Iraq Reconstruction News 20 January 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
20 January 2007


1. KRG statement: Status of Iraq federal oil law. Erbil, 18 January 2006. In an article published by Reuters on 17th January headlined Iraq leaders agree draft oil law, a spokesman of the Ministry for Oil in Baghdad stated, “The committee finalized the draft of the law last night [i.e. 16th January]. It was approved unanimously and it will go before the cabinet early next week”. As far as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is concerned, the draft law has not been “finalized unanimously”, therefore the claim made by the oil ministry spokesman, as reported by Reuters, is inaccurate and misleading. http://www.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?LangNr=12&LNNr=28&RNNr=70&ArticleNr=15832

2. Army Engineers Work to Improve Iraq's Oil Export. BASRAH, Iraq -- The regime change in Iraq has opened many new opportunities and important development projects in the southern oil fields of Iraq. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is working on various projects to ramp up oil production for the new democratic country and help improve Iraq’s economy. http://www.grd.usace.army.mil/news/releases/NR06-12-18.html

3. Final oil draft law to be referred to cabinet next week. Baghdad, Jan 19, (VOI) – The final oil draft law will be referred to the Iraqi cabinet for endorsement and then to parliament to enact a legislation after discussing it, Iraq's oil minister said. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=35460&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

4. Iraq Readies Hydrocarbons Law. Maliki Announces Arrests Of 400 Mahdi Army Members. Associated Press. BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's long-awaited hydrocarbons law, which could attract huge investments from foreign oil companies, has been drafted and will be submitted to the cabinet for endorsement next week, the Oil Ministry said Thursday. Once the draft law is endorsed by the cabinet, it will go to the parliament for final approval, said ministry spokesman Assem Jihad. He expressed hope the legislation, which seeks to draw the legal framework for sharing the county's oil wealth, could be ratified within a month. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116912160694180165.html?mod=special_page_iraq_1

5. State Department Iraq Weekly Status Report, 17 January 2007. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/79141.pdf

6. Brookings Iraq Index, 18 January 2007. http://www.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf

7. Japan gives $414M for Iraq pipeline. TOKYO, Jan. 18 Japan will loan $685 million for oil and electricity work in Iraq, part of a $5 billion in grants and loans in reconstruction funds. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/21667.html

8. Interview of Mishkat Al-Moumin, Fmr. Iraqi Ministry of Environment (2004-05). C-SPAN. http://switchboard.real.com/player/email.html?PV=6.0.12&&title=Washington%20Journal%20%2D%20Mishkat%20Al%2DMoumin%2C%20Fmr.%20Iraqi%20Ministry%20of%20Environment%20%282004%2D05%29%20&link=rtsp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.c%2Dspan.org%2Fproject%2Firaq%2Firaq%5Fwj011607%5Fmishkat.rm

9. New law brings fresh investment hopes. Dubai: Iraq is banking on a new law to pull in the foreign capital needed to rebuild its shattered economy, conference delegates were told. http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/01/11/10095944.html

10. The International Bank is financing a program to benefit from the Iraqi frozen loans. An expert at the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation stated that the International Bank would finance an Iraqi government program to benefit from the international unpaid oans for legal problems between Baghdad and the donors, stressing that one of the most significant obstacles to reconstruct Iraq are the delay in implementing the projects funded by international grants and loans and the investment budget of the State as well as Iraq's lack of a unified and developed law to meet the basic needs of the beneficiaries and executers alike. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2942

11. Iraq bans the export of palms till 2009. Retreated to the fifth rank in the world in exporting dates. Iraq confirmed the continuing validity of its decision banning the export of all kinds of palm shoots up to the year 2009, pointing out that the resolution is renewable and it ends in 2008, and not the beginning of this year. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2941

12. An international conference in Dubai to attract investments in Iraq. Iraqi, American and international officials and businessmen met in Dubai conference titled "exchange of investments between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates". The Conference was attended by about 600 investors and businessmen came mostly from the Iraqi province of Anbar, in an attempt to attract Gulf and international investments. The attendees called on to invest in Iraq, confirming the existence of an exaggeration in the information on the security situation there. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2962

13. Analyst Sees Flaws in Iraq Rebuilding Plan. Morning Edition, January 10, 2007 · Can Iraq afford to pay for its own reconstruction with its oil revenues? One analyst says it can, and questions the potential effectiveness of a jobs program for Iraq that President Bush is expected to propose. Keith Crane, senior economist at the Rand Corp., recently advised the Iraq Study Group on Iraq's economy and reconstruction. He discusses Iraq and the Bush plan with Renee Montagne. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6777769

14. Al-Sunaid expects rise in the Iraqi dinar price before the middle of this year. A deputy in the Iraqi Parliament revealed that the rate of the Iraqi dinar will continue to rise against the dollar to reach a high level by mid-year. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2940

15. Inspections show reconstruction progress. WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- And now for some good news in Iraq: six reports on reconstruction projects across the war-torn country find well managed, effective programs. The special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction issued positive reports on selected programs last week -- a maternity and children's hospital, a prison, five electrical substations, a police training range, and water tanks on an Iraqi military base. In each case, the projects were found to be well designed, built to specifications, operating as intended and meeting scheduling targets. http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20070112-012426-7717r

16. Nothing but the oil truth. Gulf News. The coin finally dropped. Stealthily, but we heard it loud and clear. It dropped while we were busy scratching our heads trying to figure out what plan America's current great leader, the eminent George W. Bush, has for Iraq, what truths were buried with Iraq's former great leader, the late eminent Saddam Hussain, how bloody Iraq's civil war will become. http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10097051.html

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