Cursor International executes projects and collaboration activities across several industries.
By John Lee.
Reuters reports that Iraq is studying the possibility of building crude oil storage facilities in South Korea and Japan.
Alaa al-Yasiri, head of the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), said the move is part of a plan to increase sales to Asian clients:
“SOMO’s new strategy is to form trade arms in Asian markets to maximize profits and boost crude shipments to Asian markets.”
(Source: Reuters)
The Iraqi Children Foundation (ICF) has appealed for runners and doners for its annual run in Alexandria, Virginia.
“More than 4 million children have been impacted by extreme violence in several areas including in Ninewa and al-Anbar. Last year alone, 270 children were killed. Many were robbed of their childhood, forced to fight on the frontlines. Some will bear the physical and psychological scars for life due to exposure to unprecedented brutality. Over 1 million children were forced to leave their homes.”
— January 19, 2018, Statement by UNICEF Regional Director Geert Cappelaere, after visiting Iraq
During ISIS’ occupation, UNICEF called Iraq “one of the most dangerous places in the world for children.” Now, after Iraq has driven ISIS from its strongholds, the emotional, psychological, and physical wreckage is staggering. For everyone who loves Iraqi children, this an urgent call to action. We call on all to Run. Give. Volunteer. Today.
RUN. Run – or walk – with us at the IN THEIR SHOES 5K on May 5th. Tell the world these kids are not forgotten. We lift them up with our hearts and voices.
GIVE. GIVE because we can’t hire a teacher or lawyer or social worker, or buy food, school supplies, and clothing without money.
VOLUNTEER. VOLUNTEER because every volunteer on our team saves ICF money that can go directly to the Iraqi kids we all love. We salute our 2017 volunteers who donated thousands of hours of loving service!
(Source: ICF)
By John Lee.
Iraq is reportedly ramping up efforts to expand capacity to pump and export oil.
Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, the director-general of state-run Basra Oil Company, told Bloomberg that Iraq is seeking bids from six companies for a $4-billion project to inject seawater into its southern oil fields, and the country has already received bids from five companies interested in building a processing facility to double output at the Majnoon field to 450,000 bpd.
He added that Iraq is also studying a proposal from a Dutch company to build a 10 million-barrel storage facility and an oil-exporting terminal with a capacity of 2 million barrels a day on an artificial island off the coast.
(Source: Bloomberg)
Iraq Britain Business Council joins British Chambers of Commerce in boost to UK – Iraq Trade
IBBC is delighted to announce that we are officially an international affiliate to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The IBBC is now the official organisation to whom British companies and organisations will be referred by the BCC.
This relationship neatly mirrors our status with the Iraqi Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the Kurdish Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry who are close partners of IBBC. Indeed the 5 largest Iraqi chambers, namely Baghdad, Erbil, Basrah, Najaf and Karbala are full members of the IBBC.
The BCC sits at the heart of a business network that spans the length and breadth of the UK, with links to markets across the world, with 52 accredited Chambers in the UK as trusted champions of businesses, places, and global trade.
Chambers of Commerce provide a voice to the business communities they represent, amplifying their priorities and concerns. In every region and nation of the UK, Chambers of Commerce and their members work to improve the local business environment in which they operate.
The Chamber of Commerce network exists to support and connect companies, bringing together firms to build new relationships, share best practice and foster new opportunities.
Christophe Michels, MD of IBBC says:
“IBBC is delighted to have been granted this affiliate status by BCC, as this endorses our role as intermediaries and trade enablers with Iraq for all the work we do with British business in the country. It completes the circle of business with Iraqi companies, as we have an equal position in Iraq, and are thus able to bring businesses in both UK and Iraq together through this unique leverage.”
Dr Adam Marshall, Director General at BCC stated:
“We are delighted to welcome IBBC to the BCC and we look forward together to strengthening relations and business opportunities between the UK and Iraq in the weeks and months ahead.”
(Source: IBBC)
By John Lee.
Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] has met with Mr Lu Ygiang, the President of the Chinese company Jinhua, and his entourage.
The two parties discussed during the meeting about enforcing the bilateral cooperation and the development of East Baghdad oil field.
The Minister confirmed he was keen to prepare the appropriate work environment for the company, while Mr Ygiang said his company was ready to start work after “the completion of all the procedures“.
Late last year, the Ministry of Oil signed the initial form of the contract to develop the East Baghdad field with Jinhua.
(Source: Ministry of Oil)
By John Lee.
Iraq’s Ministry of Oil will hold a conference on Thursday 29th March to announce for a new licensing round to develop and rehabilitate 11 exploration zones on the borders of Iran and Kuwait, including one offshore zone on the Gulf.
The conference will be attended by 13 international companies which have purchased the data portfolios, in addition to two companies which intended to buy data portfolios.
These 15 companies will compete for the rights to develop and rehabilitate these exploration zones.
Assim Jihad, spokesman of the Ministry of Oil, said also that the form of the contract will be “service contract with a few modifications”.
(Source: Ministry of Oil)
Shell EP Middle East Holdings B.V. has agreed to sell the entire share capital of Shell Iraq B.V (SIBV), which holds its 19.6% stake in the West Qurna 1 oil field, for $406 million, to a subsidiary of Japan’s Itochu Corporation.
The purchaser will also assume debt of $144 million as part of the transaction. The sale has received the necessary regulatory consent, is expected to complete in the next few days, and has an effective date of 31 December 2015.
Since joining the project in 2009, Shell has enjoyed successful cooperation with its partners in the West Qurna 1 venture, which will continue to be operated by ExxonMobil.
Shell’s Upstream Director, Andy Brown (pictured), said:
“Iraq is an important country for the Shell Group, and exiting West Qurna 1 allows us to focus our resources on other assets in our Iraq portfolio. We are grateful for the support of the Iraqi government during the divestment process.
“Shell remains committed to working with its partners to redevelop Iraq’s energy infrastructure by capturing associated gas, through the Basrah Gas Company (BGC) Joint Venture, for domestic and regional consumption.
“This deal maintains the momentum behind Shell’s $30bn divestment programme and is in line with the drive to simplify our upstream portfolio and reshape the company into a world class investment.”
Shell’s other businesses in the country will not be affected by this divestment.
(Source: Shell)
By Ali Mamouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Following Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s two visits to Saudi Arabia last year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to visit Iraq soon, according to Iraqi parliamentarian Saadoun al-Dulaimi.
Although neither Riyadh nor Baghdad have officially announced the visit, Dulaimi said in a March 12 tweet that Prince Mohammed will spend two days in Iraq, first meeting with Abadi in Baghdad to “sign agreements,” followed by a visit to Najaf to meet religious leaders.
Saudi Arabia was scheduled to reopen its consulate in the oil-rich city of Basra, which is adjacent to Iran, in March, but this was delayed for administrative reasons. Some reports say that Mohammed may open the consulates in Basra and Najaf, the Shiite religious center that is home to top Shiite clerics, during his upcoming visit to Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Embassy in Iraq is in the process of setting up the consulate office at the Sheraton Hotel in Basra. The consulate was closed in 1990 in the wake of the Gulf crisis that erupted during the regime of Saddam Hussein, and remained closed as a result of tensions in Saudi-Iraqi relations.
The Saudi kingdom opened a consulate in Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in early 2016.
The decisions to expand Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic representation in Iraq come as part of a broader framework to strengthen the official political relations between the two governments. Saudi Arabia is seeking to establish economic and social bridges between the two countries in various fields.
Abdul Rahman al-Shahri, head of the Saudi delegation responsible for the establishment of the consulate in Basra, said that these measures are carried out to “provide services and incentives to both religious pilgrims and economic delegations between the two countries.”
Abdul Aziz al-Shammari, Saudi ambassador to Iraq, said in a statement in January, “Saudi Arabia is mostly interested in developing relations between the two countries in all areas that serve their aspirations.”
In late February, a friendly soccer game was held between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the city of Basra, the first between the two countries in three decades. The game was attended by Saudi delegations and a large crowd of Iraqi fans.
The media office of Abadi said in a statement March 5 that the prime minister had received a phone call from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in which the latter pledged to build a soccer stadium in Baghdad for 100,000 spectators. It was later announced that Saudi Arabia would increase the number of seats to 135,000.
The statement said that “King Salman expressed his readiness and commitment to expand the positive relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia at the economic, commercial, popular and cultural levels, as well as all levels of interest to both countries.”
Saudi companies, most recently the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, one of the world’s leading petrochemicals companies, have been opening offices in Baghdad and Basra to expand economic exchange between the two countries.
Saudi Arabia is focusing its attention on Basra because it is the richest city in Iraq with the country’s largest oil fields and gateway to the Persian Gulf. It is also the most populous city after Baghdad, is adjacent to the Iranian border and home to an overwhelming majority of Shiites who share the same tribal and ethnic origins with Saudi tribes. In addition, many Saudi and Basra families are linked through marriage.
Saudi Arabia is also receiving Shiite figures who are viewed as independent of Iran. These include Sadrist movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who visited Saudi Arabia last year and met with King Salman and Prince Mohammed. He was warmly received amid much fanfare.
Saudi news sites, most notably Al-Arabiya, are refraining from criticizing supreme Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani, because his views are independent from those of Tehran and has broad influence among Iraqi Shiites.
All this has been a matter of concern for Iran, which has allegedly mobilized parties to raise banners in Basra condemning the opening of the Saudi Consulate and the various economic and sporting activities.
The State of Law Coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is close to Iran, opposes Saudi Arabia’s opening of a consulate in Najaf.
Iraq is seemingly determined to pursue rapprochement and cooperation with Saudi Arabia, and is organizing regular visits by political, economic and media delegations. These included Abadi’s visit to Saudi Arabia last October, during which the memorandum of establishment of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council was signed to develop relations between the two countries.
Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji also visited Saudi Arabia last year, and Abadi insisted on receiving Saudi delegations even if they were not high level. In February, for instance, he received the Saudi media delegation that visited Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi Journalists Union.
In October, Saudi Arabia resumed its flights to Iraq after 27 years, and it opened in October 2017 its border crossing in southern Iraq to expand economic travel and increase tourist and religious travel between the two sides.
The first initiatives to expand relations between the two countries were directly sponsored by the United States with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attending the meeting of the establishment of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council in Riyadh in October.
The Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement appears to take place in the context of the new US policy that followed the support garnered by President Donald Trump from the US allies in the region to form a united front to counter Iran’s rise in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has seemingly made great progress in achieving rapprochement with Iraq and expanding its areas of influence within the last year. Such rapprochement is likely to get stronger should Abadi manage to keep his seat for another term in the elections scheduled for May.
By
Chris Frost, the Chairman of the AMAR International Charitable Foundation’s Finance Committee, has retired from the position after five years at the helm.
Since he began his Chairmanship, Mr Frost has skilfully overseen AMAR’s already excellent financial arrangements.
A frequent visitor to Iraq and the wider Middle East region during his many years as a Partner at the multi-national professional services business, PwC, he has brought enormous experience and vast knowledge to the role.
Mr Frost, who was also a founder Board member of the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) – AMAR’s sister organisation, recognised the vital importance of AMAR’s work to the Iraqi people.
However, he will not be leaving the AMAR family. Now that he has fully-retired from PwC, Mr Frost has been asked, and has accepted, a full-time position at the charity. He will start as Treasurer on April 1st.
Mr Frost’s brief will be to oversee AMAR’s continued growth and development and strengthen the charity’s core principles; Good financial management, transparency, accountability and low administrative costs with high field output to defined, professional world class standards.
AMAR Chairman, Baroness Nicholson, said today that she was “absolutely delighted” to have persuaded Mr Frost to stay within the AMAR family:
“People of Chris’s standing in the financial world are not available very often, so we had to strike while the iron was hot. He has done a fantastic job with our Financial Committee over the last five years, so we are very much looking forward to him working here on a full-time basis.”
“Chris will also travel to Basra, Baghdad and the North of Iraq regularly to meet and work with the local financial teams to develop an understanding of their working practices and help them work more effectively and efficiently.”
Baroness Nicholson added:
“His particular background also allows us to implement our long-held plan to breakout with new fundraising approaches to funding institutions and city guilds.”
(Source: AMAR)
By John Lee.
Russian oil company Lukoil has said that lower volumes of compensation crude oil from the West Qurna-2 project in Iraq had “a negative impact on EBITDA dynamics“.
In its audited consolidated financial statements for the full year of 2017, it added that net of this project, EBITDA increased in 2017 by 17.8 percent year-on-year.
(Source: Lukoil)