Iraq Reconstruction News 22 January 2007

Iraq Reconstruction News
22 January 2007


1. Iraqi oil terminal resumes exports after three-day shutdown. http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/01/21/afx3346623.html

2. Iraqi labour movement opposes new oil law. http://www.workersliberty.org/node/7579

3. Law Could Help Modernize Iraq Oil Sector. BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A new draft hydrocarbons law will pave the way for "transparent and fair" competition in bids to develop Iraq's oil wealth, the oil minister said Sunday as he sought to restore the confidence of foreign investors. The new law, if approved, is expected to encourage foreign oil companies with their investment clout and technology to modernize Iraq's oil sector and meet the country's goal of doubling the current crude production of 2.5 million barrels per day by 2010. http://www.columbian.com/news/APStories/AP01212007news95422.cfm

4. Lost in Translation: Iraq's Injured 'Terps'. WSJ. AMMAN, Jordan -- Cocky, cheerful Ali Adil thought he found his calling as an interpreter with the Third Marines, patrolling Iraq's most dangerous ground. The pay was good and he loved bantering about women and rock 'n' roll with young Americans. By helping Marines root out insurgents, he believed he was building a peaceful and just Iraq. But since July -- when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-filled tanker into a building his unit was guarding -- the 20-year-old Mr. Adil has faced a different future. After suffering severe burns, he has undergone nine skin grafts at a hospital in Amman and lives in a dormitory with a dozen other wounded Iraqi interpreters -- "Terps" as the Americans call them. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116909193503079872.html?mod=special_page_iraq_1

5. Iraq readies law aimed to draw investors. 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. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070118/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_oil_law_1

6. Population influx is biggest problem in south. IRIN. BASRA/MUTHANA - Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim-dominated southern provinces have witnessed far less violence over the past three years than their eastern and northern counterparts. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Shi'ites have fled south or returned from abroad to seek refuge there, giving rise to a number of militias and making it increasingly difficult for aid agencies to cater to the needs of the displaced. http://electroniciraq.net/news/2831.shtml

7. Minister of Finance: support of oil derivatives continuous. Salary increases are calculated from this month, the dollar worth 1260 dinar this year and will drop to one thousand dinar soon. The Minister of Finance denied that the 2007 budget had lifted support for oil derivatives, and confirmed that his ministry had allocated the funds required for the new salary scale which will be implemented this month, but the Parliament did not approve the plan of implementation so far, pointing out that the value of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar will be 1260 dinar for this year with putting a fiscal policy to restore the strength of the Iraqi dinar. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2994

8. Sources: Iraq studies the best model for oil contracts in Europe and America. Sources in the Ministry of Oil said on Wednesday that Iraq seeks to find the best model for its future contracts with international oil companies through the study of existing agreements with Norway, Britain and the United States. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2989

9. A Norwegian firm: There is no need to renegotiate an agreement on Iraqi oil. The Norwegian company D.N.O, which was the first the foreign company to excavate oil in post-war Iraq, said on Thursday that the production agreement with the Kurdish regional authorities may not be re-negotiated under the new Iraqi oil draft law. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=2988

10. Draft Law Keeps Central Control Over Oil in Iraq. BAGHDAD, Jan. 19 — After months of tense bargaining, a cabinet-level committee has produced a draft law governing Iraq’s vast oil fields that would distribute all revenues through the federal government and grant Baghdad wide powers in exploration, development and awarding major international contracts. The draft, described Friday by several members of the committee, could still change and must be approved by the Iraqi cabinet and Parliament before it becomes law. Negotiations have veered off track in the past, and members of the political and sectarian groups with interest in the law could still object as they read it more closely. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/20/world/middleeast/20oil.html?ref=todayspaper

11. Iraq's planned budget divisive too. Corruption fears and discord over funds for victims of Hussein's regime contribute to debate over spending. BAGHDAD — It's budget time in Iraq, and the lively debates that have erupted would strike a familiar chord for observers of such talks in any American statehouse or European parliament. But war-ravaged Iraq is no ordinary country, and the murkiness surrounding many items in the proposed 2007 budget has contributed to the general distrust between sectarian factions as well as widespread doubts about the ability of the government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to manage the nation.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraqmoney19jan19,1,7095489.story?coll=la-headlines-world

12. Iraq to refrain from increasing oil exports: minister. BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq will not increase oil exports in support of fellow OPEC member states which want to underpin world crude prices, Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said on Sunday. "We do not want to dump crude on to the market while it is suffering from surplus production because we are keen to maintain world prices," he told a press conference in Baghdad. http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=1/22/2007&Cat=9&Num=4

13. IWPR Iraq Press Monitor. http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1169078400-2-1169164800-3-icr&o=c-1-1169078400-2-1169164800-3-icr&o1=month-1,year-2007&month=1&year=2007 and http://www.iwpr.net/?apc_state=henmicrc-1-1169078400-2-1169164800-3-icr&o=c-1-1169164800-2-1169251200-3-icr&o1=month-1,year-2007&month=1&year=2007

14. Kerosene shortage spurs thriving resale market. USA TODAY. BAGHDAD — When it comes to heating their homes, many Baghdad residents rely on a scrawny, white donkey named Sha'alan. Every morning, Sha'alan and countless other donkeys amble through the capital with their owners in tow, carrying tins of kerosene. Fuel is scarce, and more Iraqis than ever are depending on this old-fashioned form of home delivery. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-01-18-life-in-iraq_x.htm

15. War News Radio: Escalating Diplomacy. http://warnewsradio.org/