring the hell out of international oil companies who really aren't sure what the terms will be," said one senior oil company executive on condition of anonymity.
Iraqi oil officials will meet representatives of 30 international oil firms in Istanbul at a workshop beginning on Thursday to discuss concerns ahead of bidding in June.
Representatives from Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron and Conoco are among those expected to attend.
But doubts range from basic issues about payment and control at the six oil fields on offer to how safe it is for oil firms to send staff into the country after years of violence.
With spending budgets constrained by the slump in oil prices, the risks involved in Iraq and the lack of clarity on contract terms have got oil executives worried.
"In this oil price environment there is less appetite for risk," said Alex Munton, analyst with consultancy Wood Mackenzie. "And this bid round is happening in a context where major questions in Iraq around the structure of the oil industry have yet to be decided."
An oil law to define the framework for foreign company investment has been stuck with feuding politicians for years. Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani has decided to push ahead with bidding rounds for oil service contracts for some of the country's biggest oilfields anyway.
The contracts are for 20 years, so oil companies want mechanisms built in that release them from obligations if the legal and political environment changes.
"What if a region we are operating in takes on the power to renegotiate deals? What if the oil law is changed substantially before it passes? At what point can we declare force majeure?" another senior oil company executive said.
With no oil law in place, oil companies were also concerned no authority has the power to ratify long-term contracts.
REWARD?
Companies would live with such eventualities if their potential profits were big enough.
"For international oil companies it is very simple," said one senior executive at an oil major, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There has to be a balance between risk and reward. And we don't see that here."
The contract Iraq is offering is a service contract that pays a set fee to oil companies, which prefer contracts that give them a share in profits and allow them to book oil reserves.
Shahristani has talked about sharing profit oil but Iraqi officials have yet to define how, executives said.
The service contracts proposed by Iraq for the six oil fields on offer have three cost elements for bidding. The first is the cost per barrel of maintaining production at a baseline level. The second is to increase output. The third is for peak output seven years after the contract begins and for the length of time that it can be maintained.
Oil majors say it is unclear how Iraq will weight each category when it evaluates the bids.
"Are they just looking for cost savings? Or are they looking for quality?" a senior executive at another oil major said.
"If it's just cost then how can we compete with low-ball bids from Chinese or Indian firms with government support and a completely different mandate? They are not driven by profits, they are driven by access."
State-owned Asian companies hungry to secure future supplies have beaten oil majors in bidding rounds in Africa and elsewhere with cheap bids and pledges to develop infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.
The baseline output target for fields has yet to be agreed, and oil executives say that should vary for each field over the 20-year period.
"Some of these fields may go into decline during that period. You can't just set an unchanged baseline," said one executive.
While I rarely post an article, I always stay up todate with the postings to Truck and Barter. I came across this article written by Mark Nestmann of the Nestmann Group. He has provided very sound analysis in the past and I thought it would be interesting to get your thoughts and comments regarding the potential effects of Exchange Controls on future trading and exchange with the Dinar!
How to Get Ready for Exchange Controls…
“Exchange controls – laws restricting private ownership of, or transactions in, foreign currencies and gold – are blossoming throughout the world. Residents of Cuba, Malaysia, Myanmar, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe have long dealt with these restrictions. So have residents of India and China, although the restrictions there aren't as severe.”
“But as the global financial crisis has deepened, in recent months, Argentina, Iceland and Nigeria have also imposed exchange controls. And in the next few months, they may be coming to your country. No matter where you live, you need to get ready for this possibility.”
“Only a few decades ago, exchange controls were common. France and Great Britain had exchange controls in effect until the late 1970s. In 1963, the United States imposed an “Interest Equalization Tax” on foreign borrowings in U.S. capital markets. And indeed, one form of exchange control remains in effect worldwide – no government, anywhere in the world, will redeem its national currency in gold.”
“Foreign exchange controls take many forms:
Prohibiting residents from owning a bank account denominated in another currency or an account in a foreign bank
Banning the use of foreign currency within the country
Banning residents from possessing foreign currency
Prohibiting exporters from drawing against a bank account except for internal transfers
Limiting bank trading in a domestic currency to discourage currency speculation
Restricting the amount of currency that may be imported or exported
Prohibiting residents from owning gold or exporting gold abroad
“Why do governments impose foreign exchange controls? Mainly because they appear to offer a solution to a dilemma faced by an increasing number of countries. These countries want a fixed exchange rate, which encourages domestic price stability. But they also want the ability to stimulate their economy through massive deficit spending, which depresses the value of the national currency. Foreign exchange controls offer these countries the apparent opportunity to achieve what would otherwise be economically impossible.”
“However, foreign exchange controls are a disaster for residents of the countries where they're imposed. Generally, residents must exchange their holdings in "hard" currencies or gold for holdings in the national currency. They can no longer legally protect themselves from any future decline in the international value of that currency, or from inflation at home.”
“Could foreign exchange controls be coming to Europe or the United States? Iceland imposed exchange controls last fall after its currency fell to an all-time low in the wake of bank failures in that country. Russia, whose currency is in free-fall, may be next.”
“In a global financial crisis, governments begin considering economic "solutions" that would have been unthinkable under more benign conditions. And it's hardly unthinkable that foreign exchange controls may well spread to major industrialized countries in Europe – and the United States.”
Everybody ready for a good, unverified, rumor from another forum? I've read about ten zillion rumors about the Dinar RV and none of them panned out. For some reason, this rumor made a little sense to me......
==============================================================================================================================================
I work in food service in Iraq. Not to say for who or where but I’m sure you can figure it out.
There is a conference room where high level military and the Iraqi military dine and have meetings at the same time. Sometimes Iraqi religious leaders come and they will eat as well. Myself and another contractor oversee 10 guys that bring food and beverages into the conference room in a restaurant manner.
We all are required to stay outside the room in a hallway until the sergeant at the doorway calls for something t o be brought. The sergeant and I are pretty good friends. I sold him 500K dinar last month.
Yesterday, there were several Iraqis in two groups of men in nice suits accompanied by a lot of security to lunch in our conference hall.
Well it went just like any other meeting and all of the Iraqis left. The surprising part about this is when it was over and we were loading our van back up with the trash and boxes from the conference room. The sergeant that was my buddy came out to smoke a cigarette and asked me if I could get a hold of 10,000,000 dinar for him as soon as possible. I told him I couldn’t get that much that fast. He asked if I knew who could. I told him to get it online would be best for that amount. I asked him what was up. He said :
“not a whole lot but if I plan on holding onto my Dinars, I would be a very happy person come mid-April”
I asked him what does he have to back it up he said he really can’t say… as a Major walked out and he said loud and obvious that the food was good and Bla Bla bla. Then the sergeant got into the Ford SUV and drove the Major away.
I know this guy it would be unlike him to BS me. After he left I was shaking. I was amazed. I hope this is it!!!
CAN ANYONE POINT OUT WHY MID-APRIL IS SO IMPORTANT?
Tsagli wrote: "CAN ANYONE POINT OUT WHY MID-APRIL IS SO IMPORTANT?"
This sounds like another shakey and baseless rumour. My best guess is that the Seargant may have heard something he saw as concrete or very positive about the hydrocarbon law being finalised. April could be a realistic timeframe for this important step to be taken, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
My own personal view is there will not be one single huge jump in exchange rate (Revalue), more a progressive movement, as investments come in, infrastructure is updated / completed and the oil starts to really flow.
I still see this as a great investment opportunity, but I think we are in this for the long haul i.e. several years before we can think about our investments being worth multiple times what we have invested.
Iraqi Economic Development Hinges on Oil Ministry – PM
BAGHDAD, 12 February 2009 ( Aswat Al Iraq )
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Thursday that the development of Iraq’s economy and establishment of reconstruction projects depend on the efforts exerted by the oil ministry workers, adding oil wealth is “the heart of the Iraqi economy”.
“After security was improved, the country is now heading towards upgrading the level of services, for all obstacles impeding the development of the economy have been removed,” Maliki was quoted in a cabinet statement after meeting with Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani and other ministry officials.
“Global firms are competing to work and invest in Iraq’s reconstruction projects after they used to refrain from working in Iraq due to the security conditions in the past period,” added Maliki in the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Shahrestani had said on Saturday that his ministry generated revenues of $61.883 billion in 2008, channeled into the Iraqi Development Fund, while the planned figure was $46.510 billion.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
Iraq’s oil reserve enough for 100 years- minister
February 14, 2009 - 02:25:20
KARBALA / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Minister of Oil Hussein al-Shahrestani on Saturday said that Iraq has an oil reserve that will suffice for the next 100 years.
“Iraq has an estimated 400 geological compositions that have not yet been discovered,” the minister told several reporters, including a correspondent for Aswat al-Iraq news agency, during his visit to Karbala city today.
“Explored oil in Iraq reaches 115 billion barrels,” the minister said, adding that oil excavation companies will even increase Iraq’s reserve of crude oil.
“This will make Iraq home to the world’s largest oil reserve,” he noted.
(www.en.aswataliraq.info)
Iraq is employing too many people in government jobs and a precipitous fall in oil prices makes the situation untenable, a United Nations report warned on Sunday.
(www.noozz.com)
Iraq is employing too many people in government jobs and a precipitous fall in oil prices makes the situation untenable, a United Nations report warned on Sunday.
(www.noozz.com)
INTERVIEW-Despite risk, US sees Iraq investment at last
Sun Feb 15, 2009 2:06pm GMT
By Missy Ryan
BAGHDAD, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The long wait in Iraq for the foreign investment that was supposed to pour in after the 2003 U.S-led invasion may finally be over as violence begins to fade, U.S. officials believe. "We may well be at a turning point, frankly. We've heard this before, but the conditions are lining up that there could be significant interest being shown by Western companies," said Marc Wall, the top U.S. economic official in Baghdad.
Wall signaled that a sharp drop in violence, coupled with perceptions of progress for Iraq's fragile democracy, may put to rest the concerns that have so far kept major Western investment, especially in Iraq's lucrative oil sector, at bay.
Foreign investment will be one of the keys to transforming Iraq's economy, now almost entirely reliant on oil and unable so far to fuel broad-based growth, into an engine that can create jobs and rebuild the country after years of war.
When the Bush administration led the invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003, Washington promised to reinvent an economy frozen in time, and establish a flourishing, modern free market.
Six years and tens of thousands of deaths later, many Iraqis complain that life is no better than it was under Saddam.
In Baghdad many get only a few hours of public electricity a day, public health care and education falls far short of what it should be, and private sector jobs are scarce.
Iraq is lucky to be sitting on the world's third-largest oil reserves, and the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is in the midst of welcoming competition from the world's biggest oil firms, like Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Total (TOTF.PA), to secure contracts to develop major oil and gas fields.
While growth outside Iraq oil industry has finally begun to stir, sectors like agriculture, industry and tourism are dwarfed by oil and prospects for major development are distant.
FRAUGHT WITH RISK
Some investment from fellow Arab nations, especially the Gulf, has begun to trickle into Iraq, but the dearth of Western and especially U.S. firms operating on the ground is stark.
Iraq remains a dangerous place. Suicide bombings and car bombs occur daily, and recent weeks have seen a worrying up tick in political assassinations after Jan. 31 provincial elections.
Security costs for Western officials or businessmen are hugely expensive. Most travel around Baghdad in armed convoys -- when they are able to venture outside walled compounds.
There is a perception, too, of serious political risk. Tension is mounting between the government of Prime Minister Maliki, a Shi'ite Arab, and semi-autonomous Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq over oil resources and territory.
Many ask if Maliki, who made a strong showing in the local polls, will try to grab more power. Corruption is another worry.
Wall, who has the rank of ambassador, called the election a milestone, for the simple fact it was not marred by violence.
"Politics are becoming more normal. What that means is the door is open for greater business activity and ... engagement."
He said Iraq may benefit from the global financial crisis, as it might prompt some to look past Iraq's security risks in stacking up regional investment opportunities.
"The banking sector was essentially closed off, and did not suffer contagion," he said. "On relative terms, this place looks better. Western companies see an untapped market."
But the global economic slowdown also poses a major risk for Iraq as it depends on oil for 90 percent of its revenues.
After oil prices collapsed from their all-time high last summer, amid expectations for lower demand, Iraq was forced to slash 2009 spending plans twice, and officials say that budget woes could start to cramp reconstruction spending in 2010. (Editing by Hans Peters)
Big oil encouraged on Iraq deals but doubts remain
Sun Feb 15, 2009 9:27am GMT
By Simon Webb
ISTANBUL, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Sweetened terms for Iraqi oil deals have encouraged international oil firms competing to work on the country's most prized fields, but executives remain concerned about taking on huge risk for little reward.
Iraq has offered to rework contracts on offer for six of its biggest producing oilfields, after Iraqi oil officials hosted a three-day workshop that concluded on Saturday in Istanbul for representatives of the 32 energy firms in the race for the deals.
The meeting clarified many of the oil company's doubts, but plenty more remain as executives weigh signing up for a contract model they dislike against the allure of access to the world's third largest oil reserves.
"Of course you want access, but you don't want to lose your shirt," said one senior executive with a major oil company on condition of anonymity. "This is going to be difficult to justify to the chief executive. There was quite a negative aura about the companies here."
The oil service contracts are flat-fee deals. Big oil companies prefer deals that give them a share of profits and allow them to book reserves. The terms for the multi-billion dollar investments look even poorer in the context of the oil price collapse of the past seven months, which has left oil companies tightening their budgets.
U.S. oil has fallen over $100 to around $38 from a peak over $147 in July, which was just after Iraq announced the first bidding round.
"Every dollar counts now, we're watching every last one," said a senior executive from another big oil firm. "I'd say the $30 environment colours the whole picture for Iraq. We will be taking a very hard look."
REVISIONS, DELAYS
Changing terms mean oil firms will have to revise bid offers and this may result in some delays in Iraq's plans to award the contracts in June, executives said.
"They may delay if there is consensus that a delay would help us prepare bids," one executive said.
Analysts have said that concerns about security and the political and legal environment in Iraq might encourage oil firms to sign deals and then delay implementing them.
But Iraq would brook no such approach and would cancel contracts if oil firms failed to start work within six months of deals becoming effective, said Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, deputy director general at Iraq's petroleum contracts and licensing department.
"We don't want any company to just put the contracts in their pocket without implementing them," Ameedi said.
Sending people to work in a country that they still see as unsafe after years of violence is a tough ask for international oil firms.
"We can send people to visit, with important security measures in place, but not to work," said Massimo Ignesti, international corporate security manager for Italy's Eni (ENI.MI). "We are constantly evaluating it."
Iraq aims to boost oil output by 1.5 million barrels per day with the contracts, 60 percent up on current production of around 2.5 million bpd.
But bottlenecks would be a problem for oil firms working simultaneously on Iraq's giant fields to overhaul infrastructure and boost output. Big oil firms also fear working with the state oil firms will slow them down.
"Actually implementing these contracts is the gorilla in the room," said one executive. "This would be a massive undertaking even if oil firms were working alone. But under a forced marriage with the state company, in a dilapidated industry, there will be huge pressure on resources, rigs, people, everything."
Iraq has also failed to address how oil firms would get paid if the country becomes subject to the production quotas of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The contract states oil firms will be paid using oil from improved output. But if OPEC cuts force them to trim, there may be no extra oil left.
Iraq is a member of OPEC but is exempt from quotas after years of sanctions and war.
Before any of you decide to slash your wrists, due to the financial status of the world, please be aware that the US will come out of this sooner than other nations because we're in better shape than they are. I'm a trader in world currencies and I see the strength of the US currency on a daily basis. However, I do have some concerns about the idiots and crooks that run our country....not to worry....we've survived worse and will survive again.
I wish the Dinar would RV soon so I could convert it to Gold,land and $100 bills. I've been hoarding my stash of Dinar since Aug. 2004 and I'm ready!!!
==========================================================================================================================================================
Chinese Central Bank Adviser Sees Dollar Domination (Update1)
By Yanping Li
Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. dollar will continue to dominate the global financial system, as shown by demand for the currency during the current crisis, Fan Gang, an adviser to China’s central bank, said in Beijing.
Other Chinese government economists have the same view, Fan said at a seminar today.
The world economy is far from recovery, with companies’ lay- offs “only beginning,” said Fan. China needs to focus on policies to cut its high savings rate and boost consumption, he said, echoing statements by central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan in Malaysia last week.
While initially hurting company earnings, falling prices may help the Chinese economy by boosting consumption, Fan said. Consumer prices rose by the least since 2006 in January and producer prices tumbled by the most in almost seven years.
To contact the reporters on this story: Li Yanping in Beijing at yli16@bloomberg.net
Germany's foreign minister has arrived in the Iraqi capital in the first such visit since Berlin opposed the US-led invasion in 2003.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier was received at Baghdad airport by his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari.
Correspondents say violence is at its lowest level since 2003, though security remains fragile and visits by foreign VIPs are shrouded in security.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Baghdad exactly a week ago.
The trips signal a change of heart in some European capitals as they deepen ties with Iraq having opposed the former US administration's moves to topple Saddam Hussein, observers say.
US President Barack Obama says he plans to withdraw US troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.
"We hope that this will be a new beginning for broader relations in different fields," said Iraq's Deputy Foreign Minister Labeed Abbawi, who was also in the reception committee.
Mr Steinmeier is due to hold meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Maliki and President Jalal Talabani.
Stabilisation
The last time a German foreign minister visited Iraq was in 1987, three years before UN sanctions imposed on Saddam Hussein's government over its invasion of Kuwait.
Economy Minister Michael Glos visited Iraq last July since when the two governments signed a bilateral investment agreement.
"The Iraqi government has achieved important successes in stabilising the country in recent months," Mr Steinmeier told reporters before leaving for Iraq.
"My visit shows that we want to support the new Iraq as it moves towards consolidating democracy. Germany wants to assist Iraq in reconstruction," he added.
Economy ministry officials in Berlin said Germany would open an economic information offices in Baghdad and Irbil, in the mainly Kurdish north, to help German firms do business in Iraq.
Gemany is Europe's largest economy and Iraq has some of the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
As our Merlin military transport helicopter scudded over the flat dun landscape of southern Iraq, the rear gunner threw himself from side to side on the open tail-flap, peering down this way and that, ever on the alert for potential danger.
Every so often, the juddering craft jolted even more as a bunch of flares were sent arcing down through the sky.
At our destination, an installation that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, we hovered and landed in a whirlwind of brown dust that ravaged washing-lines strung between mudbrick houses nearby.
A small crowd of curious locals turned out to watch what was clearly something of a novel event, as out clambered an odd mixture of British military personnel in combat fatigues and civilians in dark suits awkwardly crimped by flak jackets and topped by ill-fitting helmets.
For this was not a combat mission. Those are few and far between nowadays for the 4,000 remaining British forces in southern Iraq, who are preparing to leave.
This may currently be in commercial terms quite high risk, but it is also very high reward
Lt Gen John Cooper
Already, since late last year, the primary focus of their mission has been formally changed from security to promoting good governance and economic development.
As part of that revised mandate, here they were ferrying a delegation of Japanese economic officials around the south, where Tokyo is pumping in hundred of millions of dollars in soft loans.
Warm welcome
As their guide and escort, the Japanese had no less a figure than the top British officer in Iraq, Lt Gen John Cooper, who retires shortly as deputy commander of all Coalition forces in the country and is also a former commander of the British troops in the south.
We had landed at the Basra oil refinery, where the visitors were given a warm welcome by director-general Tha'ir Ibrahim and his staff.
"Now that security is so much better, we're launching projects to increase the refinery capacity by about 35% and to upgrade the product specification," said Mr Ibrahim.
"The tank farm [oil depot] here was 60% destroyed during the war with Iran in the 1980s, and then hit again by the Coalition during the occupation of Kuwait in 1990."
"Now the Coalition are helping us rehabilitate the plant. That's life!"
'Big change'
The Japanese delegation were as delighted as their hosts at being able finally to visit projects which they have been involved in from afar for years, without being able to see them on the ground for security reasons.
An Iraqi and a British soldier conduct a joint patrol in Basra
Life is calmer in Iraq's south, but there is no guarantee this is permanent
"I really feel the big change over the past year, and I feel really safe here," said delegation leader Hideki Matsunaga, who heads the Middle East department at the Japanese International Co-operation Agency.
"Of course there are still risks and some incidents and so on, but that's the same all over the world."
"Maybe it will take a little bit more time to change the perception of private-sector people, but maybe first public-sector people like us will come more frequently, and demonstrate that people can now do business as usual."
The Japanese are pledging as much as $1.5bn (£1.05bn) in soft loans (0.75% interest over 40 years, with a grace period of 10 years) and projects will be open to international tender, not just Japanese companies.
Companies cautious
So far, the British forces have helped show 19 companies around the south, where $9bn-worth of investment possibilities have been identified.
But despite the money and lives that it has cost the British to maintain their presence in the strategic, oil-rich south, British companies have been slow to show interest in exploring the investment opportunities.
That's something Lt Gen Cooper would like to see remedied.
"I think there is sufficient potential here, in what is the third largest oil reserves in the world, for British companies, and indeed any others, to come here," he said.
"This may currently be in commercial terms quite high risk, but it is also very high reward, and I would certainly encourage any British company, whether it be in the oil industry or any other part of industry, to get involved in southern Iraq, because the potential is really quite significant."
Militias defeated
Back at the Coalition Operations Base at Basra airport, huge energy is being poured into a co-ordinated effort involving British and American diplomats, development agencies, the military and the Iraqi authorities, mainly focused on bolstering the huge recent security gains by promoting effective regional government and projects that provide benefits and jobs for the people.
At Basra airport, souvenirs are on sale for departing British soldiers
The provincial elections on 31 January passed off without a single incident, to the huge relief of Coalition and Iraqi officials.
"The time is now," said one British official.
"There is a significant window. But there is no complacency, because there is still danger."
"The threat now is if the provincial council should fail to deliver, especially in the realm of creating jobs."
Security in Basra and elsewhere in the south was transformed last spring, when the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki threw the Iraqi army into a campaign, codenamed Charge of the Knights, to root out Shia militias which had plagued the area.
With Coalition help, the militia - mainly Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army - was heavily defeated.
Officials estimate that there may be around 200 militiamen still underground in Basra, which is controlled by up to 30,000 Iraqi army forces and police.
Nobody can rule out a return of militia rule if the momentum of the state should falter.
That explains the sense of urgency behind the efforts for political and economic development.
Most of the remaining 4,000 or so British troops will end their mission in May and be out of the country by the end of July.
An estimated 400 will stay behind to help train the Iraqi navy and provide other support for the Iraqi forces.
As our Merlin military transport helicopter scudded over the flat dun landscape of southern Iraq, the rear gunner threw himself from side to side on the open tail-flap, peering down this way and that, ever on the alert for potential danger.
Every so often, the juddering craft jolted even more as a bunch of flares were sent arcing down through the sky.
At our destination, an installation that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, we hovered and landed in a whirlwind of brown dust that ravaged washing-lines strung between mudbrick houses nearby.
A small crowd of curious locals turned out to watch what was clearly something of a novel event, as out clambered an odd mixture of British military personnel in combat fatigues and civilians in dark suits awkwardly crimped by flak jackets and topped by ill-fitting helmets.
For this was not a combat mission. Those are few and far between nowadays for the 4,000 remaining British forces in southern Iraq, who are preparing to leave.
This may currently be in commercial terms quite high risk, but it is also very high reward
Lt Gen John Cooper
Already, since late last year, the primary focus of their mission has been formally changed from security to promoting good governance and economic development.
As part of that revised mandate, here they were ferrying a delegation of Japanese economic officials around the south, where Tokyo is pumping in hundred of millions of dollars in soft loans.
Warm welcome
As their guide and escort, the Japanese had no less a figure than the top British officer in Iraq, Lt Gen John Cooper, who retires shortly as deputy commander of all Coalition forces in the country and is also a former commander of the British troops in the south.
We had landed at the Basra oil refinery, where the visitors were given a warm welcome by director-general Tha'ir Ibrahim and his staff.
"Now that security is so much better, we're launching projects to increase the refinery capacity by about 35% and to upgrade the product specification," said Mr Ibrahim.
"The tank farm [oil depot] here was 60% destroyed during the war with Iran in the 1980s, and then hit again by the Coalition during the occupation of Kuwait in 1990."
"Now the Coalition are helping us rehabilitate the plant. That's life!"
'Big change'
The Japanese delegation were as delighted as their hosts at being able finally to visit projects which they have been involved in from afar for years, without being able to see them on the ground for security reasons.
An Iraqi and a British soldier conduct a joint patrol in Basra
Life is calmer in Iraq's south, but there is no guarantee this is permanent
"I really feel the big change over the past year, and I feel really safe here," said delegation leader Hideki Matsunaga, who heads the Middle East department at the Japanese International Co-operation Agency.
"Of course there are still risks and some incidents and so on, but that's the same all over the world."
"Maybe it will take a little bit more time to change the perception of private-sector people, but maybe first public-sector people like us will come more frequently, and demonstrate that people can now do business as usual."
The Japanese are pledging as much as $1.5bn (£1.05bn) in soft loans (0.75% interest over 40 years, with a grace period of 10 years) and projects will be open to international tender, not just Japanese companies.
Companies cautious
So far, the British forces have helped show 19 companies around the south, where $9bn-worth of investment possibilities have been identified.
But despite the money and lives that it has cost the British to maintain their presence in the strategic, oil-rich south, British companies have been slow to show interest in exploring the investment opportunities.
That's something Lt Gen Cooper would like to see remedied.
"I think there is sufficient potential here, in what is the third largest oil reserves in the world, for British companies, and indeed any others, to come here," he said.
"This may currently be in commercial terms quite high risk, but it is also very high reward, and I would certainly encourage any British company, whether it be in the oil industry or any other part of industry, to get involved in southern Iraq, because the potential is really quite significant."
Militias defeated
Back at the Coalition Operations Base at Basra airport, huge energy is being poured into a co-ordinated effort involving British and American diplomats, development agencies, the military and the Iraqi authorities, mainly focused on bolstering the huge recent security gains by promoting effective regional government and projects that provide benefits and jobs for the people.
At Basra airport, souvenirs are on sale for departing British soldiers
The provincial elections on 31 January passed off without a single incident, to the huge relief of Coalition and Iraqi officials.
"The time is now," said one British official.
"There is a significant window. But there is no complacency, because there is still danger."
"The threat now is if the provincial council should fail to deliver, especially in the realm of creating jobs."
Security in Basra and elsewhere in the south was transformed last spring, when the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki threw the Iraqi army into a campaign, codenamed Charge of the Knights, to root out Shia militias which had plagued the area.
With Coalition help, the militia - mainly Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army - was heavily defeated.
Officials estimate that there may be around 200 militiamen still underground in Basra, which is controlled by up to 30,000 Iraqi army forces and police.
Nobody can rule out a return of militia rule if the momentum of the state should falter.
That explains the sense of urgency behind the efforts for political and economic development.
Most of the remaining 4,000 or so British troops will end their mission in May and be out of the country by the end of July.
An estimated 400 will stay behind to help train the Iraqi navy and provide other support for the Iraqi forces.
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Baghdad, 16 February 2009 ( Reuters )
By Missy Ryan
The long wait in Iraq for the foreign investment that was supposed to pour in after the 2003 U.S-led invasion may finally be over as violence begins to fade, U.S. officials believe. "We may well be at a turning point, frankly. We've heard this before, but the conditions are lining up that there could be significant interest being shown by Western companies," said Marc Wall, the top U.S. economic official in Baghdad.
Wall signaled that a sharp drop in violence, coupled with perceptions of progress for Iraq's fragile democracy, may put to rest the concerns that have so far kept major Western investment, especially in Iraq's lucrative oil sector, at bay.
Foreign investment will be one of the keys to transforming Iraq's economy, now almost entirely reliant on oil and unable so far to fuel broad-based growth, into an engine that can create jobs and rebuild the country after years of war.
When the Bush administration led the invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003, Washington promised to reinvent an economy frozen in time, and establish a flourishing, modern free market.
Six years and tens of thousands of deaths later, many Iraqis complain that life is no better than it was under Saddam.
In Baghdad many get only a few hours of public electricity a day, public healthcare and education falls far short of what it should be, and private sector jobs are scarce.
Iraq is lucky to be sitting on the world's third-largest oil reserves, and the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is in the midst of welcoming competition from the world's biggest oil firms, like Exxon Mobil and Total, to secure contracts to develop major oil and gas fields.
While growth outside's Iraq oil industry has finally begun to stir, sectors like agriculture, industry and tourism are dwarfed by oil and prospects for major development are distant.
FRAUGHT WITH RISK
Some investment from fellow Arab nations, especially the Gulf, has begun to trickle into Iraq, but the dearth of Western and especially U.S. firms operating on the ground is stark.
Iraq remains a dangerous place. Suicide bombings and car bombs occur daily, and recent weeks have seen a worrying uptick in political assassinations after January 31 provincial elections.
Security costs for Western officials or businessmen are hugely expensive. Most travel around Baghdad in armed convoys -- when they are able to venture outside walled compounds.
There is a perception, too, of serious political risk. Tension is mounting between the government of Prime Minister Maliki, a Shi'ite Arab, and semi-autonomous Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq over oil resources and territory.
Many ask if Maliki, who made a strong showing in the local polls, will try to grab more power. Corruption is another worry.
Wall, who has the rank of ambassador, called the election a milestone, for the simple fact it was not marred by violence.
"Politics are becoming more normal. What that means is the door is open for greater business activity and ... engagement."
He said Iraq may benefit from the global financial crisis, as it might prompt some to look past Iraq's security risks in stacking up regional investment opportunities.
"The banking sector was essentially closed off, and did not suffer contagion," he said. "On relative terms, this place looks better. Western companies see an untapped market."
But the global economic slowdown also poses a major risk for Iraq as it depends on oil for 90 percent of its revenues.
After oil prices collapsed from their all-time high last summer, amid expectations for lower demand, Iraq was forced to slash 2009 spending plans twice, and officials say that budget woes could start to cramp reconstruction spending in 2010.
(www.iraqupdates.com)
Kuwait deputy PM to visit Iraq, first since 1990
Wed Feb 18, 2009 8:13am EST
By Aseel Kami
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Kuwait's deputy prime minister will go to Iraq in March in what will be the first high-level visit of a Kuwaiti official since Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the tiny Gulf state, an Iraqi official said on Wednesday.
Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah, who is also Kuwait's foreign minister, will visit as violence unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam begins to wane and Iraq and Kuwait reach preliminary deals over shared border oil fields.
"It's (the visit) supposed to be during next month, in March," said the head of the media department in the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Haider al-Barrak.
Iraq was driven out of Kuwait in 1991 by a U.S.-led coalition in the first Gulf War.
Under U.N.-imposed peace terms, Iraq must pay 5 percent of its oil income in reparation to Kuwait and other nations.
Ties between Kuwait and Iraq have improved since the fall of Saddam, with Iraqi officials regularly visiting their tiny neighbor and Kuwaiti firms starting to expand to Iraq.
But the countries have yet to settle issues over demands by Baghdad to cancel loans Kuwait made to Iraq during its war with Iran in the 1980s.
Many in Kuwait are still bitter about the 1990 invasion, and parliament has signaled it would not approve a debt cancellation.
Kuwait has also said that any changes to the reparations that Iraq has to pay for the invasion must be decided by the U.N. Security Council.
Kuwaiti firms are lining up for opportunities as Iraq seeks to rebuild after years of sectarian bloodshed and insurgency.
Major Kuwaiti firms such as Agility, the Gulf's biggest logistics provider, and several banks are active in Iraq. National Bank of Kuwait, the country's biggest bank, said this week it wanted to boost its Iraq operations.
The Shi'ite Muslim-led government that now rules Iraq has complained that its mainly Sunni Muslim Arab neighbors have given it the cold shoulder since Saddam, a Sunni, was ousted. But diplomatic ties have slowly improved.
Kuwait's first ambassador to Iraq since 1990 took office in October and Jordan's King Abdullah became the first Arab leader since the fall of Saddam to visit Baghdad last August.
No Arab country had an ambassador posted in Baghdad from 2005 -- when Egypt's envoy was kidnapped and killed -- until September 2008.
(www.reuters.com)
Fast Afghan troop push may hurt Iraq: adviser
Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:23am EST
By William Maclean
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The insurgency in Iraq could reignite if the United States withdraws troops too fast in order to boost forces in Afghanistan, a military adviser to Western governments said Wednesday.
David Kilcullen told Reuters that if troop movements were mistimed Washington could again find itself fighting two insurgencies at once.
"The gains in Iraq are fragile. The situation is reversible. We need to be cautious about drawing down too quickly," he said on the sidelines of a security conference in Belgium.
Tuesday, President Barack Obama ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan to tackle an intensifying insurgency. The units had originally been scheduled to go to Iraq, where violence has fallen over the past year.
"We shouldn't be sleepwalking into an escalation in Afghanistan. We should proceed deliberately and carefully," said Kilcullen, an Australian counter-insurgency specialist who was a technical adviser to Washington on Iraq in 2005-08 and now consults informally on security for several Western governments.
"Seventeen thousand troops isn't going to break the bank, so if this is an initial step, fine, but at other times people have been talking about an additional 30,000 or 60,000."
U.S. forces that invaded Iraq in 2003 to oust Saddam Hussein must withdraw by the end of 2011 under a bilateral security pact signed by the previous U.S. administration of George W. Bush.
"SIGNIFICANT DANGER"
Obama would like the pullout to occur faster. During his election campaign, he promised to be out of Iraq within 16 months of taking office in January. The U.S. military has included the 16-month option among its battle plans.
Asked if there was a danger that Iraq's insurgency could revive, Kilcullen said: "Yes, there's a very significant danger of that and I think the most important danger is not that it will happen quickly but that it happens slowly.
"Because let's say it takes 2 or 3 years to become unstable. In that time we'll probably be very heavily committed in Afghanistan and find ourselves fighting a two-front campaign.
"We need to ask ourselves very carefully whether the best use of the troops we've finally freed up from Iraq is to throw them straight back into the fight in Afghanistan or whether we might not be better to create a regional reserve that can react to developing situations.
"I think the decision's already been made by President Obama to send those troops to Afghanistan, so that argument is kind of moot now."
U.S. officials have said Washington and its allies are not winning in Afghanistan, more than seven years after they toppled the Taliban for giving sanctuary to al Qaeda leaders responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States.
The forces are part of an anticipated build-up that could expand the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan to 60,000 troops, from a current 38,000. As well as U.S. forces, there are also some 30,000 troops from NATO nations in Afghanistan.
Kilcullen said the history of insurgencies showed that a withdrawal plan could be a powerful tool in promoting peace, providing it was not done strictly on the basis of a timetable.
"If you make a declaration of intent to leave based on conditions on the ground, that generally has a positive effect. So if you say 'when it's secure in a particular area we'll hand over control', that tends to have a good effect.
"If you make a purely timetable-based declaration of drawdown, that often has a negative effect because it makes your local allies turn against you because they realize they need to prove their anti-government credentials before you leave."
(www.reuters.com)
U.S. to decide in weeks, "not months" on Iraq troop cuts
Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:18pm EST
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will make a decision in weeks, not "days or months," on cutting U.S. troop levels in Iraq, a senior administration official said on Tuesday.
Obama has pledged to pull out all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months, while shifting thousands of soldiers to Afghanistan, which he has called the central front in the U.S.-declared war on terror.
"We are aggressively working Iraq and we expect a set of decisions on the responsible drawdown forthwith -- not within days or months, but weeks," the administration official told Reuters.
(www.reuters.com)
Trade Bank of Iraq Stages First International Banking Conference in Iraq
19 February 2009
The Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) fully sponsored a two-day conference, 28-29 January 2009, intended to encourage international banks to invest and to establish correspondent relationships with private sector banks.
The forum took place in Baghdad, under the patronage of the Minister of Finance, and was the first international banking congregation in Iraq, where international banks gathered with Iraqi public and private sector banks. Representatives from main government-owned banks such as Rashid and Rafidain, as well as over 30 private sector banks, mingled with delegates from other regional banks, as well as JP Morgan and Citigroup.
TBI staged the event to bring together public and private sector banks with the international banking community for dialogue. They discussed ways to build mutually beneficial relationships where their expertise can be shared, and there was open dialogue between private sector banks, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq.
The strong international attendance of the banking forum is another vote of confidence for Iraq: one of the main things which used to hold back investors and the international banking community from enjoying the favourable economic climate in Iraq was the security situation. Now more than 85% of the country has an acceptable security level which has opened Iraq up for business.
'We consider it as a big achievement that we gathered together the international banking community with Iraq's local banking sector for constructive discussion. The open dialogue witnessed between the private and public sector banks with the Central Bank of Iraq and the Ministry of Finance was very encouraging,' commented TBI's Chairman, Mr Hussein Al-Uzri.
Life's pretty rough here. The heat's worse than Arizona, in Summertime, not much water, too many pitchforks, going over to visit my friend Adolf, after work.........
S.Korea, Iraq agree on $3.55 billion oil development deal
Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:27am GMT
By Angela Moon
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will provide Iraq with $3.55 billion worth of infrastructure in return for oil field stakes, the Energy Ministry said on Tuesday.
South Korea would be given rights to the fields in southern Basra, which covers the majority of Iraq's crude output. In exchange, Seoul would build infrastructure such as power plants and generators, the ministry said in a statement.
The agreement came during a meeting between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his Iraqi counterpart, Jalal Talabani, in Seoul. A final agreement would be sealed by the first half of the year, it said.
The deal comes at a time when the Iraqi central government and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region are dispute foreign oil deals in the region.
"We regard the new agreement as evidence that tensions between South Korea and Iraq due to Korea National Oil Corp's involvement in the Kurdish oil development business have eased," the ministry said.
State-run KNOC recently entered a $2.1 billion investment in Kurdish oil fields alone after consortium members dropped out due to political instability.
SK Energy (096770.KS), South Korea's top refiner, vowed to stop additional investment in the semi-autonomous region without the central government's approval.
The right to sign independent oil deals with foreign oil firms has been a sore point between the Kurdish regional government and the central government, as the two sides struggle, sometimes publicly, for control of oil resources and territory. Baghdad has said such contracts are illegal without central government consent.
Help with Iraqi reconstruction is good news I do not see South Korea extracting those resources without Hydro Carbon Legislation. Maybe, this is an incipient signal that a consensus regarding the the HCL is building.
I read today that the oil minister called on parliment to pass the Hydro Carbon Legislation. Even he recognizes without it foreign investment will not flow into Iraq.
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to eliminate no-bid contracts that he said wasted billions of dollars in Iraq, and to reform the U.S. defense budget.
"We'll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq, and reform our defense budget so that we're not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don't use," Obama said in advance excerpts from an address to a joint session of Congress.
BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on Iraq on Wednesday to shed its dependence on oil production and warned that it would remain susceptible to global economic crises if it did not.
Iraq needed to pour money into reviving idle agricultural and industrial sectors, he said, but acknowledged that revenues from oil exports would be needed to do that, at first.
"The chronic problem that Iraq has suffered from for a long time is its dependence on a single resource," Maliki said at a conference on how Iraq can end its reliance on its oil reserves, the world's third largest.
Oil prices have fallen more than $100 from their peak of $147 per barrel last summer due to the worst global economic slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Iraq depends on oil exports for more than 90 percent of government revenue, and it has had to cut its 2009 budget twice already, starving itself of investment funds just when it needs billions of dollars to rebuild after years of war.
Cut off from the global financial system, and still rocked by frequent car and suicide bombs as its forces and U.S. troops battle pockets of insurgents, Iraq appears relatively untouched in some ways by the world recession.
Property prices in many areas are soaring as the violence unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion subsides, inflation is dipping and economic growth appears to be taking off.
But private capital is limited after decades of flight and foreign investors are cautious while the bombs continue to explode, so any reduction in government spending could have a profound impact on the economy.
In recent days, government officials appear to have become increasingly alarmed at the prospect of diminishing revenues.
The warning from Maliki, who emerged from Jan. 31 provincial elections with broad popular support for his advocacy of a strong centralised state, was preceded on Sunday by a similar call for action by Planning Minister Ali Baban.
"The Iraqi economy will not develop so long as it is subject to the pressures of having a single resource," Maliki said. "Any country dependent on a single resource will find its economy and services, and even its political stability and security, shaken if that resource becomes volatile."
Maliki said the oil sector had not been maintained properly for decades and had been brought "to the brink of ruin".
In addition to sabotage by insurgents since the invasion, Iraq's pipelines, oil fields and refineries have been battered by international sanctions plus theft and oil-smuggling.
"Despite all the efforts of the Oil Ministry and the government to develop the oil sector, especially after we achieved a measure of security, we still need more funds and capabilities," Maliki said. "The most crucial thing we need is time. Time is a decisive factor in the development of the Iraqi oil industry."
Iraq plans to open up some of its prime oil and gas fields to international oil firms this year through two rounds of bidding.
Enthusiasm for the contracts has been tempered by concerns about security and by the failure of Maliki's government to pass a new national oil law. Oil majors hope the law will define the distribution of oil revenues between the provinces and the central government, and also permit production-sharing agreements. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Michael Christie; editing by David Stamp)
Iraq Central Bank adviser: Iraq is committed to the policy of liberalization of current accounts
February 25, 2009
Mudhir Mohammed Saleh clarified that Iraq "is committed to liberate the current accounts of payments balance, according to the rules of the International Monetary Fund Convention, which forbids any restrictions on transfers, except for anti-money laundering, crime funding and terrorism," he said, adding that such measures "is the monetary policy to create a liberal atmosphere for future investments, that transferring currency freely will be attraction factor to the currency as well, and if we have restrictions on the exit of currency this will prevent it to be back again."
Saleh added that " Iraqi dinar holder, as to evaluate foreign currency, has the right to act freely, according to economic freedom, which adopts the rules of Iraq's economic practice without restrictions, with the exception of economic crimes."
The Minister of Planning and Development, Ali Baban said on Monday that the five weekly sessions convened by the Central Bank for the sale and purchase of the dollar is the process of smuggling of Iraqi funds abroad, and that the money smuggled through auction and offices of Iraqi central bank is for the private sector funds for establishing successful mega-projects, in Jordan and Syria.
The adviser of the central bank explained the auction mechanism, "Central Bank auction for currency is responsible to move this money, and has three duties, first is to finance the foreign trade of private sector, second is adaptation of cash and consequently facing the inflationary pressures," ,and third is " raising value of Iraqi dinar, which increased 25% during the last three years ", which he considered" a major asset for Iraqi people, after decades of suffering from the decline in the value of dinar. "
Saleh said, "We do not deny that the transfers and the rights may not100% for trading purpose, but they are citizens' rights, because, " Iraqi dinar user of is the holder his own wealth and has the right to act however he wants with this wealth."
The wealth distribution issue is not purview of monetary policy," and money exile, is (was) related to security conditions that prevailed in Iraq and fear of people on their money", in addition to "the presence of Iraqi immigrants, especially in the neighboring countries. To limit transfer process would mean creation of black markets outside the scope of law and non-control "
He concluded his speech by saying that "these things are not easy, but they are price to build a free and developed Iraqi economy." (Source)AlSaba
BAGHDAD, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The Iraqi government plans to issue letters of credit soon to cover part of the costs of two giant electricity contracts signed with Germany's Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE) and U.S. company General Electric Corp (GE.N), a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the aim of issuing the letters of credit was to speed up the delivery of gas turbines but at the same he reaffirmed the government's intention to potentially cut the cost of the contracts.
Planning Minister Ali Baban also repeated on Wednesday a statement that the two contracts were under review as the Iraqi budget comes under severe strains due to low oil prices. More than 90 percent of Iraq's revenues come from oil exports.
"We will try to get better terms from the two companies and will ask them to consider our fiscal status when the time comes to pay," Baban told Reuters.
"We will try to clarify some points. We may add some points or amend or lower the value of the contracts and this is one of the targets."
Iraq signed the 1.5 billion euro ($1.93 billion) deal with Siemens for 16 gas turbines and a $3 billion deal with GE for 56 turbines last year.
The electricity contracts are a major part of Iraq's drive to end chronic power shortages that are a serious handicap for Iraq's economy -- and a major problem for everyday life -- six years after the U.S.-led invasion.
Dabbagh said the cabinet had agreed to issue letters of credit to get the delivery of the turbines started.
The first, for Siemens, would be for 890 million euros. The second, for GE, would be for 576 million euros and $248 million dollars, he said in a statement.
"This was decided due to reservations shown by the Iraqi Central Bank about using a treasury bond to finance the contracts," Dabbagh said.
"The purpose of extending these letters of credit is to speed up the building of the gas power stations for the purpose of meeting domestic energy demands."
Russian company may resume construction of power plant in Iraq
The Russian company Technopromexport has started a technological inspection of three unfinished power units at the Youssifiah thermal power plant in Iraq, after which it could decide on proposing terms and conditions for completing them to Iraq, Technopromexport said in a statement.
(www.noozz.com)
Officer Calls Obama 'Usurper,' 'Imposter' President
February 25, 2009
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan
Using words such as "imposter" and "usurper," an active-duty Army officer in Iraq has joined a California lawyer's lawsuit intended to force President Barack Obama to prove he is a legal U.S. citizen, and therefore able to legally serve as the commander in chief.
"Until Mr. Obama releases a 'vault copy' of his original birth certificate for public review, I will consider him neither my Commander in Chief nor my President, but rather, a usurper to the Office -- an impostor," 1st Lt. Scott R. Easterling states in his letter published at Defendourfreedoms.com.
An Army spokesman told Military.com today that officials are aware of Easterling's letter.
Poll: Should a Soldier serve if he doesn’t think the president is legitimate?
"We are taking a look at that ourselves right now," Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said. "We are always trying to balance our ... military requirements under the Uniform Code of Military Justice versus critical freedoms that all Americans enjoy."
California dentist turned attorney Orly Taitz, who has brought the lawsuit, told Military.com Tuesday that it is her "understanding that there will not be a serious consequence to his career [for his statements], but I don't know for sure."
"I told him 'you're doing something very brave for this country, and that you can call me any time, 24/7 [for advice],' " she said. "If you're investigated by [the judge advocate general] and if there are any hearings ... and if an officer is defending you, I will provide documents totally proving it's illegitimate for [Obama] to be president."
The story was first reported in the right-leaning World Net Daily news site Feb. 24.
Taitz said she is willing to go to Iraq for Easterling's defense. Her Web site includes names and photos of congressmen and retired service members who she says are supportive of the lawsuit intended to force Obama to present documents showing he is an American citizen.
While Obama has presented a legal Hawaiian birth certificate, Taitz and others claim the state historically has permitted American parents of children born in other countries to apply for such documents. Easterling says he wants to see a "vault copy," which is not explained in his letter but is taken to mean the original document.
In his letter, Easterling said he was a KBR contractor in Iraq in 2005 and 2006, then joined the Army when it raised the maximum enlistment age to 40. He said he attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a second lieutenant in August 2007.
After an assignment to Fort Knox, Ky., he was deployed to Balad. He was promoted to first lieutenant on Feb. 2.
He said in his letter that it pains him to join the lawsuit against Obama, "but as an Officer, my sworn oath to support and defend our Constitution requires this action."
"I implore all Service-members and citizens to contact their Senators and Representatives and demand that they require Mr. Obama prove his eligibility. Our Constitution and our great nation must not be allowed to be disgraced."
Attorney Mathew B. Tully of the Washington, D.C.-based firm Tully Rinckey PLLC, cautioned "that nobody's actually heard directly from this ... lieutenant. We're getting this from a third party with an axe to grind."
It has happened in the past, he said, that stories emerging from the combat theater turn out to be wholly or partially false.
If true, however, Easterling, as an Army officer, "is subject to ... [provisions] against using contemptuous language toward the president." There were such incidents in the 1990s, he said, when service members were disciplined for comments made against President Clinton. In one case brought under the provisions of Article 88 of the UCMJ a major general was forced to retire for comments he made, Tully said.
Easterling also could be charged with conduct unbecoming an officer, he said.
If an officer actually believes there has been some misconduct by the president, Tully said, there are ways he could have responded.
Under Article 138, he said, any person can bring an allegation of misconduct by a commander through the chain of command, "though I don't think [it] has ever been used to allege misconduct by the president."
He may also have tried reporting his allegations under the whistleblower protection act, Tully said. But the Defense Department directive on that spells out the inspector general and the Congress as the places to take allegations, he added.
"People in the military ... have rights protecting them for reporting [alleged] misconduct, but there are strict procedures," Tully explained. "And joining a civil lawsuit and calling the president of the United States an imposter is not one of those avenues."
Tully said there already is extensive case law involving these allegations about Obama's birth and citizenship -- at least 10, he said -- that have been dismissed.
"And on TV last night I saw the chief of staff of the Army salute President Obama, so there are a lot of people who believe he is the president," Tully said.
(www.military.com)
UK firm gets 1st of possibly many Iraq well deals
Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:27pm GMT
By Ahmed Rasheed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Oil Ministry and British firm Mesopotamia Petroleum Company signed a joint venture deal on Thursday to drill 60 new oil wells per year, starting with oilfields in the south of the country.
The joint venture, which will have a start-up capital of $90 million (63 million pounds) and be 51 percent owned by Iraq, is expected to raise Iraq's oil production by 120,000 barrels per day within a year, said Idrees al-Yassiri, head of the Iraq Drilling Company.
The first wells to be drilled by the venture, called the Iraqi Oil Service Company, will be in the southern oil fields of Bazargan, Fakka and Halfaya, the last of which is classed as a super giant with more than 5 billion barrels of oil reserves.
"We expect the company to start its operations in Iraq within a few months. They will expand their work very quickly to be one of the major drilling companies in the region," Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told Reuters.
"We have very ambitious plans to raise production to 6 million barrels (per day) and this would require drilling thousands of new wells. Companies like this one will be much needed in this country."
Yassiri signed the deal with MPC's chairman, Stephen Remp. Remp is also the chairman of Ramco Energy Plc, which has a 32.66 percent interest in MPC. Another 31.7 percent is owned by privately held Midmar Energy Ltd.
Asked why the British firm was chosen, Yassiri said: "They were the most persistent. And they were the most courageous, willing to come to Iraq while other companies are still hesitating. They most deserved to be given the job."
Faced with plunging oil revenues as crude prices tumble from their record highs of $147 per barrel last year, Iraq is searching for short-term measures to boost oil production.
The country sits on the world's third largest proven oil reserves and desperately needs funds to rebuild after six years of conflict triggered by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
Current national production is around 2.3-2.4 million barrels per day and crude exports, 80 percent of which go through the oil ports in Basra province in the south, have hovered around 1.8-1.9 million bpd.
The exports are down from a post-invasion high last year of 2 million bpd because of technical problems.
While pressure issues have also hampered the flow of oil from southern fields, overall output is below pre-invasion levels because of sabotage and the dilapidation of oil infrastructure after years of war, international sanctions and underinvestment.
Iraq is opening up its vast, and largely underexploited oil and gas fields to international firms this year through two bidding rounds for service contracts.
Enthusiasm has been tempered by lingering concerns about security, despite a recent sharp fall in violence across Iraq, and the failure of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government to pass a new, national oil law.
The law is expected to clarify the distribution of control over oil resources between the central government and the provinces. Oil firms hope it will allow them to sign production sharing agreements, which they prefer, rather than simple service contracts.
Kuwaiti foreign minister on landmark visit to Iraq
Thurs Feb 26, 2009 3:21pm GMT
* Visit marks growing acceptance of Iraq by Arab neighbours * Kuwait praises Iraqi provincial elections
By Aseel Kami
BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Kuwait's deputy prime minister met Iraqi officials in Baghdad on Thursday on the first high-level visit by a Kuwaiti official since Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the tiny Gulf state.
The arrival of Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah, who is also foreign minister, coincided with strengthening security in Iraq and growing investor interest as the sectarian bloodshed unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam fades.
It also marked a growing acceptance of Baghdad's Shi'ite Muslim-led government by Sunni-dominated Gulf Arab states, who have been suspicious of Iraq's post-Saddam ties to Shi'ite Iran. Many Arab states have started to open embassies.
Sheikh Mohammad met Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari in Baghdad and praised the government for Jan. 31 provincial elections that turned out to be Iraq's most peaceful vote since the U.S. invasion.
"I congratulate the prime minister on the recent election which put Iraq in the ranks of independent and free countries," he said.
The Kuwaiti official did not mention in his public remarks issues that were likely to be high on the Iraqi agenda, such as the 5 percent of its oil income that Baghdad continues to pay to Kuwait and other nations in reparations for the 1990 invasion.
Baghdad, which desperately need funds to rebuild after years of conflict and international sanctions, also wants its wealthy neighbour to cancel loans it made to the Saddam government during its war with Iran in the 1980s.
"Frankly speaking, the Kuwaitis are still dealing with Iraq as if Saddam was still relevant. This is wrong. Saddam and his regime are gone," said political analyst Kadhum al-Muqdadi.
"Their issues now are with Iraq, not Saddam. If they keep on dealing with Iraq in the same way, they will lose their chance with the Iraqi people."
Ties between Kuwait and Iraq have improved since the fall of Saddam, with Iraqi officials regularly visiting their neighbour and Kuwaiti firms, such as Agility, the Gulf's biggest logistics provider, expanding energetically into Iraq.
Iraq and Kuwait have also reached preliminary deals over shared border oil fields.
But many in Kuwait remain bitter about the invasion, and its parliament has shown no inclination to approve a debt write-off.
Kuwait has also said that any changes to the reparations that Iraq has to pay for the invasion must be decided by the U.N. Security Council. Iraq was driven out of Kuwait in 1991 by a U.S.-led coalition in the first Gulf War.
Iraq's sectarian violence since 2003 made diplomatic ties difficult. No Arab country had an ambassador in Baghdad from 2005 -- when Egypt's envoy was kidnapped and killed -- until September 2008.
Kuwait's first ambassador to Iraq since 1990 took office in October and Jordan's King Abdullah became the first Arab leader since the fall of Saddam to visit Baghdad last August. (Additional reporting by Saif Tawfeeq; Writing by Michael Christie; Editing by Dominic Evans)
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