Sunday, November 11, 2007
KRG to announce two more oil deals
Oil, Kurdistan
(UPI) -- Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government will announce two more oil deals in coming days as it develops its oil sector with state-owned and private oil firms. There has been no response yet from Baghdad after the KRG’s announcement last Tuesday of another six production-sharing contracts it has signed. The KRG’s semiautonomous region in Iraq’s north has the geological makeup for major oil and natural gas deposits but has 0.5 percent of Iraq’s proven oil reserves.
Baghdad has called the KRG’s oil deals illegal, saying it needs to wait for a national oil law to be approved. That law is being held up for lack of agreement as to whether the federal government or regions and provinces have the authority to sign deals, among other reasons. KRG Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami told United Press International in a telephone interview two additional oil deals, including at least one with “a Western company,” will be announced “in just a few days, maybe a week.” According to a KRG map of exploration blocks, it has 28 either open or pending contracts.
The KRG has signed deals with a number of smaller, more risk-taking firms, including Hunt Oil of Dallas. Larger firms fear blacklisting from Baghdad, which will likely have the say-so on the majority of Iraq’s oil deals. But Tuesday’s announcement of deals by the KRG shows the applicants for its deals are getting weightier. A subsidiary of MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas was part of two production-sharing contracts. India’s largest private oil company, Reliance Energy, and Central Europe powerhouse OMV, an Austrian firm, each signed two production-sharing contracts.
The KRG also awarded four “strategic blocks” to the Kurdistan Exploration and Production Co. and gave the discovered but not developed Khurmala oil field to the Kurdistan National Oil Co. Both KEPCO -- which will concentrate on exploration and production -- and KNOC -- an operator of discovered fields -- were newly formed under the KRG’s oil law but would send revenues to Baghdad to redistribute. Hawrami said the companies “answer to the Council of Ministers in Kurdistan and is monitored and regulated by the Ministry of Natural Resources in Kurdistan, and is recognized by the Parliament in Kurdistan.” KNOC will also build a 50,000 barrels per day refinery.
Labels: Hunt Oil Co., Khurmala oil field, Kurdistan, Kurdistan Exploration and Production Co., Kurdistan National Oil Co., MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas, oil, oil deals, OMV, PSCs, Reliance Energy
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Turkey to give troops go-ahead to enter northern Iraq
Region
(Reuters) - Turkey will defy international pressure on Wednesday and grant its troops permission to enter northern Iraq to crush Kurdish separatist rebels based there. Turkey's prime minister has sought to play down expectations of an imminent attack, but the parliamentary vote will effectively give the army a free hand to act as and when it sees fit.
Washington, Ankara's NATO ally, says it understands Turkey's desire to tackle rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but fears a major incursion would wreck stability in the most peaceful part of Iraq and potentially in the wider region. Turkey's stance has helped drive global oil prices to $88 a barrel, a new record, and has hit its lira currency as investors weigh the economic risks of any major military operation.
Parliamentary approval would create the legal basis for military action. By law, Turkey's parliament must approve the deployment of Turkish troops abroad. Parliament is expected to approve the request from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's cabinet by a large majority after an open debate, starting at 1200 GMT. "Passage of this motion does not mean an immediate incursion will follow, but we will act at the right time and under the right conditions," Erdogan told his ruling AK Party on Tuesday.
"This is about self-defense," he said in televised remarks.
Iraqi Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi lobbied Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul in Ankara on Tuesday to refrain from military action and to seek a diplomatic solution. Erdogan is under public pressure to hit PKK camps in northern Iraq after a series of deadly rebel attacks on Turkish troops. Markets are closely following the incursion debate.
Turkish opposition parties strongly back the plan for military action, with only the small pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) expressing concern about the implications. Ankara blames the PKK, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
Turkey conducted large military operations in northern Iraq against the PKK in the 1990s but failed to wipe out the rebels. Some analysts say that despite its tough rhetoric Turkey may limit itself to aerial bombardment of rebel targets and small forays across the border while avoiding a major incursion.
Washington, Ankara's NATO ally, says it understands Turkey's desire to tackle rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but fears a major incursion would wreck stability in the most peaceful part of Iraq and potentially in the wider region. Turkey's stance has helped drive global oil prices to $88 a barrel, a new record, and has hit its lira currency as investors weigh the economic risks of any major military operation.
Parliamentary approval would create the legal basis for military action. By law, Turkey's parliament must approve the deployment of Turkish troops abroad. Parliament is expected to approve the request from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's cabinet by a large majority after an open debate, starting at 1200 GMT. "Passage of this motion does not mean an immediate incursion will follow, but we will act at the right time and under the right conditions," Erdogan told his ruling AK Party on Tuesday.
"This is about self-defense," he said in televised remarks.
Iraqi Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi lobbied Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul in Ankara on Tuesday to refrain from military action and to seek a diplomatic solution. Erdogan is under public pressure to hit PKK camps in northern Iraq after a series of deadly rebel attacks on Turkish troops. Markets are closely following the incursion debate.
Turkish opposition parties strongly back the plan for military action, with only the small pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) expressing concern about the implications. Ankara blames the PKK, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
Turkey conducted large military operations in northern Iraq against the PKK in the 1990s but failed to wipe out the rebels. Some analysts say that despite its tough rhetoric Turkey may limit itself to aerial bombardment of rebel targets and small forays across the border while avoiding a major incursion.
Labels: Kurdistan, military action, oil prices, PKK, Turkey
Erbil suggests talks with Turkey, turns down Iraqi Army in place of Peshmerga
Region
(Gulf News) - An Iraqi Kurdish minister has rejected Turkey's demands to send Iraqi troops from Baghdad to the north of the country over rebel activities. Amid increasing tension between Ankara and Baghdad over Kurdish rebel activities, Mohammad Ehsan told Gulf News: "The government of Kurdistan firmly opposes sending Iraqi forces from Baghdad to borders with Turkey as the Turkish government wants."
Ankara accuses Kurd held northern province of Iraq of offering refuge to Turkish Kurd rebels. "This is an internal issue and concerning the sovereignty of Iraq, and only the Iraqi government and its Kurdish regional counterpart will handle it," he added.
Sources in the Iraqi army told Gulf News that recent meeting between Iraqi Defence Minister Abdul Qader Mohammad Jasem and the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad focused on the Turkish government's request of sending Iraqi troops to the border to take the place of Kurdish Peshmerga elements which are accused by Ankara of sympathising with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) elements.
Mohammad Ehsan said the government in Arbil supports talks between Turkey and the PKK leadership. PKK is listed as a terrorist group. "Dialogue is the right way to solve the PKK problem and not by using excessive military power," the Kurdish minister said.
The minister said that Ankara had informed the United States and the Iraqi government that it would not entertain any representatives of Kurdistan government to attend the Turkish-Iraqi talks. The talks are aimed at resolving the military escalation along common borders between the two countries. "Arbil is more than excited to talk directly with Turkey to find a vital solution to the PKK crisis," the minister said.
"I believe the goal of Turkish government is to escalate the situation on the Iraqi border under the pretext of eliminating the hostile activities by PKK elements," Aaron Kamiran, an Iraqi political analyst, told Gulf News.
"The goal is political because launching a Turkish military operation in the region would not achieve any results because of the difficult and mountainous terrain. Hence the Turks want to send Iraqi and non-Kurdish troops to the border and they will raise problems between Arbil and Baghdad, especially with Arbil's insistence on rejecting the Turkish proposal."
He added: "What is important for Turks is to make sure that Iraq Kurdistan region will not be an independent entity or a confederate state in the future. Besides the non-Kurdish forces in the region may pose a guarantee for Turkey in this region, especially since normalisation situations in Kirkuk is implemented hastily".
Ankara accuses Kurd held northern province of Iraq of offering refuge to Turkish Kurd rebels. "This is an internal issue and concerning the sovereignty of Iraq, and only the Iraqi government and its Kurdish regional counterpart will handle it," he added.
Sources in the Iraqi army told Gulf News that recent meeting between Iraqi Defence Minister Abdul Qader Mohammad Jasem and the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad focused on the Turkish government's request of sending Iraqi troops to the border to take the place of Kurdish Peshmerga elements which are accused by Ankara of sympathising with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) elements.
Mohammad Ehsan said the government in Arbil supports talks between Turkey and the PKK leadership. PKK is listed as a terrorist group. "Dialogue is the right way to solve the PKK problem and not by using excessive military power," the Kurdish minister said.
The minister said that Ankara had informed the United States and the Iraqi government that it would not entertain any representatives of Kurdistan government to attend the Turkish-Iraqi talks. The talks are aimed at resolving the military escalation along common borders between the two countries. "Arbil is more than excited to talk directly with Turkey to find a vital solution to the PKK crisis," the minister said.
"I believe the goal of Turkish government is to escalate the situation on the Iraqi border under the pretext of eliminating the hostile activities by PKK elements," Aaron Kamiran, an Iraqi political analyst, told Gulf News.
"The goal is political because launching a Turkish military operation in the region would not achieve any results because of the difficult and mountainous terrain. Hence the Turks want to send Iraqi and non-Kurdish troops to the border and they will raise problems between Arbil and Baghdad, especially with Arbil's insistence on rejecting the Turkish proposal."
He added: "What is important for Turks is to make sure that Iraq Kurdistan region will not be an independent entity or a confederate state in the future. Besides the non-Kurdish forces in the region may pose a guarantee for Turkey in this region, especially since normalisation situations in Kirkuk is implemented hastily".
Labels: Abdul Qader Mohammad Jasem, Iraqi Army, Kurdistan, Peshmerga, PKK, Turkey
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Oil prices hit new high as fears grow over Kurdish-Turkish conflict
Oil, Region
(The Guardian) - Oil prices burst through $86 a barrel to reach new highs yesterday on the back of growing energy demand forecasts and fears that escalating conflict between Turkey and Kurds in northern Iraq could hit supplies in the Mediterranean. Crude ended at a record level on Friday but has since gone on to hit even greater peaks of $86.13 as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said demand for its products would average 31.43m barrels a day in the fourth quarter of 2007, up 100,000 barrels a day on previous estimates.
"It now appears more likely that the US economy could weather the financial crisis without a sharp downturn in economic activity," said a report by Opec economists at the group's Vienna headquarters. Soaring oil prices helped push gold to a 28-year high yesterday as investors were attracted to precious metals because of global uncertainty and the falling dollar. Platinum also swept to record highs on concerns about supply as demand remains strong.
Expectations of higher oil demand have also fed into Opec's first quarter estimates with the organisation predicting there would be 120,000 more barrels needed a day than had been anticipated.
The new forecasts come amid rising fears that Turkey will take unilateral action against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. "The main risk to supplies is currently on an escalation of the Turkish army, Kurdish militia conflict, where we believe the risk for disruptions to the Mediterranean supplies would be real," said Olivier Jakob of Petromix in Switzerland.
The market is already jumpy because last week the International Energy Agency, adviser to 26 industrialised nations such as Britain and the US, predicted that demand would surge by 2.1m barrels a day during 2008. Opec insists "the current supply and demand forecasts predict that the market will be fundamentally balanced over the coming quarters".
"It now appears more likely that the US economy could weather the financial crisis without a sharp downturn in economic activity," said a report by Opec economists at the group's Vienna headquarters. Soaring oil prices helped push gold to a 28-year high yesterday as investors were attracted to precious metals because of global uncertainty and the falling dollar. Platinum also swept to record highs on concerns about supply as demand remains strong.
Expectations of higher oil demand have also fed into Opec's first quarter estimates with the organisation predicting there would be 120,000 more barrels needed a day than had been anticipated.
The new forecasts come amid rising fears that Turkey will take unilateral action against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. "The main risk to supplies is currently on an escalation of the Turkish army, Kurdish militia conflict, where we believe the risk for disruptions to the Mediterranean supplies would be real," said Olivier Jakob of Petromix in Switzerland.
The market is already jumpy because last week the International Energy Agency, adviser to 26 industrialised nations such as Britain and the US, predicted that demand would surge by 2.1m barrels a day during 2008. Opec insists "the current supply and demand forecasts predict that the market will be fundamentally balanced over the coming quarters".
Labels: Kurdistan, northern Iraq, oil, oil prices, OPEC, Petromix, PKK, Turkey
Friday, October 12, 2007
Petraeus concerned over tension with Turkey
Region
(AP) -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq warned Thursday that Turkey's threatened incursion into Kurdish regions in the north of the country could harm the flow of supplies for U.S. troops and damage the Kurdish economy. Iraqi Kurdistan, a haven of relative calm, could suddenly become another fault line if Turkey makes good on threats to cross the northern border in pursuit of Turkish Kurdish militants.
"We are concerned about that," Gen. David Petraeus told two U.S. reporters in a dusty courtyard in Jadidah, a Shiite town about 25 miles north of Baghdad. The Turkish government is preparing to ask parliament to authorize a cross-border operation. Approval would allow the military to launch an operation immediately or wait to see if the United States and its Iraqi allies decide to crack down on the rebels.
"A lot our supplies come through Turkey. ... To maintain that commercial exchange is hugely important through the border crossing at Habur Gate. And we hope that will continue," Petraeus said. A Turkish incursion could open an delicate new front in Iraq just as U.S. forces were seeing major gains against both Shiite and Sunni extremists in the largely Arab sections of the county south of the Kurdish region.
Beyond that, about 70 percent of U.S. air cargo headed for Iraq transits Turkey, as does about one-third of the fuel used by the U.S. military in Iraq. U.S. bases also get water and other supplies by land from Turkish truckers who cross into the northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraq's Kurdish region also is heavily dependent on trade with Turkey, which provides the region with electricity and oil products. Annual trade at Habur gate, the main border crossing, is more than $10 billion.
Petraeus said the United States, which lists the PKK as a terrorist organization, understood Ankara's concerns about the activities of the militant group. "The violence that has been undertaken by the PKK is an enormous challenge. It's really a strategic issue. So we are again very understanding of the concern they (the Turks) have over these terrorists who are up in the very, very high mountains that straddle the border there," Petraeus said
On Thursday, Turkey ordered its ambassador in Washington to return to Turkey for consultations, an extreme sign of diplomatic displeasure.
"We are concerned about that," Gen. David Petraeus told two U.S. reporters in a dusty courtyard in Jadidah, a Shiite town about 25 miles north of Baghdad. The Turkish government is preparing to ask parliament to authorize a cross-border operation. Approval would allow the military to launch an operation immediately or wait to see if the United States and its Iraqi allies decide to crack down on the rebels.
"A lot our supplies come through Turkey. ... To maintain that commercial exchange is hugely important through the border crossing at Habur Gate. And we hope that will continue," Petraeus said. A Turkish incursion could open an delicate new front in Iraq just as U.S. forces were seeing major gains against both Shiite and Sunni extremists in the largely Arab sections of the county south of the Kurdish region.
Beyond that, about 70 percent of U.S. air cargo headed for Iraq transits Turkey, as does about one-third of the fuel used by the U.S. military in Iraq. U.S. bases also get water and other supplies by land from Turkish truckers who cross into the northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraq's Kurdish region also is heavily dependent on trade with Turkey, which provides the region with electricity and oil products. Annual trade at Habur gate, the main border crossing, is more than $10 billion.
Petraeus said the United States, which lists the PKK as a terrorist organization, understood Ankara's concerns about the activities of the militant group. "The violence that has been undertaken by the PKK is an enormous challenge. It's really a strategic issue. So we are again very understanding of the concern they (the Turks) have over these terrorists who are up in the very, very high mountains that straddle the border there," Petraeus said
On Thursday, Turkey ordered its ambassador in Washington to return to Turkey for consultations, an extreme sign of diplomatic displeasure.
Labels: General David Petraeus, Jadidah, Kurdistan, PKK, Turkey
Turkish companies pull out of Iraqi Kurdistan
Kurdistan
(Al-Zaman) - Turkish companies doing business in northern Iraq have begun to pull out of the Kurdistan region in anticipation of a Turkish military incursion, the Iraqi newspaper "Al-Zaman" reported on October 10. Ahmad Ajar, head of an association of Turkish businessmen based in Irbil, said many Turkish companies have ended their contracts and are pulling Turkish staff from the region. "Al-Zaman" reports that Turkish investments in Iraqi Kurdistan are valued at $5 billion. Meanwhile, the Kurdistan regional government has said that it is mobilizing its peshmerga forces to confront any military incursion, which they view as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty. If the Turkish military launches a wide-scale incursion into northern Iraq, it would likely do so after the three-day Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which runs from October 14-16, marking the end of Ramadan.
Labels: Kurdistan, Turkish companies
Monday, October 08, 2007
Barzani defends Kurdistan's oil deals
Oil, Kurdistan
(AP) -- The leader of Kurdistan on Sunday defended his self-governing region's oil deals with international companies, saying the agreements were not an attempt to usurp the nation's oil resources but a way to make them work for all the people of Iraq. Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, who wrote an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal, said eight contracts already had been signed and two more were expected soon.
The central government in Baghdad is upset about the deals, saying the Kurds should wait until the passage of a national oil law before signing any new contracts. But Barzani countered that the agreements are allowed under the Iraqi constitution, "which gives the regions of Iraq substantial control over natural resources."
"Many in the Iraqi Oil Ministry are locked in a time warp dating back to the regime of Saddam Hussein, in which Baghdad holds tight control of all the resources of Iraq and uses these resources to create obeisance and loyalty to the center," Barzani said.
If exploration leads to oil production, 85 percent of the profits would go to the government and the remainder would go to the companies. The profits would then be split -- giving 83 percent to the central government in Baghdad and 17 percent to the Kurds, Barzani sad. "We want peace and prosperity for the rest of Iraq as well," Barzani said. "We will contribute our fair share and more to that goal."
The Iraqi Cabinet approved a draft oil law last February and forwarded it to parliament, but parliament, citing legal technicalities, kicked it back to the Cabinet. The measure has been bogged down in negotiations ever since. Last August, the Kurds enacted their own oil law to regulate the oil sector in the region, further angering the central government in Baghdad.
"We waited five months for the Iraqi Assembly to pass the agreed draft. They have not acted and there is no sign that they will act anytime soon. We decided to lead from the front," Barzani said in Sunday's letter. "We are not a rogue province seeking an early escape from the chaos that has become Iraq."
The central government in Baghdad is upset about the deals, saying the Kurds should wait until the passage of a national oil law before signing any new contracts. But Barzani countered that the agreements are allowed under the Iraqi constitution, "which gives the regions of Iraq substantial control over natural resources."
"Many in the Iraqi Oil Ministry are locked in a time warp dating back to the regime of Saddam Hussein, in which Baghdad holds tight control of all the resources of Iraq and uses these resources to create obeisance and loyalty to the center," Barzani said.
If exploration leads to oil production, 85 percent of the profits would go to the government and the remainder would go to the companies. The profits would then be split -- giving 83 percent to the central government in Baghdad and 17 percent to the Kurds, Barzani sad. "We want peace and prosperity for the rest of Iraq as well," Barzani said. "We will contribute our fair share and more to that goal."
The Iraqi Cabinet approved a draft oil law last February and forwarded it to parliament, but parliament, citing legal technicalities, kicked it back to the Cabinet. The measure has been bogged down in negotiations ever since. Last August, the Kurds enacted their own oil law to regulate the oil sector in the region, further angering the central government in Baghdad.
"We waited five months for the Iraqi Assembly to pass the agreed draft. They have not acted and there is no sign that they will act anytime soon. We decided to lead from the front," Barzani said in Sunday's letter. "We are not a rogue province seeking an early escape from the chaos that has become Iraq."
Labels: draft oil law, Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, oil deals
Iran reopens border crossings with Iraqi Kurdistan
Region
(AP) - Iran reopened five border crossing points with Kurdish-run northern Iraq on Monday, closed last month by Tehran to protest the U.S. detention of an Iranian official. The Iranian border points were closed Sept. 24 to protest the U.S. detention of an Iranian official. The U.S. military has said the official was a member of the paramilitary Quds Force, a branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that is accused of providing arms and training to Shiite extremists.
The border points were reopened after a Kurdish delegation traveled to Iran to complain the region should not be punished for something the Americans did. Iraqi and Iranian authorities have claimed that the detained Iranian, Mahmoud Farhadi, was in Iraq on official business and demanded his release. A spokesman for the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, Jamal Abdullah, said he hoped the resumed flow of traffic and goods would help rising prices plaguing the region since the closures.
The reopening is in the "economic interests of both countries," Abdullah said, adding that Tehran and Baghdad share the responsibility to "prevent gunmen from having access to either side of the border." U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus claimed this weekend that the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, was a member of the Quds Force.
"The Quds Force controls the policy for Iraq; there should be no confusion about that either," Petraeus told CNN and other reporters during a trip to a military base on the Iranian border. "The ambassador is a Quds Force member. Now he has diplomatic immunity and therefore he is obviously not subject (to an investigation) and he is acting as a diplomat."
Petraeus did not provide details on how he knew that Qomi, who has held talks in Baghdad with U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, belonged to the Quds Force. The Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations. "These are not new comments. Similar accusations were raised, formerly. It is baseless and not right," ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters in Tehran.
The Iraqis have found themselves caught between two allies as they struggle to balance the interests of the U.S. military, their main sponsor, and Iran, a major regional ally. Iran holds considerable sway in Iraq: Both countries have majority Shiite populations, and many members of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ruling Shiite bloc have close ties with Tehran.
The border points were reopened after a Kurdish delegation traveled to Iran to complain the region should not be punished for something the Americans did. Iraqi and Iranian authorities have claimed that the detained Iranian, Mahmoud Farhadi, was in Iraq on official business and demanded his release. A spokesman for the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, Jamal Abdullah, said he hoped the resumed flow of traffic and goods would help rising prices plaguing the region since the closures.
The reopening is in the "economic interests of both countries," Abdullah said, adding that Tehran and Baghdad share the responsibility to "prevent gunmen from having access to either side of the border." U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus claimed this weekend that the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, was a member of the Quds Force.
"The Quds Force controls the policy for Iraq; there should be no confusion about that either," Petraeus told CNN and other reporters during a trip to a military base on the Iranian border. "The ambassador is a Quds Force member. Now he has diplomatic immunity and therefore he is obviously not subject (to an investigation) and he is acting as a diplomat."
Petraeus did not provide details on how he knew that Qomi, who has held talks in Baghdad with U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, belonged to the Quds Force. The Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations. "These are not new comments. Similar accusations were raised, formerly. It is baseless and not right," ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told reporters in Tehran.
The Iraqis have found themselves caught between two allies as they struggle to balance the interests of the U.S. military, their main sponsor, and Iran, a major regional ally. Iran holds considerable sway in Iraq: Both countries have majority Shiite populations, and many members of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ruling Shiite bloc have close ties with Tehran.
Labels: border, General David Petraeus, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, Iran, Iranian detainee, Kurdistan, Mahmoud Farhadi, Quds Force
Friday, October 05, 2007
Calls grow for partition of Iraq
Politics
(The Guardian) - After months of gruelling work, including major counter-insurgency operations in June, US commanders in Iraq have growing reason to believe the controversial "surge" policy is working. But as the military gets a grip, the effectiveness and cohesion of the civilian-led, Shia-dominated government in Baghdad slips by the day. That is renewing talk of partition.
US officials say the number of Iraqi civilians and American soldiers killed in September was lower than at any time since January 2006. The overall trend has been downwards for four months. Lieutenant-general Raymond Odierno, the US deputy commander, said this week that al-Qaida bases and safe havens had been reduced by 60-70% since the surge began. Other contributory factors include increased cooperation from Sunni Arab tribesmen across central Iraq. Up to 30,000 Sunnis have reportedly volunteered to help US and Iraqi-government forces secure their neighbourhoods.
After months of bitter US complaints that Iran's Revolutionary Guard was aiding Shia militias and arming renegade Sunnis linked to al-Qaida, Tehran may be backing off. Gen Odierno said the supply of weapons from Iran grew dramatically from April to July, in support of a summer offensive by insurgents.
But after a deal made with Tehran last month by Iraq's Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, the flow is slowing. Sadly for the overall US strategy, political progress is not keeping pace. Mr Maliki's coalition government looks weaker than ever, unable to command a working parliamentary majority, or to pass key reconciliation measures. Seventeen ministries are without a minister and much central government funding remains frozen in the ruins of a collapsed bureaucracy.
Sensing division among Shias and reduced commitment from the Kurds, Sunni Arab and secular parties are threatening a no-confidence vote. US congressional criticism is mounting too. "There was just no sense of urgency on the part of the prime minister to drive the overarching goal that will help cement and solidify Iraq as a united country," said Republican senator Olympia Snowe after visiting Baghdad.
US officials, including President Bush, are leaning hard on Mr Maliki. But ironically, their success in thwarting Democrat attempts to impose a withdrawal timetable, plus the surge's recent advances, may have eased the immediate pressure on him. And if Mr Maliki were to fall, neither Washington nor Iraq's squabbling factions would easily find a viable alternative.
The impotence of the Baghdad government, and the willingness of tribal chiefs and provincial and municipal-level leaders to take charge of their security, budgets and social programmes, is encouraging talk of partition - or at least devolution of power beyond that envisaged in Iraq's federal constitution.
Independence-minded Kurdistan, in northern Iraq, is already going its own way. The Kurdish regional government recently signed five unilateral oil exploration deals, to fury in both Baghdad and Washington.
In the south, Mr Maliki's key Shia backer, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, wants the nine majority-Shia southern provinces to join what could effectively become a state within a state. Its existential power struggle with Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army, sworn opponent of Mr Maliki and the Americans, is increasingly distracting its attention from "national" priorities.
This has not gone unnoticed among US legislators and policymakers such as Democrat senator Joe Biden, who have long argued for Bosnia style, ethnically based partition. Mr Biden won Senate approval last week for a non-binding measure urging Iraq's division into Sunni, Shia and Kurd regions.
"Attempts to partition or divide Iraq by intimidation, force or other means would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed," the US government said. But many reply that, despite the surge's recent successes, extraordinary suffering is what Iraq has already got; and the illusion of central control cannot be sustained much longer.
US officials say the number of Iraqi civilians and American soldiers killed in September was lower than at any time since January 2006. The overall trend has been downwards for four months. Lieutenant-general Raymond Odierno, the US deputy commander, said this week that al-Qaida bases and safe havens had been reduced by 60-70% since the surge began. Other contributory factors include increased cooperation from Sunni Arab tribesmen across central Iraq. Up to 30,000 Sunnis have reportedly volunteered to help US and Iraqi-government forces secure their neighbourhoods.
After months of bitter US complaints that Iran's Revolutionary Guard was aiding Shia militias and arming renegade Sunnis linked to al-Qaida, Tehran may be backing off. Gen Odierno said the supply of weapons from Iran grew dramatically from April to July, in support of a summer offensive by insurgents.
But after a deal made with Tehran last month by Iraq's Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, the flow is slowing. Sadly for the overall US strategy, political progress is not keeping pace. Mr Maliki's coalition government looks weaker than ever, unable to command a working parliamentary majority, or to pass key reconciliation measures. Seventeen ministries are without a minister and much central government funding remains frozen in the ruins of a collapsed bureaucracy.
Sensing division among Shias and reduced commitment from the Kurds, Sunni Arab and secular parties are threatening a no-confidence vote. US congressional criticism is mounting too. "There was just no sense of urgency on the part of the prime minister to drive the overarching goal that will help cement and solidify Iraq as a united country," said Republican senator Olympia Snowe after visiting Baghdad.
US officials, including President Bush, are leaning hard on Mr Maliki. But ironically, their success in thwarting Democrat attempts to impose a withdrawal timetable, plus the surge's recent advances, may have eased the immediate pressure on him. And if Mr Maliki were to fall, neither Washington nor Iraq's squabbling factions would easily find a viable alternative.
The impotence of the Baghdad government, and the willingness of tribal chiefs and provincial and municipal-level leaders to take charge of their security, budgets and social programmes, is encouraging talk of partition - or at least devolution of power beyond that envisaged in Iraq's federal constitution.
Independence-minded Kurdistan, in northern Iraq, is already going its own way. The Kurdish regional government recently signed five unilateral oil exploration deals, to fury in both Baghdad and Washington.
In the south, Mr Maliki's key Shia backer, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, wants the nine majority-Shia southern provinces to join what could effectively become a state within a state. Its existential power struggle with Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army, sworn opponent of Mr Maliki and the Americans, is increasingly distracting its attention from "national" priorities.
This has not gone unnoticed among US legislators and policymakers such as Democrat senator Joe Biden, who have long argued for Bosnia style, ethnically based partition. Mr Biden won Senate approval last week for a non-binding measure urging Iraq's division into Sunni, Shia and Kurd regions.
"Attempts to partition or divide Iraq by intimidation, force or other means would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed," the US government said. But many reply that, despite the surge's recent successes, extraordinary suffering is what Iraq has already got; and the illusion of central control cannot be sustained much longer.
Labels: Iraq, Kurdistan, Moqtada Al-Sadr, partition, SIIC, southern Iraq
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Kurdistan signs four more oil deals
Oil, Kurdistan
AFP) - Iraq's Kurdistan regional government announced four more oil deals on Wednesday, ignoring criticism from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government and Washington of its unilateral sell-off of the country's national resources. The regional government said in a statement posted on its website that it had approved four contracts for exploration and production, and had sanctioned two new refinery projects in the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq.
Two production sharing contracts (PSCs) had already been signed, with Heritage Energy Middle East Limited, a subsidiary of the Canadian firm Heritage Oil and Gas, and Perenco S.A., an affiliate of a French company of the same name. "The signing of the other two PSCs with experienced international companies will follow shortly," the statement said.
"The combined initial exploration investments on the upstream projects will be approximately 500 million dollars," it said. "Estimated investment on the two new refinery projects will be around 300 million dollars."
The Iraqi oil ministry did not immediately comment on the new deals, but Amira al-Baldawi, an MP from the Shiite coalition that leads the Baghdad government and a member of parliament's economic, investment and reconstruction committee, said the contracts were "illegal". "They shall be revised and put in accordance to the Iraqi law and the new oil law to be issued," Baldawi told AFP.
Last month, the Kurdish regional government inked a deal with Texas-based Hunt Oil Company, the first major oil contract awarded by any Iraqi authority to a foreign company since UN sanctions were imposed on Iraq when it invaded Kuwait in 1990. No details of the contract have been released but the Dallas company, which has links with the White House, has said it would begin its geological survey work in Dohuk province, near the border with Turkey, by the end of this year and would begin drilling in 2008.
The Hunt contract was declared "illegal" by Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, sparking a war of words with the regional government, which told him to stop meddling in its affairs and said he should be sacked. A senior US embassy official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters in Baghdad last week that the Hunt deal had "needlessly elevated tensions" in Iraq. He said the US State Department had advised Hunt to wait for the Iraqi parliament to pass a much-anticipated oil and gas law that will establish a new framework for the industry but that it went ahead anyway.
The bill opens up the long state-dominated oil and gas sector to foreign investment and provides assurances that receipts will be shared equally between Iraq's 18 provinces, a measure Washington regards as key to efforts to reconcile the country's divided communities. The draft law was approved by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's national unity cabinet in July but faces a tough passage in the 275-seat parliament, where the Kurdish bloc has 53 seats. The bill is expected to come before MPs this month.
The regional government said the PSC awarded to Energy Middle East Limited covered the 1,015 square kilometre (406 square mile) Miran Block in Sulaimaniyah Governorate, "a low to medium exploration risk area." Perenco S.A. has been awarded the "high exploration risk" 2,358 square kilometre (943 square mile) Sindi/Amedi Block along the Turkish border.
Regional natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami defended the deals. "The projects will spearhead international investment for the whole of Iraq," he said. "New oil discoveries under these contracts will bring large amounts of new revenues for sharing throughout Iraq."
Two production sharing contracts (PSCs) had already been signed, with Heritage Energy Middle East Limited, a subsidiary of the Canadian firm Heritage Oil and Gas, and Perenco S.A., an affiliate of a French company of the same name. "The signing of the other two PSCs with experienced international companies will follow shortly," the statement said.
"The combined initial exploration investments on the upstream projects will be approximately 500 million dollars," it said. "Estimated investment on the two new refinery projects will be around 300 million dollars."
The Iraqi oil ministry did not immediately comment on the new deals, but Amira al-Baldawi, an MP from the Shiite coalition that leads the Baghdad government and a member of parliament's economic, investment and reconstruction committee, said the contracts were "illegal". "They shall be revised and put in accordance to the Iraqi law and the new oil law to be issued," Baldawi told AFP.
Last month, the Kurdish regional government inked a deal with Texas-based Hunt Oil Company, the first major oil contract awarded by any Iraqi authority to a foreign company since UN sanctions were imposed on Iraq when it invaded Kuwait in 1990. No details of the contract have been released but the Dallas company, which has links with the White House, has said it would begin its geological survey work in Dohuk province, near the border with Turkey, by the end of this year and would begin drilling in 2008.
The Hunt contract was declared "illegal" by Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani, sparking a war of words with the regional government, which told him to stop meddling in its affairs and said he should be sacked. A senior US embassy official speaking on condition of anonymity told reporters in Baghdad last week that the Hunt deal had "needlessly elevated tensions" in Iraq. He said the US State Department had advised Hunt to wait for the Iraqi parliament to pass a much-anticipated oil and gas law that will establish a new framework for the industry but that it went ahead anyway.
The bill opens up the long state-dominated oil and gas sector to foreign investment and provides assurances that receipts will be shared equally between Iraq's 18 provinces, a measure Washington regards as key to efforts to reconcile the country's divided communities. The draft law was approved by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's national unity cabinet in July but faces a tough passage in the 275-seat parliament, where the Kurdish bloc has 53 seats. The bill is expected to come before MPs this month.
The regional government said the PSC awarded to Energy Middle East Limited covered the 1,015 square kilometre (406 square mile) Miran Block in Sulaimaniyah Governorate, "a low to medium exploration risk area." Perenco S.A. has been awarded the "high exploration risk" 2,358 square kilometre (943 square mile) Sindi/Amedi Block along the Turkish border.
Regional natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami defended the deals. "The projects will spearhead international investment for the whole of Iraq," he said. "New oil discoveries under these contracts will bring large amounts of new revenues for sharing throughout Iraq."
Labels: draft oil law, Heritage Energy Middle East Limited, Hunt Oil Company, KRG, Kurdistan, oil deals, Perenco S.A., PSCs, refinery projects
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Report: An Outline of Kurdish Islamist Groups in Iraq
Report
(Jamestown Foundation)
Abstract: This article outlines the history and genesis of Kurdish Islamist groups in Iraq. Based on fieldwork and personal interviews conducted in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, this study presents a significant amount of never-before published details about these movements. Particular attention is paid to the links between various groups, their transformation or splintering into new organizations, and the role of the non-Kurdish Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood in spawning these movements. The conclusion to this study addresses possible strategies for containing radical Islamist movements, and the dilemmas inherent in constructing such strategies.
Abstract: This article outlines the history and genesis of Kurdish Islamist groups in Iraq. Based on fieldwork and personal interviews conducted in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, this study presents a significant amount of never-before published details about these movements. Particular attention is paid to the links between various groups, their transformation or splintering into new organizations, and the role of the non-Kurdish Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood in spawning these movements. The conclusion to this study addresses possible strategies for containing radical Islamist movements, and the dilemmas inherent in constructing such strategies.
Executive Summary:
A great number of Iraqi Kurdish Islamist groups, including militant Islamist movements, have emerged in the last 20 years. Despite the fact that politicized Islam never seemed to enjoy as much broad popularity in Iraqi Kurdistan as it has amongst some neighboring Arab populations, a number of small Kurdish Islamist groups keep multiplying, splintering and occasionally reuniting.
This study pays particular attention to links between various Iraqi Kurdish Islamist movements, their history, their transformation or splintering into new organizations, and the role of the non-Kurdish Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood in spawning these movements in the first place. A historical "map-tree" of the movements is presented in order to better understand various groups’ roots and their relationships with other Islamist movements in Iraq. In some cases, the support of outside states and foreign Islamist organizations appears crucial to explaining what success political Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan has enjoyed.
Labels: Iraqi Kurdish Islamist movements, Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist movements, Jamestown Foundation, Kurdistan
Smuggling rife over Kurdistan - Iran border
Crime
(Kurdish Globe) - Near Haji Omeran town near the Iranian border, northeast of Erbil province, smugglers market alcohol on a spot of ground they call Barzari Mashrubfroshan (Market of Alcohol Sellers).
The small smuggling bazaar is located on a foothill where hundreds of sellers hide inside their tents daily, waiting for Iranian customers while avoiding religious authorities who strictly forbid their contraband. The smugglers carry wine and other types of alcohol as well as cigarettes and other illegal items into Iran on the backs of their mules, while border guards from both countries are within eyesight.
In addition to the possibility of being shot by Iranian border guards, the smugglers take a very narrow, difficult path loaded with mines left behind from decades of regional wars. Already many have died in mine explosions. "Our work is very difficult. When smugglers leave toward the Iranian border, they are not sure that they will arrive safe," said Abdul-Aziz Adhami, a 44-year-old alcohol seller. Adhami has fled Iran because of a rebellious political background. "Till now, several of my friends have been shot to death by Iranian border guards."
The most popular starting points of smuggling at the border of Haji Omran-Iran are Bane, Marivan, and Qela Shin. These are the most crowded of many. Alcohol and foreign cigarettes, including Winston, Easton, Magna, etc., that are smuggled into Iran are strictly prohibited by Iranian authorities. Alcohol sellers and even users may face sentences of whipping or at least a monetary fine. Nevertheless, people, especially youths, buy it.
"Different kinds of cigarettes are smuggled to the other side and a little tax is paid to the government here," said Abdulla Hamad Amin, 26, owner of a cigarette store in that market. Whisky, vodka, and champagne are the most popular alcohol smuggled into Iran. They are sold for twice the original price to Iranian customers, and for cities further away from the border, prices get progressively more expensive. Smuggling is the only source of living for many families in Haji Omeran.
Alcohols and cigarettes mostly are legally imported into Kurdistan from the Ibrahim Khalil-Turkey border, where they are distributed through Kurdistan. However, Iranian border guards are very firm in preventing smugglers from entering their land, smugglers said. Meanwhile, observers in Kurdistan constantly accuse the Iranian government of not controlling its borders with Kurdistan, where drugs flow easily into the region.
According to smugglers, they easily cross the border into Kurdistan while carrying drugs. "Many smugglers sometimes pay bribes to Iranian checkpoint guards and import opium into Kurdistan," concluded Adhami.
The small smuggling bazaar is located on a foothill where hundreds of sellers hide inside their tents daily, waiting for Iranian customers while avoiding religious authorities who strictly forbid their contraband. The smugglers carry wine and other types of alcohol as well as cigarettes and other illegal items into Iran on the backs of their mules, while border guards from both countries are within eyesight.
In addition to the possibility of being shot by Iranian border guards, the smugglers take a very narrow, difficult path loaded with mines left behind from decades of regional wars. Already many have died in mine explosions. "Our work is very difficult. When smugglers leave toward the Iranian border, they are not sure that they will arrive safe," said Abdul-Aziz Adhami, a 44-year-old alcohol seller. Adhami has fled Iran because of a rebellious political background. "Till now, several of my friends have been shot to death by Iranian border guards."
The most popular starting points of smuggling at the border of Haji Omran-Iran are Bane, Marivan, and Qela Shin. These are the most crowded of many. Alcohol and foreign cigarettes, including Winston, Easton, Magna, etc., that are smuggled into Iran are strictly prohibited by Iranian authorities. Alcohol sellers and even users may face sentences of whipping or at least a monetary fine. Nevertheless, people, especially youths, buy it.
"Different kinds of cigarettes are smuggled to the other side and a little tax is paid to the government here," said Abdulla Hamad Amin, 26, owner of a cigarette store in that market. Whisky, vodka, and champagne are the most popular alcohol smuggled into Iran. They are sold for twice the original price to Iranian customers, and for cities further away from the border, prices get progressively more expensive. Smuggling is the only source of living for many families in Haji Omeran.
Alcohols and cigarettes mostly are legally imported into Kurdistan from the Ibrahim Khalil-Turkey border, where they are distributed through Kurdistan. However, Iranian border guards are very firm in preventing smugglers from entering their land, smugglers said. Meanwhile, observers in Kurdistan constantly accuse the Iranian government of not controlling its borders with Kurdistan, where drugs flow easily into the region.
According to smugglers, they easily cross the border into Kurdistan while carrying drugs. "Many smugglers sometimes pay bribes to Iranian checkpoint guards and import opium into Kurdistan," concluded Adhami.
Labels: alcohol, Barzari Mashrubfroshan, cigarettes, drugs, Haji Omeran, Iran, Kurdistan, smuggling
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Turkish investors leave n. Iraq in fear of Turkish incursion
Region
(Azzaman) - Many Turkish investors are leaving northern Iraq in droves amid fears of a massive Turkish military operation into the Kurdish region to dislodge Turkish Kurdish rebels there. Turkish businessmen flocked to northern Iraq where Iraqi Kurds have set up a semi-independent enclave which is relatively quiet and peaceful in comparison to the rest of the country. And to lure foreign investors, the Kurdish administration has passed legislation that makes it easy and profitable to do business in the region.
Turkey has topped foreign investors, spending nearly $5 billion a year on a variety of projects. The influx of investments is visible in major urban centers such Dahouk, Arbil and Sulaimaniya. Kurdish authorities say nearly 10,000 Turkish workers have been involved in developing the region. Many of the reconstruction projects such as new roads, buildings and bridges have been done by Turkish contractors. Shops brim with Turkish goods particularly in Dahouk.
But analysts warn that the ‘Kurdish-Turkish business honey moon’ is coming to its end with Ankara warning of an imminent military campaign unless Turkish Kurdish rebels are forced to stop attacks. Residents in Arbil say they have noticed a drop in Turkish commodities in shops and a plunge in the numbers of visiting Turks.
A Turkish campaign is bound to destabilize the region and Kurdish leaders fear it may leave a power vacuum which al-Qaeda may rush to fill as it did with the central parts of Iraq. But Massoud Barzani, the President of the semi-independent Kurdish region has praised economic ties with Turkey, saying that “crises with Ankara will not affect bilateral cooperation.”
Turkey has topped foreign investors, spending nearly $5 billion a year on a variety of projects. The influx of investments is visible in major urban centers such Dahouk, Arbil and Sulaimaniya. Kurdish authorities say nearly 10,000 Turkish workers have been involved in developing the region. Many of the reconstruction projects such as new roads, buildings and bridges have been done by Turkish contractors. Shops brim with Turkish goods particularly in Dahouk.
But analysts warn that the ‘Kurdish-Turkish business honey moon’ is coming to its end with Ankara warning of an imminent military campaign unless Turkish Kurdish rebels are forced to stop attacks. Residents in Arbil say they have noticed a drop in Turkish commodities in shops and a plunge in the numbers of visiting Turks.
A Turkish campaign is bound to destabilize the region and Kurdish leaders fear it may leave a power vacuum which al-Qaeda may rush to fill as it did with the central parts of Iraq. But Massoud Barzani, the President of the semi-independent Kurdish region has praised economic ties with Turkey, saying that “crises with Ankara will not affect bilateral cooperation.”
Labels: business, Kurdistan, PKK, Turkey
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Rates of cancer have risen in Kurdistan
Health
(Kurdish Globe) - Cancer has become a considerable health problem in Kurdistan Region, with rises in breast and lung cancers and leukemia among the most common diagnosed. Recent statistics by Erbil hospitals for blood diseases and oncology have shown an increasing number of patients diagnosed with cancer through the region compared to earlier years.
According to the chemotherapy department at Rizgary Teaching Hospital, 150 cases of cancer had been identified in the hospital in 2006; most of those patients were men affected by lung cancer and women with breast cancer. For this year until now, the number of cancer patients has risen up to 303. "Most patients are under a physician's care; we have no problem in controlling the disease but we have a lack of drugs," said Dr.Khoshawi Kanabi Aziz, assistant manager of the aforementioned hospital. He added that patients' families have to pay about $100 to $150 per month to buy necessary drugs.
Additionally in 2006, according to Nanakaly Hospital, about 891 patients had visited the hospital per month to receive cancer treatment. Currently, 2,454 patients are receiving cancer treatments monthly. Regarding causes of blood cancers, Sami Ahmed, director of Nanakaly Hospital, said, "So far, the exact reason causing these diseases is not well understood, but environmental factors such as radiation from atomic bombs and exposure to some chemicals such as benzene (car fuel) might have an impact on increasing cancer rates among the population."
The patients are treated gratuitously and those who can't be treated in the region are sent abroad at the government's expense. Doctors in Erbil complain about lack of necessary medical instruments to back their abilities in treating the patients inside the region. Apart from local patients, Iranian Kurds, Turkey Kurds, and Arabs from southern Iraq come to receive cancer treatments in Nanakaly Hospital. Beside Erbil's Nanakaly and Rizgary, Hiwa Hospital in Suleimaniya has tried to equip itself for blood diseases and oncology.
Statistics show that, apart from Erbil, the cancer rate in general has risen. In 2006, 782 cases of cancer were identified in the hospital; 430 of them were women and the rest were men. Furthermore, 165 of the patients developed a blood disease (hematology) and others different organ cancers. According to Hiwa Hospital, compared to last year, the number of patients in Erbil has also increased. From the beginning of 2007 to early August, more than 723 patents were diagnosed with cancer in the hospital.
According to the chemotherapy department at Rizgary Teaching Hospital, 150 cases of cancer had been identified in the hospital in 2006; most of those patients were men affected by lung cancer and women with breast cancer. For this year until now, the number of cancer patients has risen up to 303. "Most patients are under a physician's care; we have no problem in controlling the disease but we have a lack of drugs," said Dr.Khoshawi Kanabi Aziz, assistant manager of the aforementioned hospital. He added that patients' families have to pay about $100 to $150 per month to buy necessary drugs.
Additionally in 2006, according to Nanakaly Hospital, about 891 patients had visited the hospital per month to receive cancer treatment. Currently, 2,454 patients are receiving cancer treatments monthly. Regarding causes of blood cancers, Sami Ahmed, director of Nanakaly Hospital, said, "So far, the exact reason causing these diseases is not well understood, but environmental factors such as radiation from atomic bombs and exposure to some chemicals such as benzene (car fuel) might have an impact on increasing cancer rates among the population."
The patients are treated gratuitously and those who can't be treated in the region are sent abroad at the government's expense. Doctors in Erbil complain about lack of necessary medical instruments to back their abilities in treating the patients inside the region. Apart from local patients, Iranian Kurds, Turkey Kurds, and Arabs from southern Iraq come to receive cancer treatments in Nanakaly Hospital. Beside Erbil's Nanakaly and Rizgary, Hiwa Hospital in Suleimaniya has tried to equip itself for blood diseases and oncology.
Statistics show that, apart from Erbil, the cancer rate in general has risen. In 2006, 782 cases of cancer were identified in the hospital; 430 of them were women and the rest were men. Furthermore, 165 of the patients developed a blood disease (hematology) and others different organ cancers. According to Hiwa Hospital, compared to last year, the number of patients in Erbil has also increased. From the beginning of 2007 to early August, more than 723 patents were diagnosed with cancer in the hospital.
Labels: cancer, Kurdistan, Nanakaly Hospital, Rizgary Teaching Hospital
U.N. concerned about shelling of Kurdistan
Kurdistan
(Voices of Iraq) - The United Nations is deeply concerned about the sporadic shelling of villages in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region, U.N. Special Envoy to Iraq Ashraf Qazi said on Wednesday. "Such incidents cause damage to residents of these areas, create panic and prevent them from performing their daily life activities," Qazi said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
According to the statement, Qazi called on those concerned to spare no effort to halt the shelling and to refrain from taking any action that would undermine Iraq's political and humanitarian stability. Concerned U.N. agencies contacted local authorities and sent teams to assess the situation and immediate humanitarian needs. The teams supplied hundreds of immigrant families with humanitarian assistance such as clothing, hygiene packages, medical kits and blankets, and work is still underway to provide sufficient amounts of water to the victims, Qazi added.
The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) UN Coordinator, Dindar Zebari, described on Sunday the Iraqi government's stance on Iranian and Turkish shelling of cross-border regions as "weak," noting that a UN delegation will visit the region to examine the situation.
According to the statement, Qazi called on those concerned to spare no effort to halt the shelling and to refrain from taking any action that would undermine Iraq's political and humanitarian stability. Concerned U.N. agencies contacted local authorities and sent teams to assess the situation and immediate humanitarian needs. The teams supplied hundreds of immigrant families with humanitarian assistance such as clothing, hygiene packages, medical kits and blankets, and work is still underway to provide sufficient amounts of water to the victims, Qazi added.
The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) UN Coordinator, Dindar Zebari, described on Sunday the Iraqi government's stance on Iranian and Turkish shelling of cross-border regions as "weak," noting that a UN delegation will visit the region to examine the situation.
Labels: Ashraf Qazi, Dindar Zebari, Kurdistan, security, U.N.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Iraqi oil minister says new U.S. - KRG oil deal is illegal
Oil, Kurdistan
(AP) -- An agreement announced this weekend between U.S.-based Hunt Oil Co. and the self-ruled Kurdish administration of northern Iraq to explore for oil is illegal, Iraq's oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani said Monday. Those comments underscore the central government's view that exploration contracts with foreign companies should be signed only after the adoption of a new national oil law, which has been stalled for months.
"Any oil deal has no standing as far as the government of Iraq is concerned," al-Shahristani said as he arrived for an OPEC meeting in Vienna. "All these contracts have to be approved by the Federal Authority before they are legal. This (contract) was not presented for approval. It has no standing."
Hunt Oil, a privately held independent oil company, and the Kurdish regional government said Saturday they had signed a production-sharing contract for petroleum exploration in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. Terms were not disclosed. Dallas, Texas-based Hunt declined to comment Monday. The deal is one of several the Kurds have signed with foreign oil companies in the past few years and the first since they put their own oil law into effect in August.
These deals have angered Baghdad, but the Kurdish region appears determined to advance oil exploration in the three-province area they govern in northern Iraq, as Iraq's long-delayed federal oil law remains hobbled by disagreements -- among others, about the control of revenues. Despite Iraq's vast oil reserves, major international companies have sat on the sidelines, not only for security reasons but because of the absence of legislation governing the industry and offering protection for investments.
"Any oil deal has no standing as far as the government of Iraq is concerned," al-Shahristani said as he arrived for an OPEC meeting in Vienna. "All these contracts have to be approved by the Federal Authority before they are legal. This (contract) was not presented for approval. It has no standing."
Hunt Oil, a privately held independent oil company, and the Kurdish regional government said Saturday they had signed a production-sharing contract for petroleum exploration in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. Terms were not disclosed. Dallas, Texas-based Hunt declined to comment Monday. The deal is one of several the Kurds have signed with foreign oil companies in the past few years and the first since they put their own oil law into effect in August.
These deals have angered Baghdad, but the Kurdish region appears determined to advance oil exploration in the three-province area they govern in northern Iraq, as Iraq's long-delayed federal oil law remains hobbled by disagreements -- among others, about the control of revenues. Despite Iraq's vast oil reserves, major international companies have sat on the sidelines, not only for security reasons but because of the absence of legislation governing the industry and offering protection for investments.
Labels: Hunt Oil Co., Hussain al-Shahristani, KRG, Kurdistan, oil, oil exploration, PSC
Monday, September 10, 2007
Iranian diplomat hints at military intervention in Iraq
Region
(New York Times) - In a sharp escalation of a dispute over border fighting, an official Iranian delegation at a diplomatic conference here warned Sunday that if the Iraqi government could not stop militants from crossing into Iran and carrying out attacks, the Iranian authorities would respond militarily. The Iranian delegation, led by a deputy foreign minister, Mohammad R. Baqiri, also charged that the United States was supporting groups believed to be mounting attacks from Iraqi territory in the Kurdish north.
Mr. Baqiri did not specifically say that Iran would enter Iraq militarily, but his statements, couched in diplomatic terms, raised the clear possibility that Iranian forces could cross the border in pursuit of the militants. But however carefully phrased his statements, many of those distinctions are likely to be lost on hundreds of families on the Iraqi side who have been driven from their villages by weeks of intermittent shelling from Iran.
Hundreds of Kurds demonstrated Sunday against the shelling in the northern provincial capital of Erbil. They gathered outside the Kurdish Parliament building and asked that the northern government and the United Nations intervene. Senior Iranian officials have privately acknowledged to their Iraqi counterparts that the shelling is taking place in response to guerrilla attacks by a group opposed to the Iranian government that has bases on the Iraqi side of the border. At the conference on Sunday, at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Mr. Baqiri did not directly address the shelling, but he told officials from 16 nations, the Arab League, the Islamic Conference and the United Nations that it was time for Iraq to take action.
“Supporting military and political actions by terrorist elements in Iraq against neighboring countries is considered dangerous behavior that we cannot tolerate, and a major factor in the chaotic security situation and instability in the region,” Mr. Baqiri told the assembled delegates, according to an Arabic translation of his remarks, which were made in Persian. “We are waiting for the Iraqi government to do what it takes to resolve this issue.”
Later, asked at a briefing about the shelling, Mr. Baqiri said that in dealing with “terrorists who want to enter Iranian soil,” the Iranian government “will confront them and stop them.” “We have a long history in standing against terrorist groups,” Mr. Baqiri said. “We have made many sacrifices because of this, and we know how to confront these groups.”
Mr. Baqiri’s comments are likely to raise tensions against the bloody backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war, which lasted throughout much of the 1980s and began with a border dispute in the south. Perhaps by design, his words seemed especially jarring because they were delivered during a conference organized to promote harmony in the region.
That conference was organized by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, led by Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd who fought Saddam Hussein’s government as a guerrilla commander, often operating essentially as an ally of Iran. But in a diplomatic meeting in Tehran last week, Mr. Zebari called the shelling indiscriminate and far out of proportion to the threat to Iran. On Sunday, Mr. Zebari acknowledged that the cross-border attacks were taking place, but described them as infrequent and more of a nuisance than a real threat. Still, Mr. Zebari agreed that it fell to the Iraqi government to rein in the groups.
“But at the same time we want this shelling to stop or end because it’s causing a great deal of unease, and we don’t want to see the atmosphere of confidence to be compromised by these continuing acts,” Mr. Zebari said.
The group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks, called Pezak or Pejak for its acronym, is believed to be made up mainly of Iranian Kurds seeking autonomy for Kurds in Iran. Asked specifically about that group, Mr. Baqiri stated publicly what Iranian officials have been claiming privately for months: that the United States supports the group.
This support, Mr. Baqiri said, amounted to a “double standard” in American policy, given that the United States has repeatedly accused Iran of exporting deadly roadside bombs to Iraq and supporting armed groups here. Those weapons and support, American officials believe, have led directly to the deaths of American and Iraqi troops and other security forces. Told late Sunday of Mr. Baqiri’s accusations, a Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, said, “I am not aware of any support being provided” to Pejak.
Mr. Baqiri did not specifically say that Iran would enter Iraq militarily, but his statements, couched in diplomatic terms, raised the clear possibility that Iranian forces could cross the border in pursuit of the militants. But however carefully phrased his statements, many of those distinctions are likely to be lost on hundreds of families on the Iraqi side who have been driven from their villages by weeks of intermittent shelling from Iran.
Hundreds of Kurds demonstrated Sunday against the shelling in the northern provincial capital of Erbil. They gathered outside the Kurdish Parliament building and asked that the northern government and the United Nations intervene. Senior Iranian officials have privately acknowledged to their Iraqi counterparts that the shelling is taking place in response to guerrilla attacks by a group opposed to the Iranian government that has bases on the Iraqi side of the border. At the conference on Sunday, at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Mr. Baqiri did not directly address the shelling, but he told officials from 16 nations, the Arab League, the Islamic Conference and the United Nations that it was time for Iraq to take action.
“Supporting military and political actions by terrorist elements in Iraq against neighboring countries is considered dangerous behavior that we cannot tolerate, and a major factor in the chaotic security situation and instability in the region,” Mr. Baqiri told the assembled delegates, according to an Arabic translation of his remarks, which were made in Persian. “We are waiting for the Iraqi government to do what it takes to resolve this issue.”
Later, asked at a briefing about the shelling, Mr. Baqiri said that in dealing with “terrorists who want to enter Iranian soil,” the Iranian government “will confront them and stop them.” “We have a long history in standing against terrorist groups,” Mr. Baqiri said. “We have made many sacrifices because of this, and we know how to confront these groups.”
Mr. Baqiri’s comments are likely to raise tensions against the bloody backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war, which lasted throughout much of the 1980s and began with a border dispute in the south. Perhaps by design, his words seemed especially jarring because they were delivered during a conference organized to promote harmony in the region.
That conference was organized by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, led by Hoshyar Zebari, a Kurd who fought Saddam Hussein’s government as a guerrilla commander, often operating essentially as an ally of Iran. But in a diplomatic meeting in Tehran last week, Mr. Zebari called the shelling indiscriminate and far out of proportion to the threat to Iran. On Sunday, Mr. Zebari acknowledged that the cross-border attacks were taking place, but described them as infrequent and more of a nuisance than a real threat. Still, Mr. Zebari agreed that it fell to the Iraqi government to rein in the groups.
“But at the same time we want this shelling to stop or end because it’s causing a great deal of unease, and we don’t want to see the atmosphere of confidence to be compromised by these continuing acts,” Mr. Zebari said.
The group that has claimed responsibility for the attacks, called Pezak or Pejak for its acronym, is believed to be made up mainly of Iranian Kurds seeking autonomy for Kurds in Iran. Asked specifically about that group, Mr. Baqiri stated publicly what Iranian officials have been claiming privately for months: that the United States supports the group.
This support, Mr. Baqiri said, amounted to a “double standard” in American policy, given that the United States has repeatedly accused Iran of exporting deadly roadside bombs to Iraq and supporting armed groups here. Those weapons and support, American officials believe, have led directly to the deaths of American and Iraqi troops and other security forces. Told late Sunday of Mr. Baqiri’s accusations, a Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, said, “I am not aware of any support being provided” to Pejak.
Labels: Hoshyar Zibari, Iran, Kurdistan, Mohammad R. Baqiri, Pejak, U.S.
Texas oil company signs agreement with KRG
Oil, Kurdistan
(Associated Press) - Texas' Hunt Oil Co. and Kurdistan's regional government said Saturday they've signed a production-sharing contract for petroleum exploration in northern Iraq, the first such deal since the Kurds passed their own oil and gas law in August. A Hunt subsidiary, Hunt Oil Co. of the Kurdistan Region, will begin geological survey and seismic work by the end of 2007 and hopes to drill an exploration well in 2008, the parties said in a news release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Hunt is a privately held independent oil company based in Dallas. A third partner, Impulse Energy Corp., also has a stake in the project. "We're very pleased to have the opportunity to be a part of these landmark events by actively participating in the establishment of the petroleum industry," Ray L. Hunt, Hunt's CEO, said in a statement. Revenue will be shared by the KRG throughout Iraq, consistent with the Iraq constitution and the Kurds' new petroleum law, issued by the Kurdistan National Assembly early last month.
Despite Iraq's vast oil reserves, major international companies have sat on the sidelines, not only for security reasons but because of the absence of legislation governing the industry and offering protection for investments. A draft oil law for all of Iraq has been bogged down for months, in part because of disputes over who will control the proceeds.
In August, however, the Kurdish self-governing region in northern Iraq enacted its own law governing foreign oil investments. The move angered the central government in Baghdad, but the Kurds are determined to push ahead with oil exploration.
IEC representative, Mr. Mathew Heysel, added, "We are pleased to partner with Hunt Oil on this important project to develop the oil and gas resources in the Kurdistan Region." Hunt Oil Company of the Kurdistan Region is a wholly-owned affiliate of the Hunt Oil Company, Dallas, Texas, USA which is a part of the Hunt family of companies directed by Ray L. Hunt. Hunt Oil Company is one of the largest privately held independent oil companies and conducts a variety of petroleum related operations in several regions of the world, including a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Peru which is considered the largest project ever built in that country. In addition to oil and gas interests, the Hunt family of companies is engaged in real estate; private investments; refining; electrical power, ranching and farming interests.
Impulse Energy Corporation is a private company that invests in the energy sector in developing economies targeting oil, gas, and power.
Hunt is a privately held independent oil company based in Dallas. A third partner, Impulse Energy Corp., also has a stake in the project. "We're very pleased to have the opportunity to be a part of these landmark events by actively participating in the establishment of the petroleum industry," Ray L. Hunt, Hunt's CEO, said in a statement. Revenue will be shared by the KRG throughout Iraq, consistent with the Iraq constitution and the Kurds' new petroleum law, issued by the Kurdistan National Assembly early last month.
Despite Iraq's vast oil reserves, major international companies have sat on the sidelines, not only for security reasons but because of the absence of legislation governing the industry and offering protection for investments. A draft oil law for all of Iraq has been bogged down for months, in part because of disputes over who will control the proceeds.
In August, however, the Kurdish self-governing region in northern Iraq enacted its own law governing foreign oil investments. The move angered the central government in Baghdad, but the Kurds are determined to push ahead with oil exploration.
IEC representative, Mr. Mathew Heysel, added, "We are pleased to partner with Hunt Oil on this important project to develop the oil and gas resources in the Kurdistan Region." Hunt Oil Company of the Kurdistan Region is a wholly-owned affiliate of the Hunt Oil Company, Dallas, Texas, USA which is a part of the Hunt family of companies directed by Ray L. Hunt. Hunt Oil Company is one of the largest privately held independent oil companies and conducts a variety of petroleum related operations in several regions of the world, including a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Peru which is considered the largest project ever built in that country. In addition to oil and gas interests, the Hunt family of companies is engaged in real estate; private investments; refining; electrical power, ranching and farming interests.
Impulse Energy Corporation is a private company that invests in the energy sector in developing economies targeting oil, gas, and power.
Labels: Hunt Oil Co., IEC, Impulse Energy Corp., KRG, Kurdistan, Mathew Heysel, petrol exploration, PSC, Ray L. Hunt
Friday, September 07, 2007
Turkey eyes Iraq gas fields
Kurdistan
(AME Info FZ LLC) - Saltuk Duzyol, general manager of Turkey's pipeline company Botas, said his firm plans to develop gas fields in northern Iraq to strengthen supplies for the Nabucco pipeline project, reported Reuters. He said more opportunities will be available in Iraq as soon as its government passes a new petroleum law to regulate its reserves.
Labels: Botas, gas fields, Kurdistan, Nabucco pipeline project, Saltuk Duzyol
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Unemployment in Kurdistan
Kurdistan
(Kurdish Globe) - Foreign laborers being imported into Kurdistan, who gladly work at lower wages than local laborers, are quickly rendering Kurdish workers jobless, elevating the region's jobless rate. Many in this overcrowded city of Erbil don't rake in millions of dinars monthly. In fact, there are some who take delight at the opportunity to earn even a little money, even enough to buy bread.
If you examine the Erbil market, you will see businessmen who work out big deals and count their money inside the shops; contrarily, there are a great number of people waiting outside the stores to enter and spend the little money they have. Ahmad Hama Ahmad, 48, works as a laborer to feed his eight children and pay rent. He took out a handkerchief to clean his wrinkled face after he sat down under a wall, shaded by a lorry, which he and his colleague had just finished unloading.
"I have to do this work however unbearable it is to me. I am old. I can get no other job," said Ahmad. "Getting a good job means you have to have some education or a close relative to help you find suitable work." When asked how much he earns daily, he sighed and said, "It depends on the market and our luck; some days 10 thousand dinars (about $8), some days 15 thousand..."
Due to Kurdistan Region's safe conditions in comparison to other parts of Iraq, the noticeable economic development has produced ample employment opportunities for laborers. However, many Kurdish laborers remain jobless. Most of the companies, contractors, and big markets, and even some governmental sectors, prefer foreign laborers because they work harder and ask for little money. This in turn has narrowed the job marker for native workers.
"The use of foreign workers is not to our advantage; it will raise the unemployment rate throughout the region," said Dr. Hussein Chawshin, assistant professor of Economic and Finance at Salahaddin University. "Apart form this, these laborers are taking a large amount of money out of the region." According to some media reports, Iraq's unemployment rate has risen and approximately 60 % of Iraqi people are jobless. Kurdistan Region in the north, which is undergoing wide economic and construction development, has also been affected by the high rate of unemployment.
Alongside foreign workers, several thousand Arab families fleeing civil unrest, religious conflict, and terror threats in southern and the center of Iraq officially settled in Kurdistan Region. This further decreases work opportunities for Kurds. The stable security situation in Kurdistan and the investment law have been attracting a vast number of foreign companies to come to work and serve people in Kurdistan Region.
"We are mostly in need of production rather than service. The government should start with the small business and little by little develop it for people to work. " In 2006-07, thousands of college students graduated. This came at the same time the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) stopped accepting employment. According to KRG statistics, there are over 1,100,000 employees who are paid by the government, but until now there are no exact unemployment statistics released by the region.
"I think there is no real 'joblessness' in Kurdistan; most people have jobs, but the money they are earning is not enough," said Farhan Muhammed Rasoul, head of Erbil's professional training center. "Since 2004 up to now, 11,835 people have enrolled here, but investigations show that most of them have work and are searching for better jobs," Ahmad said.
If you examine the Erbil market, you will see businessmen who work out big deals and count their money inside the shops; contrarily, there are a great number of people waiting outside the stores to enter and spend the little money they have. Ahmad Hama Ahmad, 48, works as a laborer to feed his eight children and pay rent. He took out a handkerchief to clean his wrinkled face after he sat down under a wall, shaded by a lorry, which he and his colleague had just finished unloading.
"I have to do this work however unbearable it is to me. I am old. I can get no other job," said Ahmad. "Getting a good job means you have to have some education or a close relative to help you find suitable work." When asked how much he earns daily, he sighed and said, "It depends on the market and our luck; some days 10 thousand dinars (about $8), some days 15 thousand..."
Due to Kurdistan Region's safe conditions in comparison to other parts of Iraq, the noticeable economic development has produced ample employment opportunities for laborers. However, many Kurdish laborers remain jobless. Most of the companies, contractors, and big markets, and even some governmental sectors, prefer foreign laborers because they work harder and ask for little money. This in turn has narrowed the job marker for native workers.
"The use of foreign workers is not to our advantage; it will raise the unemployment rate throughout the region," said Dr. Hussein Chawshin, assistant professor of Economic and Finance at Salahaddin University. "Apart form this, these laborers are taking a large amount of money out of the region." According to some media reports, Iraq's unemployment rate has risen and approximately 60 % of Iraqi people are jobless. Kurdistan Region in the north, which is undergoing wide economic and construction development, has also been affected by the high rate of unemployment.
Alongside foreign workers, several thousand Arab families fleeing civil unrest, religious conflict, and terror threats in southern and the center of Iraq officially settled in Kurdistan Region. This further decreases work opportunities for Kurds. The stable security situation in Kurdistan and the investment law have been attracting a vast number of foreign companies to come to work and serve people in Kurdistan Region.
"We are mostly in need of production rather than service. The government should start with the small business and little by little develop it for people to work. " In 2006-07, thousands of college students graduated. This came at the same time the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) stopped accepting employment. According to KRG statistics, there are over 1,100,000 employees who are paid by the government, but until now there are no exact unemployment statistics released by the region.
"I think there is no real 'joblessness' in Kurdistan; most people have jobs, but the money they are earning is not enough," said Farhan Muhammed Rasoul, head of Erbil's professional training center. "Since 2004 up to now, 11,835 people have enrolled here, but investigations show that most of them have work and are searching for better jobs," Ahmad said.
Labels: Erbil, Kurdistan, unemployment
