Iraqi Economists Network

Exxon Puts Iraq Field Up for Sale With Debt Mountain Looming

Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering selling its stake in Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oil field in a sign that the supermajor is willing to part with one its marquee oil fields in the Middle East to reduce the mountain of debt accumulated last year. Iraq’s oil ministry took the unusual step of saying it’s in talks with U.S. companies about the possibility of them buying Exxon’s 32.7% stake in the field in southern Iraq, near the city of Basra. China’s oil giants China National Petroleum Corp. and CNOOC Ltd. were considering buying the stake, Bloomberg News reported last year. Exxon declined to comment on any potential sale.

Investment contracts for drilling new wells

The Iraqi Drilling Company has announced its intention to conclude contracts with Chinese and American companies operating in Iraq to drill and rehabilitate dozens of oil wells in the country. The company indicated it is about to start drilling 20 wells in the Nasiriyah field in Dhi Qar, which are included in a long-term plan with the Dhi Qar Oil Company to advance the oil sector, due to be completed in over two years. After the relative relaxation of the impacts of the Coronavirus, the Iraqi Drilling Company resumed its negotiations with the international companies developing oil fields in the country and their counterparts affiliated with the Ministry of Oil in the provinces, in preparation for signing the postponed contracts with the aim of enhancing Iraq’s energy capabilities.

Iraq inaugurates project to increase and green Basra refinery output

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Sunday laid the cornerstone for a project set to increase the South Refineries Company (SRC) production capacity in Iraq’s key Basra Port while also working towards greater environmental sustainability. “This project will increase our production capacity by 55,000 barrels per day,” Al-Kadhimi noted during the ceremony, “and give us oil products without leaving us with large volumes of low-value oil”. The project will build the Continuous Catalytic Cracker (CCR) and Naphtha Hydrotreating (NHT) units. The contract was signed in October between SRC and Iraq’s Ministry of Oil with Japan’s JGC Corporation.

UNESCO announces winning architectural design of competition to rebuild Al-Nouri Mosque complex in Mosul

An international jury today announced that an entry by eight Egyptian architects won the international competition for the reconstruction of the historic Al-Nouri Mosque complex in Mosul, Iraq, a major component of UNESCO’s ambitious project for the rehabilitation of the ancient city, Revive the Spirit of Mosul.

This paper aims to show that Iraq’s high population growth is posing a serious problem for its economic development. Its high population growth is driven by a high fertility rate caused by a number of unfavorable socioeconomic conditions that need to be addressed urgently. The population growth is not uniform across the country, and steps should be taken to reinforce the trend

Summary Context Iraq, particularly the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I), has become host to a significant population of refugees after decades of regional and domestic conflict, compounded by the activities of the the group known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Syrian civil war, and political turbulence in countries l

Rashad Salim’s efforts to discover and preserve knowledge of ancient boatbuilding crafts played a key role in the resurgence of interest in Iraq’s maritime heritage. Above, Salim with a pair of shasha reed bundle boats (Photo: © Rashad Salim). When he first glided through the Euphrates as a child in his grandfather’s “tarada,” a traditional Mesopotamian boat, J

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