Published
November 19, 2008,
6:36 pm in
Politics
Plus:
*SOFA negotiations rocky but developing
*Iraq Oil Report offers first look at text submitted to Parliament
*Kurdistan-Baghdad relations rocky
*KRG signs U.N. electricity help
*Iraq Oil Ministry wants helicopters
*Alive in Baghdad: Sahwa, What Next After Al-Qaeda?
*Iraq Press Roundup
The Status Of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, is nearing a late-November deadline when Iraq’s Parliament is to recess, and the end-December deadline when the current U.N. mandate is to expire.
Iraq O…
Published
November 18, 2008,
5:51 pm in
Politics
A trusted source passed along what is believed to be the version of the SOFA approved Sunday by Iraq's Cabinet and signed Monday by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.
It must still be approved by Iraq's Parliament, no easy task. Iraq Oil Report will have more on this Wednesday. Also still in the dark, the details of the Strategic Framework surrounding work in the economic and other sectors as part of the SOFA package.
From the SOFA text:
Article …
Published
November 18, 2008,
3:38 pm in
Oil
Plus:
*Iraq Oil Report update delays
*Get your copy of the Shell-Iraq gas Heads of Agreement
*PetroVietnam renegotiating Saddam-era oil deal
*Iraq Human Rights Commission awaits Presidency Council OK
*Iraq Oil Report Exclusive: Text of Human Rights Commission law
*What is the "Green Zone"?
*The Iraq Press Roundup
Apologies to readers: over the past week regular updates have been delayed as Iraq Oil Report puts the finishing touches on a re-launch and brand new website. It is an excitin…
Published
November 10, 2008,
5:04 pm in
Oil
Plus:
*Another Iraq critic of the Shell gas deal
*Kirkuk oil flows to Turkey again
*Obama’s Iraq
*Alive in Baghdad: Iraqi Professors Demand Rights
*Much more
News of the Iraq oil law being sent to Parliament may be a little too optimistic.
"Two weeks ago (Kurdistan Regional Government President) Massoud Barzani was in Baghdad for talks with (Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri) al-Maliki," KRG Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami told the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES). "They agreed…
Published
November 7, 2008,
3:16 pm in
Politics
The day after Barack Obama was elected to be the next U.S. president, Iraq's Ambassador to the United Nations Hamid al-Bayati called it inspiring. But on the ground in Iraq, Obama really wouldn't be too different from President Bush, he said.
In an interview with United Press International’s Ben Lando on the sidelines of an energy conference here, Bayati said if talks for a U.S. troop deal fail by the end-of-year expiration of the current U.N. mandate, the U.N. Security Council is ready to …
Published
November 6, 2008,
7:49 pm in
Oil
Plus:
*Iraq oil law expected next week in Parliament
*Northern Iraq oil exports stopped on Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline blast
*Six state oil firms added to bidding list
*Iraq Press Roundup
*Much more
Officials at Royal Dutch Shell and the Iraqi Oil Ministry refute claims that a proposed gas joint venture would have exclusive access to Basra province's gas industry, though a key member of Parliament criticizes the project, Ben Lando and Alaa Majeed report for United Press International.
"It…
Published
November 4, 2008,
5:24 pm in
Oil
*Proposed joint venture could expand beyond Basra
*Includes all gas, associated and non-associated, documents show
Plus:
*Oil Ministry presses Parliament on oil law action
*Alive in Baghdad: Who would Iraqis vote for – McCain or Obama?
*Violence in Context
*Iraq Press Roundup
*USIP: Iraq’s Cultural Heritage: Preserving the Past for the Sake of the Future
*Much more
A secret document obtained by United Press International reveals a planned joint venture company between Royal Dutc…
Published
October 31, 2008,
5:00 pm in
Business
Plus:
*Oil Minister Shahristani joins PM Maliki’s coalition list
*The Green Zone Sit-in
*VIDEO: Two-part series on the Surge & Sadr
*Operation Hotel California: entering Iraq in 2002
*Iraqi women face increasing threats
*All Iraqis in danger with bad water
It's an exhausting and complicated process, but Iraq is taking steps to open up its oil and revenue interactions to the world's watchdogs, Ben Lando reports for United Press International.
"The commitment from the government is s…
Published
October 30, 2008,
6:03 pm in
Oil
Plus:
*Oil law back in Parliament
*New wells and other work to boost oil production
*However, questions remain
*Status Of Forces Agreement update
*The Turkey-U.S.-Iraq-Iraqi Kurd dance
*Iraq Press Roundup
*Much more
The U.N.-mandated auditor of Iraq's oil revenue says, despite accounting troubles, it is ready to hand off its work to an all-Iraqi team at the end of the year, United Press International’s Ben Lando reports.
Oil revenue is estimated at 95 percent of Iraq's total annu…
Published
October 29, 2008,
5:22 pm in
Politics
Plus:
*Barzani and Bush meet in Washington
*SOFA update
*Alive in Baghdad: How do Iraqi youths spend their free time?
*Iraq Press Roundup
*Much more
Q & A: Joseph Christoff of the U.S. Government Accountability Office talks with the Council on Foreign Relations’ Greg Bruno about Iraq’s oil revenue. The GAO and Christoff’s analytical reports have found room for criticism of both Iraqi and U.S. efforts in keeping tabs on and spending Iraq and U.S. funds in Iraq. Christoff talks about…
