Category: News

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Basra-Aqaba Pipeline may be extended into Egypt

By John Lee.

Iraqi and Egyptian officials have discussed the possibility of extending the Basra-Aqaba pipeline to Egypt.

The matter was discussed at a meeting on Wednesday between Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihssan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail the Egyptian Ambassador to Iraq.

A press release after the meeting said that extending the pipeline into Egypt would be “an important addition and a new outlet for Iraqi oil exports to North Africa”.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Iraqi Govt approves purchase of Pfizer Vaccine

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Cabinet held its weekly meeting on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

Following discussions, the Cabinet decided to approve the purchase the coronavirus vaccine from the US company Pfizer, on the basis of the manufacture and supply agreement between Pfizer Export BV and the Iraqi Ministry of Health.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

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Genel Energy Non-Exec to Step Down

Genel Energy has  announces that after over nine years on the Board, George Rose (pictured), Independent Non-Executive Director, will not be standing for re-election at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

The Board will continue to keep its size and composition under review, including the balance between independent and non-independent directors in light of the recommendations under the UK Corporate Governance Code, to ensure the Board as a whole contains a broad range of skills, experience and backgrounds.

David McManus, Chairman of Genel, said:

“I would like to record the Board’s thanks to George for his very significant contribution to Genel over his long tenure as a director, and in his roles on its committees. His guidance and his support have been invaluable. We wish him the best in his future endeavours.”

(Source: Genel Energy)

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Jiyad: The Federal Oil and Gas Law in Iraq

By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad.

Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

The Federal Oil and Gas Law in Iraq:

A sudden alarming move that calls for caution and readiness to encounter

In a very surprising and sudden move it was announced that the “Opinion Board” (Hayaatul raay  هيئة الرأي) of the Ministry of Oil (MoO) discussed and approved the final version of the Federal Oil and Gas Law (FOGL) at its meeting on Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

In a statement by Ministry’s Press Office, Minister of Oil Ihsan A. Ismail confirms this final version will be referred to the Council of Ministers (CoM) for approval after it was reviewed by the “concerned authorities in the Ministry“, and then CoM will review this text, and in turn refer it to the House of Representatives (HoR) to enact it as law.

The Press Office did not provide, in its brief statement, any important or new information about the components and contents of this final version of the bill, or on its similarity to any of the previously presented drafts (a minimum of three), or to what prompted the Ministry to take this action at this particular timing in this way!!

The real reasons behind this “suddenness” at this particular time could be explained by or related to many issues or events that are dominating the current political environment. It could be linked to the stalled approval of 2021 budget law, or to the ongoing back and forth dialogue between the federal government and KRG (including efforts by some politicians and heads of some politico-religious groups), or with the end of the current government’s mandate and the HoR term, as the national election is rescheduled from June to October this year, or with the current debate at HoR regarding the 15 year old Federal Supreme Court Law (FSCL), or with the coordination efforts (covert or overt) between the announcement of this bill and the proposed first amendment to the Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC law), which seems to be expedited by the Head of the Oil and Energy Committee in the House of Representatives (Haybat Al-Halbousi) … or all of these … or a combination of them … or maybe even others.

Each of the previously presented versions of FOGL is complex, incoherent, long and highly politicized; all has been under consideration for more than fifteen years, and much was written about the law throughout that period.

Because of the urgency, importance and necessity for discussing this “final version” of the law seriously and professionally to protect the country’s hydrocarbon wealth in serving the Iraq interest and the rights of future generations, I find it imperative to make very brief assessment on the background and what has been revealed on this abrupt move.

Click here to download the full report in pdf format.

Mr Jiyad is an independent development consultant, scholar and Associate with the former Centre for Global Energy Studies (CGES), London. He was formerly a senior economist with the Iraq National Oil Company and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, Chief Expert for the Council of Ministers, Director at the Ministry of Trade, and International Specialist with UN organizations in Uganda, Sudan and Jordan. He is now based in Norway (Email: mou-jiya(at)online.no, Skype ID: Ahmed Mousa Jiyad). Read more of Mr Jiyad’s biography here.

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Pakistan’s assistance to Iraq to fight COVID-19

By John Lee.

On the directive of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, Pakistan is sending three plane-loads of COVID-related relief goods to Iraq.

The first plane-load was dispatched on Saturday in presence of the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador of Iraq to Pakistan.

The next two consignments will be sent in the coming week.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said:

“Pakistan and Iraq have long-standing fraternal ties rooted firmly in shared faith and values. The two countries have multifaceted relationship, marked by regular high-level exchanges and growing cooperation in diverse fields.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge, which can only be contained with international solidarity and cooperation. The government and people of Pakistan stand by their Iraqi brethren in this difficult time.”

(Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

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Italy, UNOPS to provide Services for Returnees in Sinjar

AICS and UNOPS Partner to Rehabilitate the Basic Services for Returnees in Sinjar, Iraq

The Italian Cooperation and UNOPS launched a new project to support the Government of Iraq in rehabilitating basic services to returnees in Sinjar.

The project will support the Government of Iraq in rehabilitating the basic water services for returnees in Sinjar district in Iraq, through a partnership with the Government of Italy.

The project will contribute to achieving the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Iraq: Post-conflict transition towards durable solutions by supporting access to basic services to increase the resilience of returnees in target locations.

Since 2018, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) office in Amman has also been responsible for implementing international cooperation initiatives in Iraq. “Our support has focused on the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) and neighbouring areas such as the Ninewa plains, which experienced high rates of return after the massive displacement of the resident population,” said the Head of AICS Amman office Mr. Michele Morana.

“This project comes in line with the Italian Cooperation’s aid priorities targeting the health and protection sectors in the Country, as it addresses immediate recovery and aims to improve accessibility, inclusiveness and quality of basic services for minorities and local communities”.

“The Government of Italy fully supports the urgent need to rebuild Sinjar, through the restoration of basic services as key to incentivizing the return of still displaced people. Every effort should also be taken to reintegrate returnees within their communities and provide them with tangible support to rebuild their lives” said the Ambassador of Italy to Iraq Bruno Antonio Pasquino.

“Thanks to the support from the Italian Cooperation, UNOPS is able to lend a hand to the people returning to Sinjar District in Iraq. Access to water supplies is one of the many challenges faced by returnees and their families. The rehabilitation of basic services in the district will contribute to improving Sinjar water infrastructure and eventually improving people’s lives.” said Mr. Muhammad Usman Akram, the Director of UNOPS Operational Hub in Amman.

Through this project, the targeted populations will benefit from improved and rehabilitated basic water facilities. UNOPS will focus on the improvement of water services in Sinjar district. The main focus would be to rehabilitate damaged water facilities, such as potable and/or storm water pumps, generators, parts of water treatment units.

The intervention will also include innovative technologies, such as renewable and hybrid systems, where applicable, in target locations. It is envisaged that this project will support the Government in its efforts towards the realization of Agenda 2030 and more specifically contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); specifically, SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being and SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

Sinjar is one of the four districts in Ninewa that presents a higher severity of needs, whereby the well-being, living standards, and ultimately resilience and recovery capacity of the local communities, as well as their social cohesion and safety, are all severely impacted as a result of unmet needs.

(Source: UN)

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$600m needed for 2021 Iraq Humanitarian Response Plan

On Wednesday, the Iraqi Minister of Planning H.E. Dr. Khalid Batal Najim Abdullah, and the Humanitarian Coordinator Ms. Irena Vojáčková-Sollorano, released the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) to assist 1.5 million vulnerable people in Iraq.

H.E. Dr. Abdullah said:

“The HRP will complement the Government of Iraq’s own initiatives to help the people of Iraq recover from the setbacks they have experienced in recent years.

“The Government of Iraq and the United Nations will continue to work in partnership to help all Iraqis achieve and maintain a dignified standard of living.“

Ms. Vojáčková-Sollorano commented:

“The people of Iraq should be commended for their resilience in the face of relentless hardships. COVID-19 added extra challenges for all of us in 2020.

“We are happy through the 2021 HRP to renew our commitment to assisting the most vulnerable Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and returnees in Iraq.“

Iraq continues to face a complex humanitarian situation, despite the ongoing joint efforts of humanitarian partners, the Government of Iraq, and local authorities and communities to improve circumstances.

The post-conflict humanitarian situation in Iraq remains fragile, with approximately 1.3 million IDPs, and deepening socio-economic vulnerabilities brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 Humanitarian Needs Overview found that 4.1 million Iraqis are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The 2021 HRP focuses on 1.5 million of the most vulnerable IDPs living in camps and in out-of-camp locations, as well as returnees, who continue to face significant humanitarian and protection needs.

This unified appeal represents the activities of 166 operational partners – national NGOs, international NGOs and UN agencies – involved in the humanitarian response in Iraq, in coordination with the efforts of the Government of Iraq. It seeks $607.2 million to carry out humanitarian programming across nine sectors.

In 2020, the humanitarian community was able to assist approximately 1.4 million people thanks to the efforts of partners and the generosity of donors.

(Source: UN)

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SAHARA ME Sponsors SPE-Baghdad Technical Event

Advertising Feature

SAHARA Middle East Petroleum Services, a prominent local oilfield services company, has sponsored the SPE-Baghdad Chapter Upstream Technical Event.

The company, which provides Well Services, Chemical Management Services, and Midstream-Downstream Technical Solutions, presented case studies on a holistic approach to well integrity and formation evaluation through spectral noise and high accuracy temperature simulations for highly challenging wells.

Please click here to view our video of the event.

You can learn more about SAHARA on our website: www.SAHARAMEA.com

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Sarta-2 Well enters Production

By John Lee.

Genel Energy has announced that the Sarta-2 well has entered production at the Sarta field (Genel 30% working interest), with gross field production now in excess of 10,000 bopd.

Genel expects this figure to increase from the existing two producing wells, as optimisation of facilities configuration continues post production start-up.

The company added that the high-impact 2021 appraisal drilling campaign is on track to begin at the start of Q2, with the Sarta-5 and Sarta-6 wells set to be drilled back to back.

(Source: Genel Energy)

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Iraq Approves Russian COVID Vaccine

By John Lee.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has announced the approval of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus by Iraq’s Ministry of Health.

Iraq has become the 45th country in the world to register Sputnik V.

The vaccine was registered under the emergency use authorization procedure.

(Source: RDIF)

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