Banking & Finance Iraq currency fall linked to black market dealings Iraq’s currency has fallen against the US dollar because some traders are sourcing hard currency in the black market instead of using the central bank’s official exchange platform, central bank governor Ali Al Allaq told Iraqi state media on Wednesday. Al Allaq said that some merchants were not using the platform because they were engaged […] July 27, 2023
Banking & Finance Moody’s opts to keep Iraq on lowly sovereign rating An influential ratings agency has decided to keep Iraq on one of its lowest sovereign ratings, despite the country’s strong oil exports and recovering foreign exchange reserves. Moody’s Investor Services said in an annual review released last week that corruption and weak institutions prompted it to maintain Iraq on a Caa1 rating, which is on […] July 25, 2023
Energy Iraq renews crude supply deal with Lebanon Iraq renewed its agreement to provide Lebanon with up to 2 million tons of crude oil for a year, Lebanese energy ministry said in a statement on Friday. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on Iraq providing Lebanon with fuel oil and crude oil, the Iraqi state news agency INA also reported on […] July 23, 2023
Oil & Gas Iraq’s Total oil deal heralds new revenue-sharing formula Iraq secured its $27 billion oil deal with France’s TotalEnergies last week by offering quicker, less risky payback through greater revenue-sharing, a model it could replicate in the future to lure investors. Foreign investment in Iraq’s energy sector has fizzled out since a flurry of post US-invasion deals over a decade ago, with Exxon Mobil, […] July 20, 2023
Banking & Finance US issues waiver for Iraq to pay Iran for electricity The United States on Tuesday moved to let Iraq pay Iran for electricity via non-Iraqi banks, a US official said, a step Washington hopes may keep Tehran from forcing unpopular power cuts during the sweltering Iraqi summer. Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a 120-day national security waiver allowing Iraq – heavily dependent on Iranian […] July 19, 2023
Oil & Gas Iraq and Iran gas-for-oil barter faces US sanctions A barter of Iranian natural gas for Iraqi oil as described by the Iraqi prime minister this week would likely violate US sanctions on Tehran unless the US issued a waiver permitting it, three former US officials said on Thursday. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani on Tuesday said Iraq would begin trading crude […] July 16, 2023
Analysis Oil & Gas TotalEnergies pins hopes on desalination for Iraq project TotalEnergies’ $27 billion development deal with Iraq includes building a water desalination plant crucial to Baghdad’s efforts to raise oil production, but doubts persist over the financial and logistical viability of the long-delayed project. The multifaceted agreement signed on Monday foresees constructing a 1 gigawatt solar power plant, capturing waste gas from oil fields to […] July 13, 2023
Energy India plans LNG terminal in Iraq to boost gas imports India plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Iraq to support its energy security programme. The terminal will liquify some portion of the gas currently flared by Iraq and transport it to India, Mint, an Indian financial media outlet, said citing an unnamed government official. The liquefaction will be converted back to […] July 13, 2023
Analysis Energy TotalEnergies’ $27bn bet on Iraq boosts ailing oil industry TotalEnergies’ signing of a long-stalled $27 billion deal to develop several energy-related projects in Iraq is a significant vote of confidence in the country’s fraught oil and gas industry, according to analysts. The agreement represents the biggest single foreign investment in Iraq in modern times and suggests the government of newly-installed prime minister Mohammed Shia […] July 12, 2023
Energy Iraq to trade crude oil for Iranian gas to settle debt Iraq will begin trading crude oil for Iranian gas to end the recurring issue of payment delays to Tehran due to the need for US approval, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Sudani said. Sudani said Iran had cut gas exports to Iraq by more than 50 percent as of July 1 after Baghdad failed to […] July 12, 2023
Oil & Gas Iraq signs $27bn deal with TotalEnergies Iraq has signed a $27 billion deal with French major TotalEnergies to increase oil production and build renewable energy facilities. The long-delayed agreement represents the biggest single foreign investment in Iraq, Opec’s second largest crude producer. “I hope that this will be a strong signal to other investors to come to Iraq,” said TotalEnergies chairman […] July 10, 2023
Exclusive Real Estate Iraq’s Amwaj builds $3bn portfolio in ‘virgin country’ “The sky’s the limit” for real estate development in Iraq, says Namir El Akabi, whose company Amwaj International aims to capitalise on surging demand for upscale housing in Baghdad and beyond. The country, ravaged by war between 2014 and 2018 and stifled by almost 40 years of rule by Saddam Hussein, has been home to […] July 3, 2023
Energy Iraqi Kurdish losses reach $2bn amid oil export halt Iraq and Turkey are set to begin technical talks by early next week on resuming the former’s northern oil exports, but hopes for a quick resolution are slim, two sources told Reuters. Turkey halted Iraq’s 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of exports through a crude oil pipeline from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq […] June 14, 2023
Economy Iraq approves $153bn budget amid rising public wage bill Iraq’s parliament on Monday approved a 2023 budget of 198.9 trillion dinars ($153 billion) that sets out record spending on a growing public wage bill and development projects to improve services and rebuild infrastructure ruined by neglect and war. The budget deficit is estimated at a record 64.36 trillion Iraq dinars, more than double the […] June 12, 2023
Banking & Finance Iraq to pay $2.76bn in gas and electricity debt to Iran Iraq has agreed to pay about $2.76 billion in gas and electricity debt to Iran after receiving a sanctions waiver from the United States, a senior Iraqi foreign ministry official said. Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein was given the clearance during a meeting with US secretary of state Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the […] June 11, 2023
Development Iraq launches $17bn ‘development road’ project Iraq has launched a $17 billion project to link a major commodities port on its southern coast by rail and roads to the border with Turkey, in a move designed to transform the country’s economy after decades of war and crisis. The development road aims to tie the Grand Faw Port in Iraq’s oil-rich south […] May 28, 2023
Energy Saudi Arabia to invest billions in Iraq, officials say Saudi Arabia will develop an Iraq gas field and invest $3 billion across various industries in the country, Iraqi officials said on Thursday, in a further sign of improving ties between the neighbours. Riyadh has endured a fraught relationship with Baghdad over the past two decades as Iraq fell under the increasing influence of Saudi’s […] May 26, 2023
Energy Iraq awaits final answer from Turkey to resume exports Iraq is still waiting for a final answer from Turkey to resume its northern oil exports, which run from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, Iraq’s oil minister Hayan Abdel Ghani said. Turkey told Baghdad a technical team was evaluating whether the pipeline was damaged as a result of the devastating […] May 24, 2023
Logistics UAE-Iraq trade lifted by new freight ferry link DP World has launched the first direct freight ferry service between the UAE and Iraq. The service, called P&O Maritime Transports – a DP World company, aims to make the flow of goods between the UAE and Iraq faster, safer and more efficient. It caters for unaccompanied trailers that can be transported by sea without […] May 23, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi’s ANB invests $38.2m in new Iraqi bank Saudi Arabia’s Arab National Bank (ANB) will invest $38.2 million to set up a new bank in Iraq, as it looks to boost trade exchange for its customers and expand into new markets. ANB, one of the kingdom’s largest lenders with assets of SAR214.04 billion ($57 billion), will own a 20 percent stake in the […] May 16, 2023
Construction Baghdad gets makeover as repairs kindle optimism Living in Baghdad’s sprawling Sadr City suburb for the past 15 years, Khodr Abbas, 73, had to walk along a mud and dirt track to get to his home, where he would struggle to get fresh water to flow and waste-water to flush through rickety pipes. That finally changed last month. Diggers, bulldozers and other […] May 16, 2023
Energy Iraq expects Opec+ to make no further output cuts Iraq does not expect Opec+ to make further cuts to oil output at its next meeting in June, its oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said, in the first indication from an Opec minister about a potential decision as oil prices slide. “At the next meeting, which will be held on the 3rd and 4th (of June), […] May 14, 2023
