Category: News

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US announces $204m Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq

On Wednesday in Washington, the United States announced nearly $204 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Iraq, Iraqi refugees in the region, and to generous communities hosting them.

This funding includes nearly $133 million from the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and more than $71 million from USAID‘s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.

This funding brings the total for the U.S. humanitarian response for Iraq to more than $706 million since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2019. In addition, the United States has provided $49.5 million in COVID assistance in Iraq and more than $22.7 million to date in Fiscal Year 2020 to assist over 244,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq.

This assistance will provide critical shelter, essential healthcare, emergency food assistance, and water, sanitation, and hygiene services across Iraq. It will also improve access to civil documentation and legal services, the capacity of health care facilities and increase access to education and livelihoods opportunities.

The United States remains the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance in Iraq and globally, in line with our National Security Strategy. We appreciate all donors who have stepped up and continue to encourage both traditional and new donors to help meet growing needs.

(Source: US State Dept)

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Norwegian Firm to build Oil Tankers for Iraq

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil, represented by the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company (IOTC), has concluded a contract with Norway’s Batservice Mandal [Båtservice Mandal AS] to build two oil tankers.

Oil Minister Ahsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail said that this contract comes within the framework of the ministry’s plans to rebuild the national fleet of oil tankers, which he said have been damaged by futile wars over the past decades.

The General Director of the Iraqi Oil Tanker Company, Ahmed Khazal, said that the two oil tankers will have a capacity of 30,000 tons each, and be delivered 18 months after the date of signing the contract.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

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Iraq to Sign Exploration MoU With Chevron

By John Lee.

Iraq is reported to be planning to sign a memorandum of understanding with US-based Chevron to explore for oil in Dhi Qar (Thi Qar) province.

A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the deal would formalise Chevron’s interest in exploring the eastern and western parts of Nasiriyah, the capital of Dhi Qar.

More here.

(Source: Bloomberg)

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GKP CFO to Chair Oryx

Oryx Petroleum has announces the appointment of Sami Zouari (pictured) as Board Chair and Independent Director with immediate effect.

Mr. Zouari  succeeds Jean Claude Gandur who recently resigned from the Corporation as part of transactions consummated between The Addax and Oryx Group PLC and Zeg Oil and Gas Limited.

Sami Zouari was most recently the Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director of Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited, an independent oil and gas company that operates the Shaikan Field in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. During his tenure, Mr. Zouari played a lead role in the operational and commercial transformation and the financial restructuring of Gulf Keystone into one of the premier independent exploration and production companies operating in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the wider Middle East. Prior to appointment at Gulf Keystone, Mr. Zouari held various positions at Total E&P and BNP Paribas.

Commenting today, Independent Director of Oryx Petroleum, Peter Newman, stated:

“We are delighted to welcome Sami to the Board. His extensive experience in the oil and gas sector in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the Middle East, his knowledge of financial markets, and his experience with corporate transformation processes will be enormously helpful to us as we confront financial challenges and seek to maximise value from the Hawler license.”

Also commenting today, Chair of Oryx Petroleum, Sami Zouari, stated:

“The Hawler license is an asset I believe has significant potential. I look forward to working with the Board and Management of Oryx Petroleum to transform Oryx Petroleum into one of the leading independent exploration and production operators in the Kurdistan Region.”

(Source: Oryx Petroleum)

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Japanese Firm awarded $3.7bn Iraq Deal

JGC Holdings Corporation announced today that JGC Corporation, which operates the overseas engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) business of the JGC Group, has been received the Letter of Award for the Basrah Refinery Upgrading Project for an Iraqi oil refining company under the Iraqi Ministry of Oil. Details of the project are as follows.

 
1. Client South Refineries Company

(Oil refining company under the Iraqi Ministry of Oil)
2. Construction location Basrah, Republic of Iraq

(Approx. 550 km SE of the capital of Baghdad)
3. Primary equipment(processing abilities) Fluid catalytic cracking unit (34,500 barrels/day),
vacuum distillation unit (55,000 barrels/day),
diesel desulfurization unit (40,000 barrels/day), etc.
4. Contract services Engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning
5. Contract type Lump sum contract
6. Order amount Approx. 400 billion JPY
7. Scheduled completion 2025

Iraq is one of the world’s leading oil-producing countries, with a confirmed crude oil reserve of 145 billion barrels and a daily crude oil production of 4.41 million barrels. However, the two refineries currently in operation were constructed in the 1970s and their production capacity has decreased due to war damage and deterioration. Unable to meet domestic demand for petroleum products, Iraq has to import petroleum products such as gasoline.

This upgrading of the Basrah refinery will newly install, on land adjacent to the existing Basrah refinery, fluid catalytic cracking unit, vacuum distillation unit, and diesel desulfurization unit, etc., thereby increasing production to 19,000 barrels/day of gasoline and 36,000 barrels/day of diesel fuel, making it possible to reduce the gap in supply and demand for petroleum products.

In addition, the petroleum products produced at the modernized refinery will meet international environmental standards and it is expected that they will contribute to reducing the environmental impact. This project is positioned as spearheading the modernization and sophistication of Iraq’s oil refining sector.

Funding for the project will be procured through Japanese ODA loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and is the largest-scale reconstruction assistance from Japan since the 2003 Iraq War.

In carrying out this project, the Group plans to conduct skills training for more than 1,000 Iraqis and to hire approximately 7,000 skilled Iraqi workers. Furthermore, it is expected that more than 2,000 operating personnel jobs will be created after the project’s completion, which will contribute to solving the unemployment problem in Iraq

The Group completed a power station reconstruction project in Iraq in 2013, and this is the Group’s second project in Iraq. The Group will contribute to the reconstruction and economic development of Iraq through the successful completion of this project.

(Source: JGC)

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Iraq again breaks daily COVID-19 record

By Omar al-Jaffal for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq again breaks daily COVID-19 record

Iraq broke its record for daily confirmed COVID-19 cases again on Friday.

There were 4,013 new cases on Aug. 14. The highest numbers were in the capital Baghdad, Erbil in the Kurdistan Region and Basra in the south, according to the Ministry of Health.

Click here to read the full story.

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US continues to Support UNHCR in Iraq

United States of America continues its support to UNHCR critical work in Iraq

UNHCR welcomes the new contribution of USD 41.8 Million from the United States of America that aims at supporting the response for Internally Displaced Iraqis, the 2020/2021 Syria Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan, refugees and asylum seekers as well as the response for COVID-19.

This brings the total US contribution to UNHCR Iraq over USD 107 Million this year. So far, the UNHCR operation in Iraq is 31% funded.

In Iraq today, there are still thousands of vulnerable displaced families that are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. With close to 1.4 million IDPs, 4.7 million returnees, and 286,000 refugees and asylum seekers, the needs are significant and ongoing support is needed to ensure a stable and peaceful recovery.

More so during the prevailing COVID-19 health crisis, which has significantly exacerbated the protection risks faced by vulnerable displaced families and has further hindered their access to basic goods, essential services, and livelihood opportunities.

This timely and generous donation from the United States of America will help UNHCR provide displaced families with the needed protection services, including child protection, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence and protection monitoring, as well as cash assistance to meet their basic needs.

The Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Steven Fagin, emphasized the United States is deeply committed to the welfare of displaced Iraqis, and to supporting UNHCR’s work toward sustainable, voluntary, and safe returns, local integration, and other solutions.

He said the United States is dedicated to working with the new Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that all components of Iraqi society can thrive in their homeland, and that Syrian and other refugees and asylum seekers in Iraq receive the assistance they need. Supporting these populations and their communities is part of bolstering Iraq’s stability and success.

UNHCR’s Acting Representative Philippa Candler stated:

“With rising challenges, timely funds are needed to help support those displaced by conflict, refugees, asylum seekers and returnees. Donor support is much appreciated during these times, as not only do refugees and displaced persons face the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but we fear the aftermath will continue to affect livelihood opportunities for the months and years to come.

“UNHCR will spare no effort to provide protection and other support to those in need as we work towards achieving durable solutions for those who are displaced. UNHCR appreciates the support from major donor countries such as the United States of America which makes this ongoing work possible“.

The United States of America remains the biggest donor to UNHCR globally.

(Source: UNHCR)

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Addressing Iraq’s Fragility crucial to Recovery from COVID

Addressing Iraq’s fragility crucial to recovery from COVID-19 pandemic

Failure to address Iraq’s multi-faceted fragility could lead to an increase in extreme poverty across the country, according to a new report released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Iraq.

Impact of the Oil Crisis and Covid-19 on Iraq’s Fragility explores the major dimensions of fragility – economic, environmental, political, societal, and security – and their impact on Iraq in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic and resulting oil crisis.

The paper is the first in a series of policy papers that UNDP will issue on the impact of COVID-19 on Iraq. It provides key recommendations to support the Government of Iraq, local development actors and the international community develop strategies that enable Iraq to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic.

“In fragile countries, social safety nets are weak and insufficiently address the basics needs of the most vulnerable groups in society. This ultimately results in deeper social inequalities,” says Resident Representative of UNDP Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad.

“For Iraq, decades of conflict have hampered the country’s stability and stunted its prosperity. The onset of COVID-19 and the oil crisis exacerbated existing fragilities in the country.

“The different dimensions of fragility explored in this report emphasise that Iraq’s fragility is not a result of one single event; it involves a number of intricate factors that have collectively impacted every aspect of the country’s development, and these must be closely considered when charting the path to Iraq’s recover from the pandemic.

“Tackling Iraq’s fragility by addressing these main drivers is critical to achieving Agenda 2030 and getting Iraq back on a prosperous and tangible development trajectory. We hope this policy paper is a useful tool for partners to shape effective policies for post-COVID-19 recovery in the country,” she adds.

The policy paper, which applies a multidimensional concept of fragility based on the methodology developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),  was developed in consultation with UN agencies in Iraq, notably the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

UNDP’s upcoming policy papers will cover the themes of: social protection, macro-economic stability, social cohesion, and household vulnerability.

Impact of the Oil Crisis and Covid-19 on Iraq’s Fragility is available on the UNDP Iraq website

(Source: UNDP)

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Iraqi Govt Extends Curfew

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Government has said that it will extends the partial, nationwide curfew until 15th August, with a total curfew on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The move is an attempt to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

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Iraqi-American Teen Raises Thousands for Iraqi Orphans

Iraqi-American Teenager Raises Thousands in Support for Iraqi Orphans in 100-Mile Bike Ride

Elias Eldadah, an Iraqi-American high school student, raised over $7,500 for Iraqi orphans this month by organizing a 100-mile (161 km) bike ride in the Washington, DC area.

Joining him in the cause were his teammates and friends – Michael LesStrang, Jake Shue, and Aidan Ortiz.  The four riders began at 4am (11am Baghdad time) Sunday morning, August 2, 2020, and finished approximately 8 hours later.

“We are fortunate to live far away from the pain that children no different from us have to endure daily, and we wish to do our small part for them,” Elias and his team said in launching the two-week GoFundMe campaign.

The fundraiser caught traction so quickly that its goal was raised multiple times from the original $1,000.  Even as the race ended, donations continued to roll in.  The final total reached $7,650.

Elias (pictured above right) is the Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF) Youth Liaison for the Washington, DC area.

* * * * *

The Iraqi Children Foundation intervenes with love and hope in the lives of children at risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation by criminals, traffickers, and extremists.  It does so by providing legal protection, psychosocial services, nutrition, and education to orphans, street kids, and other vulnerable children.  For more information, visit www.iraqichildren.org.

(Source: ICF)