Iraq Reconstruction News
16 April 2007


1. Brookings Iraq Index 16 April 2007 http://www3.brookings.edu/fp/saban/iraq/index.pdf

2. BP Eyes Role in Iraq, Awaits Oil Law, Security -- DUBAI (Reuters) -- Energy giant BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile , Research) is interested in working on a range of oil and gas projects in Iraq, but is waiting for the country's parliament to pass an oil law and for security to improve before increasing its role, a senior BP executive said on Monday. http://www.aina.org/news/20070416100308.htm

3. And Iraq's big oil contracts go to... Companies from China, India and other Asian nations are seen getting the first contracts. But don't write off Big Oil just yet -- NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Despite claims by some critics that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil, the first contracts with major oil firms from Iraq's new government are likely to go not to U.S. companies, but rather to companies from China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. While Iraqi lawmakers struggle to pass an agreement on exactly who will award the contracts and how the revenue will be shared, experts say a draft version that passed the cabinet earlier this year will likely uphold agreements previously signed by those countries under Saddam Hussein's government. http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/05/news/international/iraq_oil/index.htm

4. A giant ship for oil transport at Khor Al-Zubair - The Associate Director of Khor Al-Zubair port in Basrah said last Saturday that the port received the largest ship to transport Iraqi oil, pointing out that this is the first time in the history of the port to receive a giant ship of this size. http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3576

5. Japan loan to help Iraq oil pipeline -- TOKYO, April 9, 2007 (UPI) -- Japan will provide an $862 million loan to Iraqi reconstruction efforts, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday after meeting with Iraq's leader. http://www.upi.com/International_Intelligence/Briefing/2007/04/09/japan_loan_to_help_iraq_oil_pipeline/

6. Dana Gas signs Agreements with Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq - Sharjah, Asharq Al-Awsat- Dana Gas, the Middle East’s first regional private-sector natural gas company, announced that it has concluded important agreements, including a Strategic Alliance Protocol, with the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq. These agreements form part of a strategy to advance the considerable economic benefits available to the region through the successful development of its substantial gas resources. http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=6&id=8652

7. Iraq Targets 3 Million Bpd 2007 Oil Production - Oil Minister - 12/04/2007 - SEOUL (Reuters) - Iraq hopes to raise oil production by nearly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, achieving its long-held target of 3 million bpd by restoring northern exports, its oil minister said on Thursday. Iraq has struggled to overcome the sabotage and outdated infrastructure that has hobbled its production since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003, largely due to unrelenting attacks on a key pipeline that runs north through Turkey. http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=6&id=8618

8. 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. "I like the idea," Lieberman told CongressDaily in an interview Thursday. "For all the people who have argued that the administration has been too focused on the military aspect of Iraq and Afghanistan, this is a way of saying, as I understand it, that ultimate victory is going to come not just because of military success but also . . . mostly because of political and economic success." The Washington Post reported this week that aides to President Bush are evaluating a plan to create a so-called czar for Iraq and Afghanistan who would be empowered to cut through bureaucratic obstacles. Full story: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=36621&dcn=e_gvet

9. UAE firms eye mega projects in N Iraq area - ERBIL, Iraq: Several companies from the UAE, including giant property developer Emaar Properties, are looking at investing billions of dollars in energy, infrastructure and property projects in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=143666&version=1&template_id=48&parent_id=28

10. Duhuk: A sign of boom in Iraq's Kurdistan region? - Duhuk, Apr 15, (VOI) - The seven story building of Duhuk's Agricultural Department was once the most famous building in the province. Now Duhuk has more than 50 buildings of five, seven and even 10 stories, indicating an economic boom in the province. This is how Akram Saleh Mamani, a member of the Kurdistan Economists Syndicate (KES), sees the signs of economic development in Duhuk, one of the most significant channels through which trade is conducted with Turkey. http://www.aswataliraq.info/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=42056&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

11. The U.S. Foreign Service role in Iraq PRTs http://www.afsa.org/fsj/mar07/iraq_prts.pdf

12. Turks are reconstructing Northern Iraq - 2 - ISTANBUL - Milliyet - It took many long years for the establishment of the Iraq Kurdistan Regional Government. In 1970, an “autonomous region” agreement, the basis for today's developments, was signed with Iraq's executed leader Saddam Hussein; it remained one-sided rule. The Baath regime continued to carry out massacres against the Kurds, Shiites and Turkmen. Lowering his sails after the 1991 Gulf War against America, Saddam was unable to prevent the establishment in 1992 of the Kurdistan Parliament, which includes the provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Dohuk. In that period, the agreements made between Baghdad and Arbil had no international sanction. http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=70550

13. Japan pledges support to rebuild Iraq - TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan assured the visiting Iraqi prime minister on Monday it would keep helping his country to rebuild, as Iraqis back home staged a big anti-U.S. protest in the city of Najaf on the fourth anniversary of Baghdad's fall. "There is no change in our policy to actively help with the reconstruction of Iraq through official development assistance and activities of the Self-Defence Forces," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quoted as telling Nuri al-Maliki. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/9/worldupdates/2007-04-09T193705Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-293580-4&sec=Worldupdates

14. Iraqi prime minister discusses South Korea visit, projects, investments Text of report by Iraqi TV station Al-Iraqiyah TV on 15 April [Interview with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamil al-Maliki by Razzaq al-Uqayli; place and date not given - recorded] [Anchor] Prime Minister Nuri Kamil al-Maliki has stated that the South Korean companies have expressed readiness to work in the calm governorates of Iraq, start reconstruction process, and then expand their work by entering the unstable governorates after the restoration of calm there. The prime minister announced this during an interview he gave to our colleague Razzaq al-Uqayli. [Begin recording] [A-Uqayli] Has there been any response from the South Korean officials concerning the call on Korean industrial and investment companies to work in Iraq? Have you agreed on specific projects? [Al-Maliki] In fact there was a sort of hesitation, or perhaps apprehensions, by the Korean companies. They wanted to enter the Iraqi arena but the picture was not clear. These companies have been expressing apprehensions with regard to their plans to compete with other companies in the Iraqi market. Therefore, we went on this visit accompanied by this delegation. The Iraqi ministers have been able to explain the facts of the situation to Korean company managers and government officials and we explained to them that in Iraq there are big areas and governorates where they can invest and that there are potentials in Iraq which will serve the interests of the two countries and peoples when the Korean companies arrive. We explained to them that we wanted Korea to be present in Iraq, based on the good relations that we have been having and the positive stand of Korea towards Iraq and towards the political process, the Iraqi constitution, and the participation in security operations. Therefore, a large part of the ambiguity and fogginess about the situation has been removed from the minds of the officials in the Korean companies and government and we have reached full agreement and conviction that the companies will come to Iraq and end the state of hesitation and reluctance. Moreover, what we and the ministers discussed with them was to invest in all important and vital sectors. We do not want Iraq to be preoccupied with the daily incidents that the killers and terrorists and the backward elements are implementing but we want to release the building and reconstruction process and renew the entire structure of Iraq. We told them that we want to embark on projects that raise the standard of living of the individual and promote his happiness. We told them: Even though there were no resources in Korea - no natural resources, oil, or agricultural ability - the Koreans were united in their will to reconstruct. They are now the seventh or eighth industrial power in the world. They built this on nothing. Therefore, Iraq, which possesses all these resources, will definitely be able to progress. We told them that we wanted to renew everything in the country. We have great amount of oil and gas in Iraq. We raised the issue of car manufacturing, agricultural machine tools industry, petrochemicals, electric power stations, and refineries, and told them that we, the government, are eager to develop and renew everything in Iraq. They responded to this readiness positively. We held an expanded meeting with the companies and they all voiced readiness to respond. The government, the president, and the prime minister, expressed readiness to back the companies and encourage them to go to Iraq. These companies will come. [A-Uqayli] Mr Prime Minister, do you believe that the general security situation in Iraq, after the implementation of the Baghdad Security plan, is now appropriate for the entry of these companies into the Iraqi market? [Al-Maliki] We explained to them this issue, over which they had apprehensions. We told them that there were safe areas and governorates and these governorates are hosting investment companies - in the south, in the centre, and in Kurdistan. As for the areas where there are incidents, the Iraqi political and security efforts are being strongly exerted in the Baghdad Security Plan for the sake of controlling the situation. God willing, these unstable governorates will join the other calm governorates. These calm governorates will receive the companies and their investments in the hope that we will eventually establish security in Baghdad, Al-Anbar, Diyala, and Mosul, so we can open the door for investment in these governorates to Korean and other companies. [A-Uqayli] Mr Prime Minister, do you believe that your visits to Japan and South Korea placed Iraq into the place it should occupy in terms of international relation and relations with these two countries? [Al-Maliki] I never have belittled this goal. Indeed, one of the great aims which I had been working to realize was restoring Iraq to its international and regional position, and reinstating it in international establishments. Iraq had been besieged because of the ignorant Saddamist policy that lasted throughout his rule. It was considered a country that was isolated from world establishments, and when it was present its presence was physical but not substantive. Iraq is a great country, a respectable country in terms of its history, its men, its knowledge and its economy, and the entire world would like to look towards Iraq with the respect that it deserves. But how could they treat Iraq in this way if it was ruled by tyranny, dictatorship, and the rule of ignorant people who wanted to realize only their private interests and the interest of their group? Therefore I was extremely conscious of this issue. One of the issues that I raised and discussed was to bolster political ties. This and the other visits that I will make after I return home will be devoted to restoring Iraq to its Arab and Islamic surroundings, to its international surroundings, as an effective, respectable, and strong state that participates in the modern world culture, in adopting humanitarian stands, and in facing challenges that affect human beings more than they affect countries. [A-Uqayli] Thank You, Mr Prime Minister. Source: Al-Iraqiyah TV, Baghdad, in Arabic 1517 gmt 15 Apr 07

15. Iraq's Quiet Exodus - MSNBC - More than 2 million Iraqis have left their country, seeking safety abroad—and robbing the nation of its best and brightest.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17997100/site/newsweek/

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