The rehabilitation of the refinery is going to be extremely difficult, but with looting the task will be double the cost and more difficult In this column, I am appealing to whomever it may concern in — or out — of Iraq regarding some sad aspects of Baiji refinery, where, for a great part of my career, I was involved in its planning, construction, follow-up and management. The
Read MoreDownload PDF Dr Ali Merza’s excellent paper on the “The First Round of Licencing in Iraq: Economic Evaluation” ** has tempted me to write this short article as complementary knowledge to bring about the bigger picture to decision makers when fully evaluating the the next round of the Oil contracts. Although economic evaluation is critical to the decision making process, it do
Read MoreThe government of Iraq's Kurdistan region has unveiled spending cuts in a tentative step toward tackling an economic crisis that officials say poses a greater threat than Islamic State. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), which is three months in arrears and deeply in debt, has been struggling since early 2014 when the Baghdad government slashed its funding, halting a boom
Read MoreThe deployment of Turkish troops to northern Iraq has sparked strong criticism from Baghdad, threatening political and economic ties between the two countries. The decision by Turkey to send additional troops to northern Iraq to train Kurdish and Sunni militia fighters against the Islamic State drew intense criticism from Iraq and international powers this month. Though Turkey
Read MoreCAMBRIDGE – One of the biggest economic surprises of 2015 is that the stunning drop in global oil prices did not deliver a bigger boost to global growth. Despite the collapse in prices, from over $115 per barrel in June 2014 to $45 at the end of November 2015, most macroeconomic models suggest that the impact on global growth has been less than expected – perhaps 0.5% of global
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