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A campaign to reduce corruption and reinforce government authority at border ports has been a signature initiative of Prime Minsiter Mustafa al-Kadhimi — with potentially wide-ranging consequences. If the state can come close to securing all of the customs revenue generated from Iraqi imports, it would not only help address a dire financial crisis but also deprive armed groups and criminal gangs of a major source of funding and power. This week Iraq Oil Report spoke with two key officials overseeing parts of this effort.

Omar al-Waili is the director of the Iraqi Border Ports Commission. He said the government collected more customs revenue in 2020 than the previous year, despite pandemic-related interruptions to trade and overall economic activity. "In 2020 we managed to achieve revenues of 1.194 trillion Iraqi dinars [$1.01 billion]," he said. "The increase that was achieved is about 71.5 billion dinars [$60 million], despite the coronavirus pandemic, the curfew, and economic challenges." Waili said he has ordered a series of changes that have contributed to the improvements: dismissing chiefs at Basra’s Umm Qasr port, whom he described as "corrupt," deploying new security forces under the Joint Operations Command to border crossings, increasing inspections and auditing, and ensuring that security forces don't stay in one place long enough to become co-opted by corrupt actors. Read the full interview transcript on Iraq Oil Report.

Ahmed Jassim al-Assadi is the director of the Khor al-Zubair port, which is Iraq's primary fuel import and export facility. In his office at the port, Assadi gave a detailed accounting of the port's current layout and activities, as well as his implementation of government policies designed to capture more revenue. He also discussed plans to enable increased import and export rates. Read the full interview transcript on Iraq Oil Report.

How To Transport Personnel in a Pandemic

A message from FronteraSky:

IOCs and oil service companies need smart, integrated transportation and logistics support now more than ever. FronteraSky has years of experience operating in Iraq, offering a full range of transportation services:

• immigration services;
• work permits, blood tests, security clearances;
• arranging private air transport and charter flights;
• managing every step of covid-19 compliance, from safe
  quarantine to testing;
• medical evacuations.

Whether you are flying to Baghdad, Erbil, Basra, or military installations in Iraq, FronteraSky will make transportation efficient, comfortable, and safe. To learn more about how they can help you, e-mail them at info@fronterasky.com.

And to hear directly from FronteraSky President Carlos Barbosa, read his interview with Iraq Oil Report.

National News

Paramilitary groups are continuing to kill with impunity. The latest victim is Jasb Hattab Aboud, who was shot dead in Amara, in Missan province, on March 10, according to Samya Kullab, reporting for AP. Aboud gained notoriety for defying intimidation and campaigning to bring attention to the case of his son, Ali Jasb, a lawyer who vanished on Oct. 8, 2019, during crackdowns on anti-government demonstrations. He has not been seen since surveillance footage captured his abduction. Aboud accused a powerful Iran-backed militia of kidnapping his son, and even took the dangerous step of seeking to take its leader to court, writes Kullab, adding that other family members of missing activists were more reserved, fearing reprisals. The assassination of Aboud highlights the Kadhimi government's inability to follow through on tough talk about reining in lawless armed groups and ensuring justice for protesters who have been killed, kidnapped, and threatened.

Pope Francis reflected on his meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. In the wake of his four-day, historic visit to Iraq last week, Francis said on Monday that his meeting with Sistani had been “good for my soul,” according to AFP’s Catherine Marciano. The Pope told reporters: "I felt the need to make this pilgrimage of faith and penitence and to go and find a great, wise man, a man of God — you could tell that just by listening to him." The Pope said the visit had been a risk and it had been tiring, but the decision to go had been “taken in prayer, in dialogue, by asking for advice. It’s a reflection, not a whim,” he said.

Iraq's electoral commission has further extended the period for candidates and political coalitions to register for national elections. Ahead of the vote, which is now scheduled for October, candidates must be nominated by April 17 and coalitions must be registered by May 1. UNAMI reported that as of Feb. 25, only 86 candidates had submitted nomination papers to IHEC. "Of these, only 12 are women candidates. There are three candidates seeking to contest the Yazidi reserved seat, one for the Fayli Kurds, and one for the Sabian Mandean component. Also, of the total candidacies submitted so far, only three have indicated their political party or coalition affiliations. The rest are independent candidates." Voter registration will continue until the end of March, and biometric registration coverage now reaches 62 percent, according to the report. Out-of-country voting operations are also being prepared, polling procedures and regulations are being reviewed, and UN electoral teams are now deployed at UNAMI regional hubs. The report says that MPs have raised concerns that the distribution of polling centers could impact voter access and turnout.

Oil Companies Face New Regulatory Hurdles

A message from New Frontiers:

International oil companies, oil service companies, and other contractors in Iraq face a major new compliance challenge. The oil sector has long enjoyed a de facto exemption from some Iraqi regulations, including Ministry of Labor requirements associated with social security and work permits. But in September 2020, the government started enforcing the rules on foreign oil contractors. If they don't comply, companies risk severe consequences — including payment delays, visa problems, and exclusion from tenders.

To learn more about these latest challenges, Iraq Oil Report spoke with Steve Rahola and Mustafa al-Janabi, two key leaders of New Frontiers Business Consulting. For more than a decade, New Frontiers — which is also known by its Kurdish-language name, Asteki Nwe — has been on the ground navigating Iraq's bureaucracy, gaining the experience and relationships necessary to help foreign companies. Read the full interview here.

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