Plus:
*Iraq’s largest refinery out of commission, refineries nationwide take toll
*Dohuk province has no power except for hospital
*No power = inflation
*US Commerce Dept. backs down on PSAs
*GAO report faults US/GOI numbers in audit
*much More
New reports on Iraq oil production find it flat, possibly decreasing, dampening expectations the sector was steadily advancing in the final months of 2007.
The needs of Iraq’s oil sector to continue and expand are not new, Ben Lando reports for United Press International. But the inability to exact levels of oil flow — particularly the exports that bring in the tens of billions of dollars a year that support the federal budget — highlight a troubling lack of transparency for Iraq and occupation powers.
Iraq’s Largest Refinery Shut Without Power
A power cut forced the closure of Iraq’s largest oil refinery for up to two days on Wednesday, a day after a major fire led to the shutdown of the country’s second-biggest refinery, Ahmed Rasheed reports for Reuters.
More from The Associated Press.
Only hospitals have power in Dahouk, Azzaman reports.The Kurdish Province of Dahouk in northern Iraq has been without electricity for nearly two weeks.
The country’s power shortage is the primary reason for Iraq’s high inflation rate and low currency value, a spokesperson in the Iraqi government said, Iraq Directory reports.
Iraq PSAs not immediate
When the U.S. Commerce Department started promoting last week the Iraq Oil Ministry’s prequalification forms and the Jan. 31 deadline, it stated: “The Oil Ministry of Iraq has begun pre-registration for its upcoming tendering of upstream licensing production-sharing agreements (PSAs) and possibly technical service agreements (TSAs), to begin later this year.”
PSAs are contract model that the oil industry is keen on – it provides great terms, usually, and allows the reserves to be added to the company’s balance sheet – but the oil unions, some technocrats and campaigners have railed against.
The PSAs were largely put on the backburner as Iraq said that most of its near term dealings would be on fields that wouldn’t qualify for any sort of risk contract, like the PSA (companies take the risk, get more profit if any oil is found). Instead TSAs, where companies are tasked and paid to do a certain job, became the front running model.
I thought it odd that the Commerce Department would say otherwise. So I checked into it.
The response, on background from the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration:
Our announcement about the Iraqi Ministry of Oil’s public call for pre-qualification of parties interested in future tender opportunities in the upstream oil sector is intended to inform U.S. companies about this recently-issued pre-qualification process. Based on the scope of information requested in the pre-qualification form provided by the Ministry, these tenders may include technical services agreements (TSAs). The U.S. Commerce Department also has no information at this time concerning when such deals will be executed.
And, if you check the Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force (Commerce Dept.) website, the aforementioned PSA wording has been scrubbed.
Iraq’s “numbers”
Highly promising figures that the administration cited to demonstrate economic progress in Iraq last fall, when Congress was considering whether to continue financing the war, cannot be substantiated by official Iraqi budget records, the Government Accountability Office reported Tuesday, James Glanz reports for The New York Times.
Here’s the full GAO report: Better Data Needed to Assess Iraq’s Budget Execution.
IMF: Oil to buoy Iraq economy this year
Iraq’s economy is expected to find stability in 2008-2009 despite political and security problems as oil production recovers and the government moves ahead with reforms, the IMF said, Thompson Financial reports.
More here from Reuters.
Society, Security & Politics
Iraq’s healthcare left in disarray after invasion: Experienced staff emigrate due to lack of protection; Bribery is part of system, The Guardian’s Health Editor Sarah Boseley reports.The full extent of the destruction of Iraq’s healthcare system and the devastating impact it has had on its people is documented today in a new report which indicts the allied invasion force for failing in its duty to protect medical institutions and staff.
As Turkey launches limited cross-border strikes against PKK bases in northern Iraq and Iraqi-Kurdish leaders warn against Ankara’s interference, the US walks a political tightrope in appeasing its two allies, Dorian Jones reports for ISN Security Watch.
Read what’s in Iraq’s editorial pages. The Iraq Press Roundup by Hiba Dawood for UPI.
On January 13 an emerging Sunni-Shiite nationalist bloc in Iraq signed a groundbreaking agreement aimed at ending Iraq’s civil war, blocking the privatization of Iraq’s oil industry and checkmating the breakaway Kurdish state. It’s a big step forward, and it could change the face of Iraqi politics in 2008, Robert Dreyfuss reports for The Nation.
Iraq’s Economy
Enterra Solutions, LLC, announced today that it will establish a multi-lingual Call Center in Iraqi Kurdistan that will provide customer service support for Iraqi manufacturing companies.
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