U.S army donates $ 8.5 million aid to drought-affected area in northern Iraq

The U.S army on Thursday announced its forces donated an $8.5 million drought relief package as a gift for Eid to the people of Salah Ad Din, Diyala, Kirkuk and Ninewa Provinces to provide emergency relief to these drought-affected areas.

“The ongoing drought is the worst in 100 years. The emergency funds provide farmers with agriculture technologies and seed to prevent the complete loss of another growing season,” noted a U.S army statement received by Aswat al-Iraq.

“Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of Multi-National Division-North, presented the gifts to each province at an event at the Tikrit University Agriculture Center campus in Salah al Din,”the announcement pointed out.

The deputy Minister of Agriculture and the governors of Salah ad Din, Diyala, Ninewa and Kirkuk attended along with their Director General’s of Agriculture.

(Voices of Iraq)

Water Resources Ministry announces it plans erecting dams in Kurdistan region

Iraq’s Ministry of Water resources Thursday announced it signed a number of agreements with International firms to erect dams in Kurdistan regions.

“The Design department for the Ministry of Water Resources signed a number of agreements with international firms and specialist consultant offices to draft dams and water projects,” said a government statement received by Aswat al-Iraq.

“The ministry would install a number of dams and reservoirs for human use over valleys in different parts of Kurdistan region”.

The government announcement pointed out the projects would include artificial lakes utilised for tourism.

(Voices of Iraq)

Dubai Holding is pursuing to get investment opportunities in Basrah

The governor of Basra declared that a delegation from Dubai Holding company visited the province of Basra on Monday , and had a look at the reality of the city and investment opportunities there.

Mohammed al-Waeli, clarified that "the delegation included Deputy Prime of ports in Dubai and the director of development in the Emirates Islamic Bank, as discussed with government officials in Basra on the mechanism for the implementation of some investment projects especially in the area of port investment."

He added "Our mates in UAE have the significant ability and the accumulated experience in the area of investment; they are serious about entering with all their strength in this area in the province."

He pointed out that there are many Arab and foreign companies declared their readiness to implement investment projects in Basra and soon will begin the licensing process for these companies to conduct their work.

He stated that "The delegation toured around the city of Basra and saw the ports and Shat al Arabs and expressed their admiration for what they found as positive changes in security and stability."

He pointed out that the meeting was attended by Chairman of Investment Authority and the Director of Basra Chamber of Commerce and director of ports and the Reporter of the provincial council in Basra and the director of the Central Bank of Iraq in Basra. "

For his part, Vice President of the ports in Dubai Hassan Hadi described the visit as "Successful," he said, "That Emirates and Arab investors to look at Basra as an important investment location and aspire to create job opportunities in various economic fields." He noted that the next two months will witness positive steps in this area.

The city of Basra, the status of the province of Basra, about 590 km south of Baghdad.

(Iraq Directory)

$8 billion contracts to generate 11,000 additional megawatts of electricity in Iraq

The Ministry of Electricity has signed $8 billion deals with the U.S. General Electric, Siemens and other Western engineering firms for the construction of power plants that will generate 11,000 megawatts, electricity minister said.

Kareem Waheed said the bulk of the money will go to General Electric, or GE, a multinational U.S. technology conglomerate.

He said GE will build plants with a capacity to produce 6,800 megawatts.

Siemens, Europe’s finest and largest engineering company, will build plants capable of producing 2,000 megawatts.

Waheed said the deals were complete as memorandums of understanding had been signed with each of the firms long time ago.

But he said the firms were reluctant to start working in Iraq due to high levels of violence.

As violence was receding, the firms have expressed a willingness to go ahead with their commitments, Waheed claimed.

“All in all we have deals which in completion will add 11,000 megawatts to the national grid,” he added

Acute power shortages and protracted blackouts that continue for nearly 20 hours a day in major Iraqi cities have been a characteristic of U.S.-administered and occupied Iraq.

Iraq currently produces 5,500 megawatts, which is still below the amount its rickety and sanctions-hit power plants used to generate under former leader Saddam Hussein.

Waheed put Iraq’s current power needs at 11,000 megawatts.

He gave no further details of the contracts.

(Azzaman)

Iraq, Egypt to boost oil cooperation

The Egyptian Ministry of Oil expressed its willingness to help modernize Iraq’s oil capabilities, an official Iraqi spokesperson said.

“Minister of Oil Hussein al-Shahrestani discussed with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Fahmi mutual cooperation between the two countries in the oil field,” a media spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, Aasem Jihad, told Aswat al-Iraq.

A delegation comprising representatives of specialized Egyptian companies will pay a field visit to Iraq to explore opportunities of mutual cooperation, Jihad noted.

On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki received the Egyptian ministers of foreign affairs and oil, Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Fahmi, and discussed with them means of enhancing bilateral cooperation in the political, security, economic and trade fields.

Yesterday, the Egyptian officials arrived in Iraq on an unannounced visit to meet with the Iraqi president and premier in the highest-ranking visit by an Egyptian delegation since 1990.

(Voices of Iraq)

Iraq’s oil exports to Jordan to be up by 4,000 bpd

Iraq’s oil exports to Jordan will be increased by 4,000 barrels per day (bpd) in accordance with an agreement between the countries, the Jordanian semi-official Addustour daily quoted a local official as saying on Saturday.

“Since September 13, 2008, Jordan received 8,000 bpd of oil from Iraq,” the official told Jordanian paper.
“The process moves smoothly, and security improvement in Iraq contributed to facilitating all required arrangements,” he said.

He expected that starting as of the coming week, Iraq’s oil exports to Jordan will be increased by 4,000 bpd, to reach 12,000 bpd, to achieve the targeted amount agreed upon by the two sides.

(Voices of Iraq)

Dana Gas, Hilal embark on gas supply in Kurdistan

Dana Gas and al-Hilal Company announced on Saturday that they started producing initial natural gas supplies within their joint mega venture in the Iraqi Kurdistan region, according to a joint statement by the two companies.

Al-Hilal CEO, Hameed Diaa Jaafar, had said in statements that the two companies would soon start producing natural gas from the Cormol oilfield in Sulaimaniya province at an initial amount of 75 million cubic feet per day, to gradually grow to 300 million cubic feet per day by the beginning of 2009.

“The two companies have concluded a series of service agreements and contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government in April 2007 by virtue of the Strategic Alliance Protocol between the companies and the KRG,” read the statement as received by Aswat al-Iraq.

“The two companies together allocated total investments of $650 million, thus becoming the largest investment project to be injected by the private sector into Iraq at present and also the largest private sector contribution in the oil & gas sphere in the country in decades,” it added.

The gas supplies should be used as fuel for power generation at a capacity of 1250 megawatt from new under-construction stations near the Kurdish cities of Arbil and Sulaimaniya with the objective of providing electricity to more than four million Iraqis.

“The project should also help save $2.5 billion annually for the government budgets allocated to cover liquid fuel imports at present,” the statement indicated, pointing out that the two companies are still in talks with the natural resources ministry in the KRG to develop the Kurdistan Gas City project.

The City’s cornerstone should have been laid in the district of Jamjamal, Sulaimaniya province, over an area of 43 square kilometers but was postponed indefinitely.

Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Sharjah, al-Hilal boasts more than 35 years of oil industry experience in many Arab and foreign countries.

The UAE firm is the largest private sector stockholder in Dana Gas, which was founded in 2005.

Also headquartered in Sharjah, Dana Gas is one of the largest natural gas extracting companies in the Middle East region.

(Voices of Iraq)

Missan to set up oil depot soon

A project to construct an oil depot in the province of Missan at a cost of nearly $40 million has been referred to a local company, the director of the province’s oil products department said on Sunday.

“Today, the Ministry of Oil referred the project to the Oil Projects Company,” Engineer Ali Wared told Aswat al-Iraq, noting that the scheduled completion period does not exceed 12 months.

The depot has a capacity to store 90,000 cubic meters of oil, the director explained.

The Oil Projects Company had built oil reservoirs in the area of al-Barzakan and in the provinces of Muthanna and Karbala.

Missan is a Shiite province. Its capital city is al-Amara. Sitting on the Tigris River, Amara lies 390 km south of Baghdad. Missan, in the east of the country, bordering Iran, is home to many marsh Arabs.

(Voices of Iraq)

Iraqi gov’t allocates about 120 millions for Missan-local official

Iraqi government allocated about $118.7 millions for the southern province of Missan in its supplementary budget for calendar year 2008, a local official said on Thursday.

“The allocations would provide big projects, such as, building schools, purchasing equipment for al-Bazargan oilfields and to pave new roads and streets,”Ali Kadhim, deputy chief of Missan’s local council, told Aswat al-Iraq.

The board presidency approved the supplementary budget for calendar year of 2008 in September after its endorsement by the Iraqi parliament last August.

Missan, 390 km south Baghdad, is a border and oil-rich province and has suffered suffering from years of deprivation under former governments.

(Voices of Iraq)

Iraq participates in trade fair in Greece

Iraq will participate in a trade-industrial fair to be hosted in Greece late this year, according to Iraq’s exporters & importers union chief on Wednesday.

“A delegation will represent Iraq in Exporana Show Athens 2008, the largest diverse industries fair in Greece, where Iraqi industrialists and businessmen will meet with their Greek peers to discuss means to further industrial and trade relations between the two countries,” Thabit al-Baladawi told Aswat al-Iraq.

“The event, to be held on December 6-9, should offer a good chance for the Iraqi participants to get acquainted with advanced industrial techniques and establishments to benefit from with the aim of modernizing their own production lines in the facilities they run in Iraq,” he added.

Baladawi said the fair will also help Iraqi entrepreneurs to discuss their ideas with Greek investors in the agricultural, industrial and real estate domains.

(Voices of Iraq)