Cursor International executes projects and collaboration activities across several industries.
By John Lee.
The Iraqi Cabinet has approved a plan to expand Diwaniya Refinery.
According to details released from the cabinet meeting this week, capacity at the plant will be increase to nearly 70,000 barrels per day (bpd),
(Source: Govt of Iraq)
The post Diwaniya Refinery to be Expanded first appeared on Iraq Business News.
WHO builds capacity of rapid response team in Iraq with a focus on Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever
The World Health Organization (WHO), in cooperation with the Ministry of Health in Iraq, concluded today a three-day workshop aimed at building the capacity of the country’s rapid response team (RRT) in field investigation and response, with an emphasis on the recent outbreak of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF).
The workshop, organized in collaboration with the Government of Japan, targeted 42 participants, including physicians, veterinarians, lab technicians, health workers and zoonotic diseases investigators from 13 Iraqi governorates.
“Rapid response teams constitute a pillar in human security and have contributed to containing outbreaks of epidemic- and pandemic-prone diseases in Iraq and beyond. This training, which used CCHF as a case study, will further equip the RRT with knowledge and capacities to control any future outbreaks of this anthropo-zoonotic disease in Iraq and regionally,” said Dr Ahmed Zouiten, WHO Representative in Iraq.
“We are very grateful for the collaboration with the Government of Japan, which enabled us to conduct this important training workshop and are looking forward to further collaboration to strengthen health security in Iraq. We’re also pleased with the effective cooperation between the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and WHO to tackle this disease,” he added.
During the workshop, experts from the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and WHO country office in Iraq discussed the national zoonotic disease preparedness and response plan in the context of One Health.
The team delivered various presentations focused on infectious hazard prevention and preparedness, including rapid risk assessment, case management, risk communication and community engagement, data management, and report writing. Working group exercises followed each of these sessions, with participants divided into multisectoral teams similar to the constitution of RRTs in the field.
The CCHF virus is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. Most cases have occurred among people working in the livestock industry such as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians.
The disease has been endemic to Iraq since 1979, with few sporadic cases reported across the country. At times, small outbreaks have been reported, with the last outbreak happening in 2021 with 18 cases confirmed in Thi-qar and Ninawa Governorates.
(Source: WHO)
The post Rapid Response Team for Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By John Lee.
The Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, has said that Iraq is committed to reducing carbon emissions through implementing a number of gas investment projects and developing gas fields, as well as projects to produce solar energy.
At a conference in Iraq under the title “Pathways for a lower carbon future for Iraq“, GE presented an integrated roadmap to support the energy transition sector in Iraq by focusing on specific areas, which include:
The conference included a presentation of a short film entitled “Renewable Energy – Our Way to Protect the Environment“, prepared by the Media Office of the Ministry of Oil, and another film prepared by General Electric Company about the company and the energy transition.
The conference was attended by a number of Advisers to the Prime Minister, Directors General of the Ministry of Oil affiliates, and a number of specialists and experts in the field of clean energy.
(Source: Ministry of Oil)
The post Iraq committed to Renewable Energy first appeared on Iraq Business News.
Writing in Oil Price, Simon Watkins says Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oilfield, run by Russian oil giant Lukoil, may see a quick increase in production from 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) to well over 600,000 bpd, rising to more than 1 million bpd further out.
Click here to read the full article.
The post Russian-Run Iraqi Oilfield may see Output Boost first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By John Lee.
Iraq has ranked 107th out of 146 countries in the latest World Happiness Report, a small improvement on its ranking of 111th last year.
The report, produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), uses global survey data to report on how people evaluate their own lives around the world.
Co-author Lara Aknin said:
“Data considered in the World Happiness Report offers a snapshot of how people around the world evaluate their own happiness and some of the latest insights from the science of well-being.
“This information is incredibly powerful for understanding the human condition and how to help people, communities, and countries work toward happier lives.“
Top of the list of happiest countries were:
… while at the bottom were:
Iran ranked 110th, with Turkey 112th.
The full report can be downloaded here.
(Source: World Happiness Report)
The post Iraq Improves Ranking in World Happiness Report first appeared on Iraq Business News.
UNFPA hands over 11 women centres in Duhok to the Ministry of Labour & Social Affairs
UNFPA and its partner Harikar Organisation handed over 11 Women Community Centres to the Directorate of Labour and Social Affairs in Duhok.
The Women Community Centres were first established by UNFPA in 2013 amid the humanitarian crisis, during the war against ISIL. The centres, which provided psychosocial support, case management, life skills activities and awareness sessions to women and girls, were located in 11 camps for refugees (4) and internally displaced persons (7).
The handover took place in presence of Dr Sherzad Hamed, Director General of the Labour and Social Affairs in Duhok, Mr Himyar Abdulmoghni, Deputy Representative of UNFPA in Iraq and Mr Salah Yaseen, Head of Harikar Organisation, in the presence of government and governorate representatives, staff from the Directorate of Labour and Social Affairs and social workers from the Women Community Centres.
Speaking during the ceremony, Dr Hamed, said:
“We are happy to take on these centres to help the women and girls in our community. I thank UNFPA for their partnership and for the ongoing building and strengthening of the capacity of the Directorate’s staff. Our collaboration will ensure we maintain good quality services to all women and girls requiring assistance at these Women Community Centres.”
For his part, Mr Abdulmoghni emphasised that this handover comes as part of UNFPA transition strategy that was developed in full consultation with all stakeholders to ensure the continuance of gender-based violence and women empowerment related services to women and girls in camps:
“The importance of transitioning these centres from NGO’s management to the Government is to ensure sustainability of the confidential multi-sectoral response and services, including medical, psychosocial and legal services for GBV survivors and confirm the government accountability to the most vulnerable women and girls.”
The Deputy also thanked Harikar Organisation for being a key partner in the provision of quality gender-based violence and reproductive health services to women and girls amid consecutive crises in Iraq since 2013 to date.
In 2022, UNFPA will hand over another 11 Women Community Centres to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in addition to the centres already handed over.
(Source: UN)
The post UNFPA hands over 11 Women’s Centres in Duhok first appeared on Iraq Business News.
Genel Energy has announced its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2021.
Bill Higgs, Chief Executive of Genel, said:
“Our strategy and business model remain focused on cash generation. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine and the associated increase in the oil price, we were well positioned for our free cash flow to materially increase from $86 million in 2021 to around a quarter of a billion dollars this year. At the prevailing oil price, and given that there seems no quick resolution to the appalling events unfolding, this figure is expected to increase significantly.
“The forecast extent of our cash generation, from an existing position of financial strength, provides the potential to deliver significant growth and further returns to shareholders. Our priority is investment in production to maximise the value of our existing assets, and continuing to develop Sarta. Given the strong outlook and ongoing cash generation, we have increased our final dividend by 20%, continuing to fulfil our aim of paying a material and progressive dividend.“
Results summary ($ million unless stated)
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| Average Brent oil price ($/bbl) | 71 | 42 |
| Production (bopd, working interest) | 31,710 | 31,980 |
| Revenue | 334.9 | 159.7 |
| EBITDAX1 | 275.1 | 114.6 |
| Depreciation and amortisation | (172.8) | (153.7) |
| Exploration expense | – | (2.2) |
| Impairment/write off of oil and gas assets | (403.2) | (286.3) |
| Reversal of impairment / (impairment) of receivables | 24.1 | (36.9) |
| Operating loss | (276.8) | (364.5) |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 228.1 | 129.4 |
| Capital expenditure | 163.7 | 109.7 |
| Free cash flow2 | 85.9 | (4.4) |
| Cash | 313.7 | 354.5 |
| Cash after settlement of bonds3 | 313.7 | 273.5 |
| Total debt after settlement of bonds3 | 280.0 | 280.0 |
| Net cash4 | 43.9 | 6.2 |
| Basic LPS (¢ per share) | (111.4) | (152.0) |
| Underlying EPS / (LPS) (¢ per share)5 | 25.8 | (34.2) |
| Dividends declared relating to financial year (¢ per share) | 18 | 15 |
Highlights
Outlook
(Source: Genel Energy)
The post Genel Results: $400m Impairment, but Increased Divi first appeared on Iraq Business News.
From Amwaj Media. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
In pursuit of gas, will Turkey choose Erbil over Baghdad?
Iraq’s federal supreme court last month ruled that a 2007 law allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to manage oil and natural gas resources independently of Baghdad is unconstitutional.
The top court also ordered Erbil to hand over all oil operations to the central government.
The Feb. 15 verdict followed a Feb. 2 meeting in Ankara between KRG President Nechirvan Barzani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Two days after the meeting, Erdogan said Turkey sought a “win-win” deal with Iraq’s government to import gas, and that Barzani promised to facilitate negotiations towards this end.
The court ruling may now jeopardize the energy agreements signed between Ankara and the KRG.
The full report can be viewed here (registration required).
The post In pursuit of Gas, will Turkey choose Erbil over Baghdad? first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By John Lee.
Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced that the average daily exports and revenues generated from the export of crude oil for February 2022 are the highest in eight years.
The Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, said that the Ministry, despite the economic and security challenges, fluctuations in global oil markets and the restriction of national production within OPEC+ agreement, managed to achieve a daily export rate of about 3.314 million barrels and financial revenues of more than $8.5 billion, the highest in eight years.
(Source: Ministry of Oil)
The post Iraq Achieves Highest Oil Revenue in 8 Years first appeared on Iraq Business News.
By Ahmed Tabaqchali, Chief Strategist of AFC Iraq Fund.
Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Market Review: “Oil and the Economy”
The market, as measured by the Rabee Securities RSISX USD Index, increased by 4.5%, and 8.8% for the year. Average daily turnover on the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) declined for the second month in a row and is currently at the lower end of the levels that prevailed over the last twelve months.
On a positive note, the Rabee Securities RSISX USD Index has reclaimed the upper-end of the uptrend that it established over the last two years (chart below) – a promising development that is in contrast to that of many markets worldwide.
(Source: Iraq Stock Exchange, Rabee Securities, AFC Research, data as February 28th)
Among the index’s constituents, lower-priced Gulf Commercial Bank (BGUC) was up 20.0% for the month, far ahead of the other nine constituents. The next best performing constituent was Bank of Baghdad (BBOB) up 4.7%, followed by Baghdad Soft Drinks (IBSD) up 4.4%, Asiacell (TASC) up 3.3%, the National Bank of Iraq (BNOI) up 2.6%, and Al-Mansour Bank (BMNS) up 2.0%, while the Commercial Bank of Iraq (BCOI) was flat. Decliners were led by Al-Mansour Pharmaceutical Industries (IMAP) which was down 6.5%, followed by National Chemical and Plastics Industries (INCP) down 2.0%, and Kharkh Tour Amusement City (SKTA) which was down 0.3%.
Excluding BGUC, these modest stock price performances for the month haven’t yet reflected the increased bounty brought by high oil prices taking Iraq’s oil sales to an all-time high for a fifth consecutive month (chart below). The country’s high leverage to oil prices and hence to oil sales will have significant positives for both the economy, and the equity market down the line – as a result of the centrality of the government’s oil fuelled spending to the economy.
(Source: Ministry of Oil, AFC Research, data as of February 28th)
There is a great deal of fear built into oil’s current prices, and as such they are unlikely to be sustainable for too long, yet the changed geopolitical landscape as a consequence of the invasion of Ukraine will have significant consequences for the supply and demand of oil. On the demand side, the limited disruptions brought by the Omicron variant on economic activity worldwide since its emergence has solidified market expectations that oil demand in 2022 will return to pre-COVID-19 levels seen in 2019 – there is no reason, at least for now, to expect meaningful change to these expectations following the Ukraine invasion.
However, the same market expectations that supply will itself, like demand, return to its pre-COVID-19 levels will likely be re-examined in light of the pressures that the OPEC+ group will be under in the new changed world order. Prior to the events leading to the current crisis, OPEC+’s plan was to fully unwind by September 2022 the production cuts agreed to in April 2020. However, over the last few months, the plan was facing difficulties as some members of OPEC+ were struggling to return to pre-COVID-19 production levels.
A situation will likely worsen given the wide scope of sanctions levied upon Russia, which will negatively affect its oil production and the production of many of the “+” members of OPEC+ that are closely aligned to Russia. Consequently, supply will likely be meaningfully tighter than anticipated earlier despite many countries releasing oil held within their strategic reserves, the return of full U.S. shale oil production, and possible production increases by Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the changed geopolitical landscape means the return of high-risk premiums to oil prices for a considerable period into the future.
(Source: U.S. Energy Information Agency, data as of February 8th)
Oil price expectations – a consequence of the changed dynamics of oil’s supply and demand – and what they mean for the Iraqi economy, are meaningfully higher than those articulated here in the “Outlook for 2022” which argued at the time that “oil prices at these levels are positive for the country’s financial position in that they will provide governments, current and upcoming, with the wherewithal to continue with current expansionary economic policies that will also still allow for the accumulation of budget surpluses. Moreover, they will also lead to multi-year positive balances in the country’s current account which in turn will translate into meaningful increases in Iraq’s foreign exchange reserves.”
Iraq’s equity market outlook and attractive risk-reward profile, in the unfolding new world order, is in sharp contrast to that of many markets worldwide. Firstly, the Iraqi equity market is in the process of emerging from a multi-year bear market that saw the Rabee Securities RSISX USD Index at the end of 2020 down by 68% from its 2014 all-time high – unlike many markets worldwide that have had multi-year bull markets.
Secondly, its 8.8% performance year-to-date is in contrast to the sell-offs experienced by other markets in response to the changed world order dynamics.
Finally, the index’s 8.8% increase year-to-date coming on the back of a +21.4% return in 2021, is by the end of the month still 58% below the 2014 high – underscoring the potential catch-up upside for the equity market and its attractive risk-reward profile versus other global markets (chart below).
Normalised returns for the RSISUSD Index vs MSCI World Index, MSCI Emerging Markets Index and MSCI Frontier Markets Index
(Source: Bloomberg, data as of February 28th)
Please click here to download Ahmed Tabaqchali’s full report in pdf format.
Mr Tabaqchali (@AMTabaqchali) is the Chief Strategist of the AFC Iraq Fund, and is an experienced capital markets professional with over 25 years’ experience in US and MENA markets. He is a Visiting Fellow at the LSE Middle East Centre, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS), and a Senior Non-resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council. He is also a board member of Capital Investments, the investment banking arm of Capital Bank in Jordan.
His comments, opinions and analyses are personal views and are intended to be for informational purposes and general interest only and should not be construed as individual investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any fund or security or to adopt any investment strategy. It does not constitute legal or tax or investment advice. The information provided in this material is compiled from sources that are believed to be reliable, but no guarantee is made of its correctness, is rendered as at publication date and may change without notice and it is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding Iraq, the region, market or investment.
The post Tabaqchali, Market Review: Oil and the Iraqi Economy first appeared on Iraq Business News.