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Iraq – Financing a Modern Economy

IBBC Spring Conference 2019

Iraq – Financing a Modern Economy

10 April, The Mansion House, London

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) invites you to attend its Ninth Annual Conference at the Mansion House on the 10th of April. This year’s conference is organised in partnership with the Central Bank of Iraq and the Iraqi Private Banking League.

With a strong focus on the Iraqi banking sector, two sessions of the conference will be devoted to financial sector issues. Other areas will focus on building human capital in the public and private sector and on oil & gas.

Christophe Michels, Managing Director of IBBC states:

“The security situation in Iraq is now much improved, with a new Government in place that has a clear mandate from the people to improve governance and to provide important basic utilities. IBBC is the Iraqi Governments private sector partner of choice for developing the private sector in Iraq. We firmly believe that only private enterprise can meet the challenges facing Iraq by developing a modern economy”.

H.E. Dr Fuad Hussein, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will lead a high level delegation alongside Dr Mehdi Al Alak, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, officials from the Central Bank of Iraq, a delegation from the Iraq Private Banks League and the Governors of Erbil, Sulamania and Karbala. A large delegation of Iraqi Businessmen from all governorates of the country will also be in attendance.

Round-table discussions will take place with Iraqi officials, including the Iraqi Governors, where delegates can engage in concentrated debates on country specific issues. As well as specific round-tables on Tech in Iraq and Women’s Group.

Dr Mehdi Al Alak, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers will present a paper on ‘Private Sector Development and Investment in Iraq‘. Delegates will receive an exclusive insight into the Government’s planned measures and strategies to realise this ambition. There will also be special presentations by the Central Bank of Iraq and Basra Gas Company.

Dr Renad Mansour, Research Fellow at Chatham House and the preeminent voice on Iraq in the UK is publishing a briefing paper specifically for the IBBC conference, discussing the short to medium term economic and political outlook for Iraq.

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, President of IBBC and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan & Kazakhstan will open the conference, alongside The Lord Mayor Locum Tenens, H.E. Dr Fuad Hussein, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Jon Wilks CMG, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Iraq and Louis Taylor, Chief Executive of UK Export Finance (UKEF).

Conference Sessions & Speakers

The Banking Sector in Iraq

Chair: Gavin Wishart, Shire Oak International

Panellists: Dr Mazen Sabeh Ahmed, Central Bank of Iraq; Mohammed Delaimy, Standard Chartered Bank; UK Export Finance (UKEF); Ali Tariq Mostaf, Iraq Private Banking League; Richard Wilkins, JP Morgan

Stock Marker & Investment Opportunities

Chair: John Kemkers, Eversheds Sutherland (tbc)

Panellists: Shwan Ibrahim Taham, Iraqi Stock Exchange; Dr Alaa Abdel Hussein Al Saadi, Iraqi Securities Commission; London Stock Exchange (tbc)

Oil & Gas

Chair: Prof. Frank Gunter, Lehigh University

Panellists: Dr Mark Wharton, Shell; Lawrence Coleman BP; Bob Dastmalchi, Chevron

Capacity Building in Iraq

Chair: Ambassador Stuart Jones, Bechtel

Panellists: Dr Renad Mansour, Chatham House; Prof. Mohammed Al-Uzri, University of Leicester; Samer Al Mafraji, AMS Iraq

Dr Mai Yamani will be presenting the closing remarks for this important event.

Join IBBC, its members and the international business and finance community for a full agenda of expert speakers, UK & Iraqi politicians and many networking and business development opportunities.

You can register and purchase tickets via the IBBC website: https://www.iraqbritainbusiness.org/event/spring-conference-at-the-mansion-house

The conference is being generously supported and sponsored by Shell, Rolls-Royce, Standard Chartered Bank and Eversheds Sutherland.

For more information email london@webuildiraq.org or telephone 020 7222 7100.

(Source: IBBC)

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Successful Appraisal Drilling at Eridu Field in Iraq

Lukoil and Inpex Corporation have successfully completed testing of the fifth well as part of the appraisal phase at the Eridu field (Block 10) in the southern part of Iraq.

The well recorded daily flow rate of more than 1,500 cubic meters of oil from the Mishrif formation and proved the current geological model of the Eridu field as effective.

Lukoil continues geological exploration at Block 10. For instance, in the mid-term the Company plans to drill and test several appraisal wells, complete 3D seismic surveys at the Eridu field and 2D seismic surveys at the block’s southern and central parts.

(Source: Lukoil)

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The humble Book is helping Rebuild Lives in Iraq

By Hussein Al-alak. Republished with permission.

Read All About It! The humble book is helping rebuild lives in Iraq

To mark World Book Day, the UK-based charity, the AMAR International Charitable Foundation published these photographs from their school in Basra, Iraq. Each uplifting image demonstrates how AMAR is making positive changes to the lives of Iraqi children, through the power of the written word.

The School for Orphans was built in 2016 and up to 30% of the children who attend have lost both parents to war or disease. The school has modern facilities and provides a broad curriculum, so children get the best start in life. One of their main focuses is on reading.

The AMAR Foundation builds and rehabilitates educational facilities across Iraq, ensuring access to safe, clean classrooms and provides additional infrastructure, so the overall experience for children is conducive to successful learning.

According to the National Literary Trust and Manchester City Council, “Every community faces different challenges and we need local solutions.” For example, “reading for 10 minutes every day can help you relax, learn and feel good.”

By reading, we improve our literacy levels, increase educational achievements and future employment skills, along with improving our own health and social skills. As Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis once stated: “There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. A love of books is the best of all.”

From Manchester to Iraq – building a global village in education

AMAR is rebuilding the lives of some of the poorest and most disadvantaged people in Iraq. With Manchester being home to almost 20,000 Iraqi ex-patriates – many of whom escaped from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein – it’s the natural choice to be one of the charity’s first UK appeals centres.

The most recent Iraqi refugees are following in the footsteps of literary giants, such as poet Siegfried Sassoon, whose family arrived in Manchester from Basra in 1858. The British-Lebanese historian Albert Hourani, who was born in Manchester in 1915. His book, A History of the Arab Peoples, was described by Harvard University Press as being “an instant classic upon publication”.

Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, Iraq’s refugee children were keen visitors to school libraries across the city. Their parents saw it as a means of improving the youngsters’ spoken and written English, thus helping them to integrate into British daily life.

In 2018, Iraqi students at the University of Manchester collected around 1.000 books as part of the international efforts to re-stock the University of Mosul, which was destroyed whilst the city was under the occupation of Islamic State.

AMAR was founded in 1991 and is chaired by Baroness (Emma) Nicholson of Winterbourne. From 1923-1940, David Lindsay – the 27th Earl of Crawford and the grandfather of Baroness Nicholson – was also chancellor of the University of Manchester.

On the 19th May, AMAR supporters are taking part in the Manchester 10K, where they will be supporting the charity’s efforts in education across Iraq. Since its foundation, more than 5 million Iraqi children and adults have benefited from its services in education.

If you wish to learn more about AMAR’s work, please check out www.amarfoundation.org or you can support AMAR’s work in Iraq, by making a solidarity donation online.

Hussein Al-alak is the editor of Iraq Solidarity News (Al-Thawra) and on the 19th May, will be taking part on the Manchester 10K, to support the AMAR Foundation’s work in education across Iraq.

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Oil Ministry Finalises Export Figures for February

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has announced final oil exports for February of 101,387,559 barrels, giving an average for the month of 3.621 million barrels per day (bpd), down from the 3.649 bpd exported in January.

These exports from the oilfields in central and southern Iraq amounted to 99,120,006 barrels, while exports from Kirkuk amounted to 1,753,373 barrels, and from Qayara 514,180 barrels.

Revenues for the month were $6.179 billion at an average price of $60.943 per barrel.

January export figures can be found here.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Wood Group sees Increased Activity in Iraq

By John Lee.

Wood Group has said that it is seeing strong growth in the Middle East due to “increased activity in Iraq with Exxon and Basra Gas [Company (BGC)]“.

In its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2018, the UK-based energy services company said it sees “opportunities in Middle East driven by Iraq“.

In addition to trading as Wood Group, the company is also sole owner of Iraqi subsidiaries Ghabet El Iraq for General Contracting and Engineering Services, Engineering Consultancy (LLC) and Touchstone General Contracting, Engineering Consultancy and Project Management LLC.

(Source: Wood Group)

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Court approves Chinese Takeover of Kuwait Energy

Kuwait Energy has announces that the Royal Court of Jersey has approved the acquisition of the company by Gold Cheers Corporation Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Energy Group Limited (UEG), by means of a scheme of arrangement.

The consideration to be paid under the transaction will be US$477,248,630.20 which equates to a per share price of US$1.46400797821.

Completion of the acquisition remains subject to delivery of the Act of Court sanctioning the Scheme to the Registrar of Companies in Jersey. This is expected to occur on or before 22 March 2019 (the “Effective Date”), at which time the Scheme will become effective.

Payments to shareholders should be dispatched within 14 days of the Effective Date, as detailed in the scheme document dated 15 November 2018 relating to the Scheme.

In Iraq, Kuwait Energy has interests in the Mansuriya, Siba, and Block 9 fields.

(Source: Kuwait Energy)

Posted on

Iraq – Financing a Modern Economy

IBBC Spring Conference 2019

Iraq – Financing a Modern Economy 

10 April, The Mansion House, London

The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) invites you to attend its Ninth Annual Conference at the Mansion House on the 10th of April. This year’s conference is organised in partnership with the Central Bank of Iraq and the Iraqi Private Banking League.

With a strong focus on the Iraqi banking sector, two sessions of the conference will be devoted to financial sector issues. Other areas will focus on building human capital in the public and private sector and on oil & gas.

Christophe Michels, Managing Director of IBBC states:

“The security situation in Iraq is now much improved, with a new Government in place that has a clear mandate from the people to improve governance and to provide important basic utilities. IBBC is the Iraqi Governments private sector partner of choice for developing the private sector in Iraq. We firmly believe that only private enterprise can meet the challenges facing Iraq by developing a modern economy”.

H.E. Dr Fuad Hussein, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance will lead a high level delegation alongside Dr Mehdi Al Alak, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, officials from the Central Bank of Iraq, a delegation from the Iraq Private Banks League and the Governors of Erbil, Sulamania and Karbala. A large delegation of Iraqi Businessmen from all governorates of the country will also be in attendance.

Round-table discussions will take place with Iraqi officials, including the Iraqi Governors, where delegates can engage in concentrated debates on country specific issues. As well as specific round-tables on Tech in Iraq and Women’s Group.

Dr Mehdi Al Alak, Secretary General of the Council of Ministers will present a paper on ‘Private Sector Development and Investment in Iraq‘. Delegates will receive an exclusive insight into the Government’s planned measures and strategies to realise this ambition. There will also be special presentations by the Central Bank of Iraq and Basra Gas Company.

Dr Renad Mansour, Research Fellow at Chatham House and the preeminent voice on Iraq in the UK is publishing a briefing paper specifically for the IBBC conference, discussing the short to medium term economic and political outlook for Iraq.

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, President of IBBC and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan & Kazakhstan will open the conference, alongside The Lord Mayor Locum Tenens, H.E. Dr Fuad Hussein, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Jon Wilks CMG, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Iraq and Louis Taylor, Chief Executive of UK Export Finance (UKEF).

Conference Sessions & Speakers 

The Banking Sector in Iraq

Chair: Gavin Wishart, Shire Oak International

Panellists: Dr Mazen Sabeh Ahmed, Central Bank of Iraq; Mohammed Delaimy, Standard Chartered Bank; UK Export Finance (UKEF); Ali Tariq Mostaf, Iraq Private Banking League; Richard Wilkins, JP Morgan

Stock Marker & Investment Opportunities

Chair: John Kemkers, Eversheds Sutherland (tbc)

Panellists: Shwan Ibrahim Taham, Iraqi Stock Exchange; Dr Alaa Abdel Hussein Al Saadi, Iraqi Securities Commission; London Stock Exchange (tbc)

Oil & Gas

Chair: Prof. Frank Gunter, Lehigh University

Panellists: Dr Mark Wharton, Shell; Lawrence Coleman BP; Bob Dastmalchi, Chevron

Capacity Building in Iraq

Chair: Ambassador Stuart Jones, Bechtel

Panellists: Dr Renad Mansour, Chatham House; Prof. Mohammed Al-Uzri, University of Leicester; Samer Al Mafraji, AMS Iraq

Dr Mai Yamani will be presenting the closing remarks for this important event.

Join IBBC, its members and the international business and finance community for a full agenda of expert speakers, UK & Iraqi politicians and many networking and business development opportunities.

You can register and purchase tickets via the IBBC website: https://www.iraqbritainbusiness.org/event/spring-conference-at-the-mansion-house

The conference is being generously supported and sponsored by Shell, Rolls-Royce, Standard Chartered Bank and Eversheds Sutherland.

For more information email london@webuildiraq.org or telephone 020 7222 7100.

(Source: IBBC)

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Genel Energy Shares dip following Results

By John Lee.

Shares in Genel Energy were trading down four percent on Wednesday morning after the company announced its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2018, in which it wrote down its Miran asset by $424 million.

Despite this, Genel says it can now initiate “a material and sustainable dividend policy“, with payments starting in 2020.

The company’s shares are up 17 percent since the start of the year.

Murat Özgül, Chief Executive of Genel, said:

“Genel’s strategy at the start of 2018 was clear – generate material free cash flow from producing assets, build and invest in a rich funnel of transformational development opportunities, and return capital to shareholders at the appropriate time. We are delivering on this strategy.

“2018 was another year of material free cash flow generation, we continued to transform our balance sheet and the addition of assets with the potential of Sarta and Qara Dagh led to a very successful delivery on the first two parts of our strategy. We will continue to develop opportunities and invest ingrowth. As we do so, a robust cash flow outlook and our confidence in Genel’s future prospects underpins our initiation of a material and sustainable dividend policy.“

Results summary ($ million unless stated)

2018 2017
Production (bopd, working interest) 33,700 35,200
Revenue 355.1 228.9
EBITDAX1 304.1 475.5
  Depreciation and amortisation (136.2) (117.4)
  Exploration credit / (expense) 1.5 (1.9)
  Impairment of property, plant and equipment – (58.2)
  Impairment of intangible assets (424.0) –
Operating (loss) / profit (254.6) 298.0
Cash flow from operating activities 299.2 221.0
Capital expenditure 95.5 94.1
Free cash flow2 164.2 99.1
Cash3 334.3 162.0
Total debt 300.0 300.0
Net cash / (debt)4 37.0 (134.8)
Basic EPS (¢ per share) (101.6) 97.1
Underlying EPS (¢ per share)5 109.0 65.1
  1. EBITDAX is operating profit / (loss) adjusted for the add back of depreciation and amortisation ($136.2 million), exploration credit ($1.5 million) and impairment of intangible assets ($424.0 million)
  2. Free cash flow is net cash generated from operating activities less cash outflow due to purchase of intangible assets ($39.7 million), purchase of property, plant and equipment ($65.3 million) and interest paid ($30.0 million)
  3. Cash reported at 31 December 2018 excludes $10.0 million of restricted cash
  4. Reported cash less ($334.3 million) less reported balance sheet debt ($297.3 million)
  5. EBITDAX less net gain arising from the Receivable Settlement Agreement (‘RSA’) divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares

Highlights

  • $335 million of cash proceeds were received in 2018 (2017: $263 million)
  • Strong cash flow generation, with free cash flow totalling $164 million in 2018 (2017: $99 million), an increase of 66%
  • Financial strength continues to increase,with unrestricted cash balances at 28 February 2019 of $378 million, andnet cash at $81 million
  • Addition of Sarta and Qara Dagh to the portfolio in 2019 brings further near-term production and material growth potential
  • Increase in 1P and 2P reserves as of 31 December 2018 to 99 MMbbls (31 December 2017: 97 MMbbls) and 155 MMbbls (31 December 2017: 150 MMbbls) respectively, including Sarta
  • As disclosed in our trading statement, the carrying value of the Miran licence has been under review. Due to the focus on the development of Bina Bawi, while Genel continues to see significant opportunity in the licence, this has resulted in an accounting impairment to the carrying value

Outlook

  • Production guidance maintained – net production during 2019 is expected to be close to Q4 2018 levels of 36,900 bopd, an increase of c.10% year-on-year
  • Capital expenditure guidance updated to include spend on Sarta and Qara Dagh, with net capital expenditure now forecast to be $150-170 million (from c.$115 million)
  • Opex and G&A guidance unchanged at c.$30 million and c.$20 million respectively
  • Genel expects to generate material free cash flow of over $100 million in 2019, inclusive of investment in Sarta and Qara Dagh
  • Given the strong free cash flow forecast of the business, even after investment in growth opportunities, Genel is initiating a material and sustainable dividend policy
    • The Company intends to pay a minimum dividend of $40 million per annum starting in 2020, with the intention for this to grow
    • The dividend will be split between an interim and final dividend, to be paid one-third/two-thirds
    • The Company is set to approach bondholders to request a temporary waiver of the dividend restriction, which limits dividends to 50% of annual net profit, in relation to accelerating the start of distribution to 2019
  • The Company continues to actively pursue growth and appraise opportunities to make value-accretive additions to the portfolio

More details – 40 pages of them! – here.

(Sources: Genel Energy, Yahoo!)

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Iraq gets new Sanctions Waiver to buy Iranian Energy

By John Lee.

The Trump administration has reportedly granted Iraq a further 90-day extension to the waiver exempting it from US sanctions on Iran.

CNBC quotes a senior State Department official as saying on condition of anonymity:

“While this waiver is intended to help Iraq mitigate energy shortages, we continue to discuss our Iran-related sanctions with our partners in Iraq.”

According to some energy analysts, without continued sanctions exemptions, Iraq could lose more than a third of its power overnight.

More here.

(Source: CNBC)