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Al-Qaeda bombing, financial networks degraded

PUKmedia 28-09-2008 17:32:24

mnf-iraq.com

Al-Qaeda in Iraq’s car bomb and financial networks were further debilitated by the capture of seven suspected terrorists during Coalition force operations Saturday and Sunday.

An operation in Baghdad Saturday netted one wanted man who is believed to be a key player in AQI’s improvised explosive device network. Another suspect was also detained during the operation.

Coalition forces, acting on a tip from a suspected terrorist already in custody, targeted a wanted man assessed to be one of AQI's financial bookkeepers in eastern Mosul early Sunday. When forces arrived at the location, the man was taken into custody without incident.

Then the detained man, who is believed to oversee AQI's terrorist payroll, led Coalition forces to a second location where they arrested four more men believed to be his associates.

"Attacking the innocent children and citizens must stop and Coalition forces will continue to seek out terrorists that threaten the safety and security of the people of Iraq.," Said Navy Lt. Cmdr. David Russell, MNF-I spokesman.

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Turkish president to respond to Kurdish rebels


Gul vows strong response to ‘treacherous’ Kurdish rebel attack, to hold ‘terrorists’ to account.


ANKARA - Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Saturday vowed a strong response after 15 Turkish soldiers and 23 Kurdish rebels were killed in the deadliest clashes in a year after a rebel attack near the Iraqi border.

Gul described Friday's attack by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as "treacherous" and said Ankara was determined to crush the militants.

"The struggle against terrorism is a long-term, not a short-term, process... Let me underline once again that we will continue the struggle (against the PKK), whatever the cost," Gul said in a video message posted on his office's website.

"We are investigating how this treacherous attack took place, who facilitated it. These will be followed up on and everyone will be held to account," he added.

The president's remarks appeared to be a veiled warning to Iraqi Kurds whom Ankara accuses of failing to curb PKK rebels using the mountainous north of Iraq as a springboard for attacks on Turkish targets.

In the bloodiest attack this year, PKK rebels, backed by heavy weapons' fire from bases in northern Iraq, launched an assault on a military post near border Friday, killing 15 Turkish soldiers.

Twenty-three PKK rebels were killed in the ensuing fighting which lasted late into Friday night, an army spokesman said.

A separate statement from Gul's office said that in light of the attack, the president cancelled a one-day visit to France on Monday during which he was to deliver a speech at a conference organized by the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

The European Union condemned Saturday the attack by Kurdish separtists on a Turkish military post in southeastern Turkey.

"Europe expresses its complete solidarity with the Turkish authorities and offers its condolences to the families and friends of the victims," it said, in a statement released by the Union's French presidency.

"The presidency reiterates that the European Union stands resolutely beside Turkey in its battle against the PKK, an organisation that figures on Europe's lists of terrorist groups and entities," the statement said.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/iraq/?id=28161

Egypt, Iraq plan to cooperate on oil


Published: 10.05.08, 17:33 / Israel News

The first Egyptian foreign minister to visit Iraq in nearly two decades met with Iraqi leaders Sunday to discuss plans to open a new embassy in Baghdad and cooperate in the oil sector.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the visit was aimed at helping Iraq face its "Many challenges, and we hope that peace and security will prevail in Iraq." (AP)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3605590,00.html

Another.....

Egypt, Iraq to Cooperate on Oil

Sunday, October 05, 2008


BAGHDAD — The first Egyptian foreign minister to visit Iraq in nearly two decades met with Iraqi leaders Sunday to discuss plans to open a new embassy in Baghdad and cooperate in the oil sector.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said the visit was aimed at helping Iraq face its "many challenges."

"We reject sectarianism, extremism, violence," Aboul-Gheit said. "And we hope that peace and security will prevail in Iraq."

The Iraqi government welcomed Egypt's plans to open a new embassy in Baghdad. Cairo currently has diplomats based in the U.S.-protected Green Zone.

"This visit will open good horizons for the bilateral relations and soon we will witness the opening of the Egyptian embassy in Baghdad. Today, we went to see some sites to be used as a place for the embassy," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said.

The high-level visit reflected decreasing tension between Iraq's Shiite-led government and mainly Sunni Arab countries in the region.

Jordan named a new ambassador to Iraq over the summer. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also promised to reopen their embassies in Baghdad.


Aboul-Gheit said security concerns were to blame for Egypt's delay in opening an embassy after an Egyptian diplomat was killed in Baghdad in 2005. Al Qaeda in Iraq later said it killed Ihab al-Sherif because Egypt intended to install a full ambassador in Iraq

"Egypt has lost a good citizen in Iraqi land. This has kept us a little bit away on the official level," he said at a joint news conference with Zebari.

Zebari hailed the visit as a chance to restore the two countries' historic ties.

"It is an important visit that will yield positive results," Zebari said after he and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with Aboul-Gheit in Baghdad. "It shows Egypt's interest in communicating with Iraq and boosting the historical relations between the two countries."

The Egyptian minister also said that oil ministers from both countries met in Baghdad on Sunday and the two countries plan to "to boost cooperation and coordination in the oil sector." He gave no other details.

He also said Egypt could help Iraq in the construction sector.

It was the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister to Iraq since 1990, when Saddam Hussein's invasion of neighboring Kuwait deeply damaged ties between Iraq and its Arab neighbors.

Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, there have been sporadic efforts to revive them, but these were hampered by the violence and the suspicion of Iraq's mainly Sunni Arab neighbors to the Shiite ascendancy in Iraq.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,432877,00.html

Former Minister Uluğbay: World is witnessing final fight for oil

Hikmet Uluğbay, who authored the book "Petropolitics from Empire to Republic," has said the final struggle to gain control over oil and natural gas resources is currently being waged among world powers.

"The Middle East, which hosts 65 percent of the world's oil reserves and Mesopotamia (Iraq), an important part of it, were Ottoman territories in the early 20th century. During its collapse, the Ottoman state was not able to preserve the oil within its lands nor was it able to process these resources. Conversely, the young republic was at least able to get royalties from Iraqi oil while it also secured its independence at the ‘table of the wolves,' settled in the aftermath of the ‘first war of apportionment'," says Uluğbay. According to Uluğbay, the last fight for the apportionment of oil is taking place.

Oil became commercialized at the end of the 19th century and transformed into an undeniable element of industrialization and economic development. “The US joined Britain, Germany and France in the fight to have control over oil fields after the end of World War I. Today, the battle is being fought to control oil and natural gas, along with routes to deliver these resources to world markets,” he says.

Uluğbay served as education minister and state minister in Democratic Left Party (DSP) administrations and is interested in a number of fields, including the economy and art. His work, first published in 1995, is still a reference book in energy-economy circles. DeKi Publications recently issued an updated edition of the book, which explains petro-political games since Ottoman times and includes additional documents on Turkey’s receivables from Iraqi oil. Sunday’s Zaman spoke with Uluğbay on the new state of Iraqi oil and the new power struggle that began with the recent war in the Caucasus region.

Petro-political moves have been made in the Middle East and the Caucasus for many years. How would you describe the new situation that emerged in the aftermath of the Georgian-Russian war in terms of oil apportionment?

The discovery of oil, the popularization of the automotive industry and the introduction of motor vehicles to the army has led industrialized countries, which lacked oil to back the process of industrialization, including Britain, Germany and France, to enter a race for control over oil fields. Considering that its own oil resources may be exhausted, the US also joined the race after the end of World War I. This started the first battle of apportionment over oil resources. Currently, the final fight is taking place to have control over oil and natural gas resources, as well as over routes to deliver these resources. Scholarly studies show that global oil production will peak in the short run, after which oil production will enter a decline. According to the research, during the 2019-2030 period natural gas production will peak. The increase in oil prices to $150 per barrel was a harbinger of this. The current decline in oil prices should not mislead us. This temporary development is a product of expectations that the world economy will soon suffer from stagnation.

What changed in the oil games after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire?

The Ottoman territory was only one of the fields in which the first fight for control over energy resources took place. Other battles took place in other regions. Back then, it was obvious that the reward for a fight for oil in Ottoman lands was massive. At that time, German and British experts who traveled to the region underlined that Mesopotamia was rich in natural resources. However, the first battle for oil in our country was carried out in the 1870s and was for Baku oil. Following this, Iraqi oil was targeted. Therefore, there has been no drastic change in the methods used for the fight to control energy resources after the collapse of the Ottoman state.

What were the other battles over oil in the Ottoman hinterland?

Some scholars argue that the real reason behind World War I was the ambition to seize oil assets in Ottoman territories. Likewise, history textbooks underline that German operations in World War II that took place in the Caucasus and North Africa were carried out to acquire oil resources in the Middle East. In addition to the justification that Kuwait was a province of the Basra Governorate in Ottoman times, one of the reasons for Saddam Hussein’s attack on this country was the allegation that it was extracting Iraqi oil in border areas. The last battle for oil in the world is taking place here as we speak.

You say in your book, “Iraq owes Turkey 30 billion barrels in royalties.” Additionally, you make mention of new documents clarifying the Iraqi oil-Turkey relationship. Please elaborate.

The first edition of the book, published in 1995, included 16 supplemental documents. The revised and expanded edition, published this year, includes an additional 25. I studied the issues regarding energy and oil since the release of the first edition. Throughout this process I had access to additional information and documents; I just wanted to share them with the readers.

I had access to the full texts of note exchanges dated 1932 which discussed the start of 10 percent royalty rights that Turkey would receive from Iraqi oil under a treaty signed on June 5, 1926. It became apparent that the amount of these royalty rights, which I calculated at 5.5 million barrels in the first edition of the book, is actually 29.5 million barrels because 3.5 million barrels were collected in the period between 1934 and 1954. The documents indicate that Turkey is still entitled to receive a total sum of 26 million barrels. It should be stressed that this is a figure from that time and that after being adjusted for inflation, this equals 30.2 million barrels of oil today.

Because there was no comprehensive study on these issues prior to the publication of “Petropolitik,” royalties to be received in connection with Iraqi oil were known as the Mosul oil royalties. They were clearly identified in budget bills. However, as I explained in my book in detail, the entitlement to royalties under the 1926 treaty should be calculated based on all revenues associated with the trade and production of oil and natural gas in Iraq’s territory. These royalties may always be claimed in any negotiations with Iraq.

So you are saying that Turkey may claim royalties from the Iraqi government. If this is the case, how can such claims be brought up in a way that would persuade the international community?

The right to royalties under this treaty may be replaced by a new one following a mutual agreement between the parties to the treaty. Unless this is done, Turkey remains entitled to receive these royalties in connection with Iraqi oil. The amount I mention in my book is based on oil production data in several other books. But the method to calculate the royalties is indicated in various documents. The fundamental documents that will serve as the basis for the calculations are the records of the Iraq Petroleum Company of that time. Therefore, it is highly likely that the amount, which will be calculated based on these documents, will exceed 26 million barrels. For this reason, these royalties may be claimed in proper venues. Additionally, the treaty, under which Turkey is entitled to receive a certain amount in royalties, has been ratified by the League of Nations.

The treaties and notes show that the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPAO), founded prior to the Iraq Petroleum Company, was granted the right to explore for oil in Iraq. Can Turkey claim this right today?

I think it is not legally possible to establish a connection between the royalties in connection with Iraqi oil and the right to explore oil in Iraq under the 1926 treaty. The claim to the royalties is still valid. Today, to receive the right to explore oil in Iraq, an application should be filed with the government to get necessary permits.

You are saying that a new strategy should be developed with respect to Iraqi oil. What is your proposal?

I mean this: If the new political structure in Iraq that is to emerge after the US and British occupation which began in 2003 ends does not grant exclusive rights to foreign companies to process Iraqi oil, Turkey may take necessary political steps to gain oil exploration privileges in this country. As far as I know, Turkey has made no such attempt yet. That said, some corporations with Turkish capital have obtained oil exploration rights in northern Iraq.

You say, “Special funds should be reserved for oil exploration.” What should Turkey’s place in the power struggle be in the Middle East and the Caucasus?

Unfortunately, Turkey failed to comply with the requirements of the oil age except in consuming oil products in large quantities while the world approaches the end of the oil age. The TPAO and private sector corporations failed to take necessary initiatives to explore for oil and natural gas. Brazil, which has a per capita income close to that of Turkey, explores for oil in many parts of the world, including the Black Sea region, whereas Turkey has yet to show the same interest. Turkey fails to explore for oil while Norway extracts oil in northern Iraq and many parts of the world.

The real problem is a lack of appropriation of risk capital needed for the exploration in this field. The problem is not a lack of a workforce. In recent years, public economic corporations and facilities were sold to domestic and foreign corporations. The total value of these came out to $35.8 billion. The total privatization revenues within the 2004-2008 period alone are close to $27.7 billion. The state could have used some portion of these revenues for oil and natural gas exploration as risk capital. Likewise, some of the large sums of taxes and levies collected from the sale of oil imported from abroad might have been reserved as risk capital for oil and natural gas exploration by the TPAO, the state oil and exploration company. Considering that oil production reached a peak, many states now pay attention to public corporations. Many states have created funds dedicated to oil exploration within their territories and in foreign countries.

It is hard to say Turkey did the same.

Yes, indeed. Turkey should reserve these funds. The TPAO and Turkish private corporations should be supported to make sure that they assume a greater role in securing oil and natural gas exploration and processing privileges through consortiums and joint ventures. Currently, China, India, Korea, Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia are more active than Turkey on the global stage. Meanwhile, it is hard to understand why Turkey promulgated the Turkish Oil Bill in 2007, which runs counter to world developments.

How would you assess the emergence of a new global geostrategic network through oil and natural gas lines in the Middle East, Eurasia and the Caucasus?

A multidimensional network of pipelines has been evolving in the world over the years. There were a lot of options for investor countries to take oil and natural gas assets in the Caspian Basin and the Middle East to global markets. I touched upon why the Russian route was not picked. The least expensive option for the shipment of Caspian Oil to global markets is via Iran.

However, because of US-Iran tensions, this option has not been considered; this is why the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline option was taken into account. The route for Middle Eastern oil and natural gas considered by the Western world was by the Indian Ocean through Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, instability in these countries hampered the realization of this option.

Meanwhile, because of changing energy balances, attempts to take Middle Eastern natural gas and oil to China have also taken their fair share of attention. Like the Western world, China and India are eager to have Iranian natural gas and oil. For this reason, an Iran-India pipeline project is under consideration. China is investing $100 billion in Iranian natural gas and oil. Shipments of Iranian natural gas through the Nabucco project via Turkey to Europe are still under review. Likewise, the project to take northern Iraqi oil through Jordan to Israel to global markets by enhancing a pipeline constructed in 1934 is receiving a great deal of attention. This project is likely to compete with the current Kirkuk-Yumurtalık (Iraq-Turkey) pipeline.

So this race will continue…

A lot of pipeline projects that will transport energy resources will be in competition. New developments in political relations will keep the possibility of transition from one project to another alive. For this reason, Turkey’s emphasis on following the developments on a daily basis is not enough. It should estimate the probable developments and use the relevant game theory accordingly. Political and economic stability is one important factor for its ability to serve as a reliable and preferable route. Any change in the perceptions of the world on these issues may affect risk analyses and investment decisions. For this reason rulers should stay away from risky behavior and action because the world is in search of a solution on how to overcome an economic crisis.

Terror has existed since the first moves in petropolitics. What is the relationship between terror incidents in our country and petropolitics?

I addressed this in my book. For instance, during the War of Independence, insurgency and terrorism in southeast Anatolia were ignited and supported to make sure that Mosul did not fall into Turkey’s hands. It will suffice to recall one line from the text of a telegram wired by American Higher Commissioner to Turkey Adm. Mark L. Bristol from İstanbul to Washington on Feb. 20, 1920: “The British would consider using Kurds against the Turks in an attempt to keep Kurdistan under control.”

Considering the ongoing problems and developments in our country and other parts of the world, it will be seen that ethnic and religious differences play a great role in the breakout of these incidents. Terrorism is on the top of the agenda in all countries where there is a fight to take control of natural resources. Take Angola, Nigeria, Colombia, Indonesia, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq and others. Therefore, it would be naïve to think that natural resources do not play any role in the making of the big powers’ policies to support terror in Turkey. Remarks by British Empire Premier Henry Temple Palmerston (1855-1865) on the gist of this struggle should always be remembered: “We do not have eternal friends who would be on our side forever nor do we have permanent enemies. We have eternal interests and it is our duty to observe these interests.”

Every state has to protect its interests. Criticizing states seeking to maximize their interests would not be proper and this leads to laziness. The goal should be elevating the standards of your country and its democratic, secular and legal structure to an upper level. Societies attaining this goal would also attain social peace and harmony; such an attainment will subsequently minimize the likely impacts of terrorism and even eliminate them.


05 October 2008, Sunday


FATİH UĞUR ANKARa

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=154974&bolum=8

Stable Iraq could influence Mideast


Published Date: October 05, 2008
By Robert H Reid




As violence in Iraq recedes, neighboring states are pondering how to deal with an unwieldy country that could re-emerge as a key player along with Saudi Arabia and Iran in one of the world's most strategic regions. The role of regional power broker may seem far-fetched for Iraq - a devastated land best known for car bombs, death squads and suicide attackers.

Still, countries of the Middle East cannot ignore the potential role of a resurgent Iraq, a nation of 28 million people, bordering Iran to the east, Syria and Jordan to the west and sitting on one of the world's major pools of oil. For those reasons, the United States cannot afford to lose focus on Iraq, which will remain a strategic and important country even after the last of the 140,000 American soldiers have gone home.

Clearly Iraq is a long way from re-establishing itself as a major force in the region. In a first step, however, representatives of 35 international oil companies are to meet this month with Iraq's oil minister in London to discuss improving Iraqi gas and oil fields. Fellow Arab countries are talking about upgrading their relations with Iraq. Iraq is likely to play a significant role in America's Middle East policy for decades - even as the Pentagon scales down military operations here and ramps them up in Afghanistan.

The Middle East has long confounded forecasters, and the rosy predictions from the Bush administration that Iraq would emerge as a beacon of Western-style democracy in the Arab world have been long discredited. However unlikely it may seem today, a relatively stable Iraq would have all the cards necessary to emerge as a major player in the Persian Gulf, where Saudi Arabia and Iran are competing for leadership.

Those three countries account for most of the population and most of the oil in the Gulf, which has about 60 percent of the world's proven reserves. How the three deal with one another will shape the Middle East for decades. Iraq's vast oil reserves alone should guarantee the country a major regional role. Current estimates put Iraq's proven oil reserves at 115 billion barrels. But many experts believe that figure could rise by another 70 billion to 80 billion barrels once better security allows for renewed exploration. If those estimates prove accurate, Iraq would have the world's second-largest proven oil reserves behind Saudi Arabia and ahead of Iran.

As Iran and Saudi Arabia compete for influence in the region, each has a strong interest in using Iraq as leverage against the other. Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia can afford to have Iraq throw itself solidly behind the other. Each wants a stable Iraq - but not one strong enough to threaten its neighbors as when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990. In competing for influence in Iraq, Iran would seem to have the advantage. Most of Iran's nearly 70 million people are Shiites, the Muslim sect that includes about 60 percent of Iraq's population.

Iran offered asylum to thousands of Iraqi Shiites who fled Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime. Many of them returned home to assume positions of power after the US-led invasion of 2003. Iran has also cultivated close ties with the Kurds, who along with the Shiites have dominated political life in Iraq since the fall of Saddam.

Despite those advantages, Iran faces major obstacles in building influence in a country with bitter memories of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and a legacy of centuries of rivalry between Arabs and Persian Iran. US and Iraqi officials remain convinced Iran is financing and training Shiite extremists, although Tehran denies the allegation. Many Iraqis - both Shiites and Sunnis - view their Iranian neighbor with deep suspicion. At the same time, Iran sees Washington's ties to Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and others in the Shiite religious parties as a potential threat.

Other Arab countries fear that Iraq will fall under Iranian domination once the Americans have gone. Arab pessimists see a dark vision of a Middle East with Iranian clients ruling Iraq, Iranian-backed Hezbollah as the dominant political force in Lebanon and Tehran's Hamas clients running the Palestinian entity. Nowhere are those fears stronger than in Saudi Arabia, whose geriatric leadership has faced problems in responding to the political changes in Iraq, its northern neighbor.

The Saudis and other Sunni-dominated Arab governments maintain close ties to the United States. But their natural allies in Iraq - minority Sunnis - were fighting the Americans for most of the US occupation. Other Arab governments found it difficult to support the Shiite leadership in Baghdad while Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites were slaughtering each other in the streets. Sectarian fighting has eased, and thousands of Sunni insurgents turned against Al-Qaeda and joined forces with the Americans.

Still, Arab governments have been slow to develop full diplomatic relations with Iraq, despite intense American pressure. Iraqis face enormous problems in seeking refuge elsewhere in the Arab world. Many Iraqis resent the Arab attitude and fear that shunning them only enhances the influence of Iran, which embraced the new Iraqi government. All these uncertainties will probably encourage Washington to pay close attention to Iraq for years. "All Americans should be and are proud of the achievements in Iraq and the American role in bringing about the change," US Ambassador Ryan Crocker said recently. Losing interest in Iraq, he warned, risks paying "a major long-term price". - AP

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NTM0OTU0NzY1

Crescent, Dana start gas supply in Iraq’s Kurdistan

BAGHDAD, Oct 4, (Agencies): Two United Arab Emirates-based energy companies announced Saturday that they have begun producing natural gas in Iraq’s self-ruled Kurdish area. Crescent Petroleum and its partner Dana Gas DANA.AD said initial gas production stood at 75 million cubic feet per day after completing the first phase of the $650-million project. Within the first half of 2009, production will rise to 300 million cubic feet per day, the companies said in an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press. “We are very proud of this historical milestone, as the first companies from the Middle East to invest in Iraq’s oil and gas sector,” Dana Gas upstream executive director, Ahmed al-Arbeed, said in the statement. “This is the first project of its kind in Iraq, and it will provide important economic and social benefits for the Kurdistan region and all of Iraq,” added Majid Jafar, executive director of Crescent Petroleum. Kurdish officials were not available to comment. In April 2007, Iraq’s Kurds and the two companies signed the service deal to develop the Khor More gas field and to appraise the Chemchemal field.

Discovered

The gas will be used to supply new power plants in Irbil and Sulaimaniyah provinces, two of three provinces that make up the regional government. The two plants are to provide a total of 1,250 megawatts of electricity. According to Iraqi Oil Ministry figures, the Khor More field was discovered in the 1950s and has estimated gas reserves of 1.4 trillion cubic feet. But it has never been fully developed and was shut down after the first Gulf War in 1991 The Chemchemal gas field, which has never been appraised or developed, has estimated reserves of 2.2 trillion cubic feet. The statement said initial production will supply the power plant in Irbil, the capital of the semiautonomous Kurdish region. Later production will go to the plant in Sulaimaniyah. The companies praised the project, saying it would help supply electricity to 4 million Iraqis in the region and save some US$2.5 billion the Kurds pay each year to import diesel for power plants. It would also provide more than 2,000 jobs for local people, it said. The project also includes the construction of a 180 kms (112 miles) pipeline to transport the gas to the two power plants. The pipeline will have spare capacity to accommodate additional production from nearby fields.

Both companies are also working with the Kurdish regional government on plans to set up Kurdistan Gas City, which will include petrochemical, steel and other heavy industry plants. The Iraqi government has criticized the more than 20 oil and gas contracts the Kurds have signed, saying they are illegal since the parliament has not yet passed a national hydrocarbon law. The law has been held up over disagreements between Kurdish and Arab leaders about who has the final say in managing oil and gas fields. The Iraqi government has threatened to blacklist companies that sign deals with the Kurds to prevent them from participating in opportunities in other parts of Iraq. The UAE’s Crescent Petroleum and affiliate Dana Gas have begun supplying gas in Iraq’s Kurdistan region after completing the first stage of a $650 million project, the companies said in a statement on Saturday.

Gas was flowing at 75 million cubic feet per day (cfd) from the revamped Khor Mor field and supply will rise to 300 million cfd in the first half of 2009, the companies said. The first gas will supply a power plant in Arbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Supplies coming on stream later will go to another power plant in Sulaimaniya. The two plants will have total electricity generation capacity of 1,250 megawatts. Supply was initially planned to begin in mid-2008, but was held up as construction of the power plants took longer than expected. Dana and Crescent signed the service contract in April 2007 with the Kurdistan regional government (KRG) to redevelop the Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields. The Khor Mor field was shut after the first Gulf War in 1991.

Energy

The KRG has angered Baghdad by moving ahead with plans to develop its energy sector while political wrangling has delayed a federal oil and gas law from going before parliament. The deal with Dana and Crescent is a service contract, rather than a production sharing agreement (PSA). The Kurdistan government’s PSAs have attracted criticism from some politicians in Baghdad, including the oil minister. The KRG says its deals are in line with the constitution. Crescent says it has no doubts over the legality of its deal and that other regions of Iraq have shown interest in contracting the companies for similar projects.

“We are absolutely certain of the moral, legal and economic correctness of our contract with the KRG and the work we are doing,” Majid Jafar, Crescent executive director, told Reuters. “This benefits the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq... we have already been asked by local officials to replicate similar projects in other regions of Iraq.” The plants will save Iraq over $2 billion annually in fuel costs — cash the government currently spends on oil products for small power generators. The project was the largest private-sector investment in Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003, the companies said. Aside from redeveloping Khor Mor, appraising Chemchemal and building gas processing facilities, the companies constructed a 180 kilometre pipeline that required clearance of some minefields.

Crescent and Dana each have a 50 percent stake in the project. Crescent is based in the emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The two companies also signed up last year to evaluate the region’s gas reserves and to build a large gas-fed industrial complex called Kurdistan Gas City. Initial investment in the basic infrastructure for the complex would be $3 billion. Dana and Crescent are leading the development and looking to attract partner companies. Eventually, they hope the complex will attract more than $40 billion in foreign direct investment and will house at least 20 large petrochemical and heavy manufacturing plants with output that will mostly be consumed in Iraq. Iraq needs billions in investment to rebuild its economy after years of sanctions and war. The Kurdistan region largely escaped the sectarian violence suffered in the rest of Iraq after the US-led invasion of March 2003 and is already undergoing rapid economic development.

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/client/pagesdetails.asp?nid=23036&ccid=12

Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum announce First Gas in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Iraq: 9 hours, 4 minutes ago

Dana Gas PJSC, the Middle East's first regional private-sector natural gas company, and its partner Crescent Petroleum, the Middle East's oldest private oil and gas company, have announced the start-up of natural gas production, processing and transportation by pipeline in their major joint project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum are 50:50 partners on the project, and are investing $650m under a Strategic Alliance and service contracts signed with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in April 2007, making it the largest private-sector investment in Iraq today and the largest private-sector oil & gas project in Iraq in several decades.

The gas will supply new power plants under construction near Erbil and Sulaimaniya, which will provide eventually 1,250 MW of urgently needed electricity for over 4 million Iraqi citizens.

This will provide Iraq with savings of approximately $2.5bn a year in liquid fuel import costs.

As part of the project implementation, the primary phase completed in a record time of 15 months, the companies have installed a 180km gas pipeline across challenging mountainous terrain that sometimes required the clearing of minefields.

In addition, upstream activities on seismic surveys and production wells were carried out, and brand new gas processing facilities were installed.

The initial primary phase gas production is at 75 million cubic feet per day, and will rise in stages to 300 million cubic feet per day within the first half of 2009, as the power plants become fully operational.

Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum will be adding further processing capacity to handle the additional gas quantities.

In total, over 50,000 tonnes of equipment were imported in over 2,300 truck-loads, and over two thousand Iraqi workers from all ethnic groups and sects worked together in implementing the project, supported by expatriate workers from over 20 nationalities in the region and worldwide.

The pipe material was supplied from China and Thailand, and the state-of-the-art gas processing plant was imported from the USA.

Local private companies with Turkish partners were used as contractors in order to maximize local content and develop local experience and expertise.

In addition to their investment and work on the project, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum partnered with local charitable foundations to invest in community projects and development, including providing school supplies, drinking water treatment, electrical generators for distant villages, fuel for generators, mobile medical units, and youth sports facilities, as part of the Companies' corporate social responsibility programme.

Commenting on the achievement, Mr. Ahmed Al-Arbeed, Upstream Executive Director for Dana Gas, said:


'We are very proud of this historical milestone, as the first companies from the Middle East to invest in Iraq's oil and gas sector. We wish to thank the leadership and cooperation shown by the KRG, and also all of our staff, our contractors, and local officials for their support in this remarkable joint effort.'


'This is the first project of its kind in Iraq, and it will provide important economic and social benefits for the Kurdistan region and all of Iraq', added Mr. Majid Jafar, Executive Director Crescent Petroleum.

'We aim to now build on these achievements in the Kurdistan Region and across Iraq, with our strategic focus on maximizing economic benefit and addressing local needs.'

In parallel with supplying the local power plants, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum are also in discussion with the the Ministry of Natural Resources in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq to review the natural gas resources in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for its optimal development and utilization.

To this end, the companies continue to assist the Ministry of Natural Resources to create a broad investment framework to develop the 'Kurdistan Gas City' project - a major gas-utilization industrial complex to promote investment in a variety of gas-related industries to maximize local economic benefit and job creation.

The investment framework shall encourage local private sector involvement and to attract investments by regional and international companies, which Dana Gas and Crescent intend to participate in.


http://www.ameinfo.com/170304.html

The Race For Iraqi Oil


by Peter Kenyon

Listen Now [4 min 51 sec] (Link Below)

Weekend Edition Sunday, October 5, 2008 · The competition for Iraqi oil is gaining momentum. Later this month, Iraq will host more than three dozen major oil companies. All of them hope to bid and win the account for handling Iraq's massive oil reserves.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95408477&ft=1&f=10

Egypt in symbolic visit to Iraq

UPDATED ON:
Sunday, October 05, 2008
18:55 Mecca time, 15:55 GMT


Ahmed Abul Gheit, left, and Hoshyar Zebari, right, hope to restore diplomatic ties [AFP]

Ahmed Abul Gheit, Egypt's foreign minister, has arrived in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad for a one-day surprise visit.

Abul Gheit will spend Sunday in Baghdad to strengthen relations in the latest sign that Arab nations are restoring ties with Iraq after more than five years of war in the country.

Accompanying the foreign minister was Sameh Fahmi, Egypt's oil minister.

Egypt broke relations with Iraq in 1977, following Iraq's criticism of a decision made by Anwar Sadat, the late Egyptian president, to set up peace initiatives with Israel.

While Iraq had repeatedly called for restoring ties with Egypt, Iraqi-Egyptian relations broke again in 1990 after Egypt joined the UN coalition forcing Iraq out of Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait war.

"We feel it is the proper time to come to Iraq and launch deeper Iraq-Egypt relations," Abul Gheit said.

Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, said both nations could benefit from better ties and that Baghdad was looking for help from Cairo to develop Iraq's war-battered infrastructure.

"We can both benefit from our relations, and Egypt can also help us with infrastructure and agriculture," Zebari said.

Officials from other Arab nations have also started to visit Iraq, but are moving slowly to revive diplomatic ties in part due to fears that diplomats might be attacked.

Ihab al-Sharif, Egypt's envoy to Iraq, was kidnapped and killed shortly after he arrived in July 2005.

Reviving ties

Abul Gheit had said in May that Egypt was ready to send a fact-finding delegation to Baghdad to evaluate security for opening an embassy.

"When we set up an embassy in Iraq, we want to guarantee that conditions will be favourable and that its security will not be undermined," he said at the time.

Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, appeaed to Sunni Arab states in April to help stabilise Iraq by living up to pledges to forgive his country's debts, erasing war reparations and reopening embassies in Baghdad.

Bahrain, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have already named ambassadors to Baghdad and some Arab leaders, including Jordan's King Abdullah II, have made surprise visits to the country.

Washington's regional foe Syria also named an ambassador to Iraq in September.

Nasir Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti prime minister, said in September that he had accepted an invitation to Iraq, while Saudi Arabia has said it i waiting for security to improve.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/10/200810513154771181.html

Iraq's president condemns Kurdish rebel attack


Published: 10.05.08, 17:50 / Israel News

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, has told his Turkish counterpart that he strongly condemns the latest attack, partly waged from Iraqi soil, by Kurdish rebels on Turkish forces, which left 15 Turkish soldiers dead.

Talabani, who is a Kurd, said the "Ugliness" of the attacks was increased by the fact they came during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a celebration marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. (AP)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3605597,00.html

Egypt Foreign Minister: Cairo to re-open Baghdad embassy (Roundup)

Middle East News
Oct 5, 2008, 15:39 GMT

Baghdad- Cairo will re-open its embassy in Baghdad soon, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said during an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday, the first visit to the country by a high- level Egyptian official since 2003.

The statement by Abul Gheit came during a press conference which was held after meeting his counterpart Hoshyar Zebari, the Egyptian state Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

The last Egyptian envoy to Iraq, Ehab el-Sherif, was kidnapped and killed shortly after he arrived in 2005.

Zebari described the visit of his Egyptian counterpart as 'historic.'

The Iraqi foreign minister said that the visit was a first step towards restoring full Arab diplomatic representation to Iraq and a sign of improved security conditions in Iraq, MENA reported.

Zebari also referred to the political weight of Egypt which according to him will help Iraq reintegrate in the Arab world.

Both foreign ministers insisted that the visit was had been planned well ahead.

Among those accompanying Abul Gheit was Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy.

Both ministers also met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

The visit came as violence in Iraq continues on Sunday.

In Mosul, eleven people from one family were killed by US fire, an official security source said.

'US troops killed 11 people from one family while conducting a dawn raid on a house in the 17 Tammuz neighborhood, western Mosul,' the source told Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

'Iraqi army forces delivered the bodies, which had been placed in nylon bags by the US forces, to the morgue in Mosul city,' the source explained.

A morgue official told VOI that the dead included three women, three children and five men.

A three-year-old child and three-month-old baby reportedly survived the operation.

A media advisor for the Multi-National Force (MNF), al-Miqdad Jibrail, however denied that the US forces killed the family.

Jibrail said that the incident happened when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the house where the US forces were trying to storm.

Jibrail explained to VOI that the incident took place as the US forces were trying to storm a house where five combatants were hiding.

One of the combatants blew himself up with an explosive belt killing all people in the house except two children.

Mosul, the capital city of Nineveh province, lies 405 kilometres north of Baghdad.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1434902.php/Egypt_Foreign_Minister_Cairo_to_re-open_Baghdad_embassy__Roundup__

The U.S. Angry with Maliki

My previous post is explained by Al-Hayat today, noted that the American delegation met with Kurds without visiting Baghdad or any other Iraqi official:

An Iraqi source told the newspaper that the U.S. is angry with Maliki’s government because of the rejection of the American answer on the Iraqi demands [regarding SOFA].

The newspaper added that the visit meant to discuss the obstacles prevent SOFA signing. One of the most major obstacles is Sistani as reported today in a statement issued today by the Iraqi ambassador in Iran saying:

The accord of the supreme-references is a necessary condition to sign security agreement.

Ignoring Maliki and meeting the Kurdish leaders is a move explained by Akhbar-Alkhaleej headline as: “Will the Kurds succeed in getting rid of Maliki as they did with Jaafari before him?”

No need for an expert to say that the Americans started to use Maliki’s conflict with the Kurds as a warning or preparations to outset Maliki’s government.

update

Aswat Al-Iraq just reported that Negroponte will discuss SOFA with Maliki tomorrow [or threat Maliki tomorrow??].

-------------

Source: Maliki and Negroponte will discuss the security agreement Tuesday evening <<<< Must have meant Sunday!

BAGHDAD - Iraq votes 10-05-2008 at 17:40:13

A source in the Iraqi cabinet, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will meet late today, Sunday, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Negroponte, to discuss a range of issues, notably security agreement will be held between Iraq and the United States.

The source explained (Voices of Iraq) "Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will meet this evening (Sunday), U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Negroponte, to discuss a range of common issues would be the most important security agreement to be held between Iraq and the United States."

The two sides are negotiating the Iraqi and U.S. currently on a long-term security agreement between them define the legal nature of the U.S. military presence on Iraqi soil after the end of this year, as will international mandate given to the U.S. military in Iraq.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad announced the arrival of Negroponte on Friday night to Iraq on an unannounced visit for talks with Iraqi officials on "progress" political, economic and security in Iraq.

The head of the Office of the Presidency of the Kurdistan region today that Negroponte and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, left the city of Arbil, capital of the province late on Saturday, after visiting several hours, without revealing the direction left to Negroponte and Crocker.
M t (x) --


http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/article.tpl?IdLanguage=17&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=95493&NrIssue=1&NrSection=1

-----------

http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2008/10/05/the-us-angry-with-maliki/

Same but from english side....

Premier meets U.S. official on security deal – source

Arbil - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 05 /10 /2008 Time 7:28:28

ARBIL / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will meet John Negroponte, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, on Sunday evening to discuss a host of issues, according to a source close to the Iraqi cabinet.

"The Iraqi-U.S. long-term security agreement will figure high on the meeting agenda," the source told Aswat al-Iraq.

The Iraqi and U.S. sides are negotiating a long-term security agreement that should outline the legal nature of the U.S. army's presence in Iraqi territories by the end of this year, when the mandate given to the U.S. military in Iraq is scheduled to expire.

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad had announced on Friday evening that Negroponte arrived on an unannounced visit to Iraq for talks with Iraqi officials on political, security and economic progress in Iraq.

MH (P)/AmR

http://66.111.34.180/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=95501&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1

Financial tsunami may affect Iraq – experts

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 05 /10 /2008 Time 5:57:19


BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi economists and experts agreed that the current global financial crisis may affect Iraq, possibly reflected on oil prices that represent 80 percent of the country's income, in addition to U.S. dollar instability that will come along.


Abduelhussein al-Anbaki, the economic advisor for the Iraqi premier, told Aswat al-Iraq, "The most important threat to the Iraqi economy due to the international financial crisis is recession in western countries' economies, as it would affect oil prices that represent a major source of income for Iraq."


"There is also the reliance of stock markets on U.S. economy," he said.


"A domino effect is looming, and we have no solutions for this issue," he added.
"Our countries are shock-absorbers. A solution should be sought by the countries where the crisis has unfolded," he noted.


"The Central Bank of Iraq should reconsider its policies for more than two years from now," he asserted.


Sattar al-Bayiati, an economic researcher, said "Capitalism, represented by the U.S., currently suffers a serious crisis that may not stop within the U.S. border."
"But, it is not yet an international crisis," he added.


"Iraqi economy suffers obvious problems, but during this stage of the crisis, Iraq's losses are limited to oil prices and the fluctuation in the U.S. dollar," he explained.

For his part, Majid al-Sowari, a banking expert, said "the crisis of U.S. economy started with the mortgage market, but the U.S. dollar remained as it is. In fact it has become stronger, as many countries contributed to stop this crisis by injecting huge funds in the U.S. markets."


"Only oil prices may affect Iraq, not any crisis in stock markets, and oil prices rely on the U.S. dollar," he asserted.

MH (S)/AmR

http://66.111.34.180/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=95494&NrIssue=2&NrSection=4

Missan to set up oil depot soon

Missan - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 05 /10 /2008 Time 1:23:27


MISSAN / Aswat al-Iraq: 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.

SS (P)


http://66.111.34.180/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=95446&NrIssue=2&NrSection=2