Iraq Reconstruction News 14 April 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
14 April 2007


1. Brookings Iraq Index 12 April 2007 http://www3.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf

2. Turkish deal could pave way for Shell’s return to Iraq after 35 years -- Shell is poised to become the first oil and gas major to agree terms to reenter Iraq following reports that it has struck a deal with Turkey’s state oil company, TPAO, to extract gas in the war-torn country. The Anglo-Dutch giant is expected to work in partnership with TPAO to build a pipeline from the Kirkuk field near Kurdistan to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean, according to reports.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article1647557.ece

3. S. Korea signs MOU with Iraq on oil field development -- SEOUL, April 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iraq Thursday to cooperate in the development of oil fields in the Middle Eastern country, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said Thursday. The agreement, reached at a ministerial meeting in Seoul, calls on Baghdad to support bids by South Korean firms to develop oil fields and to facilitate the exchange of information and personnel between state-run petroleum companies. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20070412/650000000020070412183322E9.html

4. South Korea, Iraq Sign Memo to Jointly Develop Oil, Gas Projects -- Dow Jones Newswires -- South Korea and Iraq have signed an initial agreement to jointly develop crude oil and natural gas projects, Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said Thursday. Under the agreement, the South Korean government will help its nation's companies expand investments in new oil field development projects in Iraq, the energy ministry said in a statement. http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=43791

4. Analysis: Violence threatens oil, Iraq -- WASHINGTON, April 12, 2007 (UPI) -- Two Shiite political factions seem to have temporarily set down their arms in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, the center of its oil industry and the port through which all Iraq's income flows. But the area and the oil sector still face violence while militias and gangs battle for power and control of the oil smuggling trade. http://www.upi.com/Energy/Analysis/2007/04/12/analysis_violence_threatens_oil_iraq/

5. Iraq Oil Law Turns Back the Clock to 1951 -- The supplementary spending bill passed by Congress last month contained one of the most telling pieces of Iraq-related legislation since the U.S. invasion, and it wasn't the August 31, 2008, deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops. It was an obscure and little-understood bill called the Iraqi Hydrocarbons Law, and it could dramatically undermine economic and political progress in Iraq. http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/2347/Iraq_Oil_Law_Turns_Back_the_Clock_to_1951

6. Corruption Mars Iraqi Oil Production and Transport. Chairman Waxman asks Secretary Rice to investigate persistent allegations of corruption that have slowed the recovery of the Iraqi oil industry. http://reform.democrats.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1241

7. TPAO, Shell agree on partnership in northern Iraq -- The state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origin have struck a deal to extract gas in northern Iraq, though the agreement still needs to be ratified by the central Iraqi government in Baghdad. http://www.todayszaman.com:80/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=108376&bolum=106

8. Japan loan to help rebuild Iraq -- BBC -- Tokyo said it would provide 102.8bn yen ($862m; £437m) in loans to repair Iraqi oil pipelines, export facilities and power supply infrastructure. A further 57.7bn yen for water and electricity projects was also agreed on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's four-day trip to Japan. Japan depends on the Middle East for nearly all of its crude oil. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6541475.stm

9. Iraq says reconstruction meeting set for early May -- BAGHDAD, April 6 (Reuters) - A high-level meeting to launch a five-year international reconstruction plan for Iraq will be held in early May, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Friday. Dabbagh declined to say where the meeting, which is expected to involve numerous governments and international agencies, would take place. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06421428.htm

10. Turks are reconstructing Northern Iraq - 1 -- ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News - Taking off from Istanbul to Arbil, “Freebird” was written on the body of our plane. Free bird was going to perch on neighboring land on Turkey's border that is trying to erase the traces of a war lasting 35 years. Three planes a week fly from Istanbul to northern Iraq's two largest cities, Arbil and Sulaimaniye. In the summer, Antalya is going to be added to these flights. However, the first flight to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region established after 2003 was from Frankfurt. http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=70442

11. VoEx International LLC (TM) Signs a 10 Year $200 Million Joint Venture Contract with Kalimat Telecom to Design Build & Operate Iraq's First National CDMA WLL Network -- VoEx International LLC (TM) and Kalimat Telecom finalized and signed a 10 Year Joint Venture Contract estimated about $200 Million US Dollars to design build and operate Iraq's First National CDMA WLL Network with advanced WiMAX capabilities. This network will be the First Middle East state of the art CDMA Limited Mobility Network with EvDo & WiMAX capability and full iP based voice, video and data offerings. http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/4/emw511945.htm

12. IRAQI PM ASKS KOREAN FIRMS TO JOIN RECONSTRUCTION EFFORT - Seoul, 13 April (AKI/WAM) - Iraqi prime minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has called on South Korean companies to participate in war-torn Iraq's efforts to develop its oil fields and rebuild its industrial facilities, including power plants, power supply systems and plants, Yonhap News quoted the office of South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun as saying. Al-Maliki is on the last leg of a three-day visit to the Asian country that ends on Friday. http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=8.0.404334698&par=0

13. Key senator backs creation of 'czar' for Iraq reconstruction -- CongressDaily -- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., says he supports the idea of appointing a senior-level official in the Bush administration to manage operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, adding that his committee might be able to play "a constructive role" in creating the new post. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0407/041307cdpm2.htm

14. Fixing Iraq -- Between revenue from oil exports and foreign aid, over $100 billion has been pledged to Iraq’s “relief and reconstruction” in the last four years. Yet there is precious little to show for it. About half of this amount is Iraq’s own money. The United States has allocated a total of $38.28 billion in aid as of the end of 2006, but only $12 billion has been spent on civilian reconstruction with most it going to the Iraqi army and police. Other donors have pledged just over $15 billion, but most of this has not been delivered because of the chaos and violence in the country. http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4106

15. Weighing up losses to Iraq's heritage - CAIRO (AFP) - Archaeology in Iraq these days, explains the new caretaker of the country's 5,000-year-old heritage, is less about making new discoveries than finding out what has already been stolen. "We need a government that takes responsibility for protecting the monuments of all Iraqis," antiquities director Abbas Ali al-Hussainy told AFP in an interview during a recent visit to Cairo. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070315/lf_afp/iraqarchaeology_070315182710

16. Baghdad Metro Project: is it the definitive solution to the problem of transportation? - The secretariat of Baghdad announced that it included Baghdad Metro project within its plan for 2007; one billion dinars have been allocated to do the detailed surveys and designs only, which have a total cost of about $ 10 million. The secretariat will start the implementation of the first phase of the project, "32 km" at the end of the current year. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3563

17. Implementing a conducting line for electricity in Nasiriyah - A Turkish company started the implementation of a conducting line for electric power linking the electricity station in Nasiriyah with the secondary one at Shatrah. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3561

18. Europeans in knee socks latest invaders -- BAGHDAD — Asma'a Sami is a proud Iraqi who has never left her country. Recently, though, she has become almost as British as the Beatles. Every time the Manchester United soccer team takes the field, she dons her Manchester United T-shirt, waves her team flag and cheers on the team on television. "Since I was a child, I've been a big fan of the club," said Sami, 27. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-04-05-life-in-iraq_N.htm

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