Thursday, May 10, 2007
Why Iraqis cannot agree on an oil law
Oil
Lionel Beehner from the Council on Foreign Relations discusses what the oil law is about, the difficulty of drafting the oil law, the main points of contention, how much oil Iraq has, why oil production has stalled and how long it will take for the draft oil law to pass.
Disagreements over oil and revenue sharing threaten to unravel hopes for a political breakthrough and national reconciliation in Iraq. A draft oil law has drawn criticisms from Iraq’s Sunnis, who prefer a stronger role for the central government, and from Kurds, who prefer a stronger role for the regional authorities. The majority Shiites have sought to mollify the Sunnis by keeping control of Iraq’s oil sector in Baghdad, not the provinces. The role of outside investors, as well as the classification of old versus new oil fields, also divides Iraqi politicians. Oil, of course, is the country’s most vital resource, accounting for 95 percent of government revenue. Yet output has fallen well short of Baghdad’s production targets, mostly due to corruption, poor security, and lack of investment.
Follow the link to read in full.
Labels: draft oil law, investors, Iraq, oil production, politics, revenue
Monday, April 09, 2007
Ministry of Industry hopes to attract $750 in investment
Business, Reconstruction
(Azzaman) - The Ministry of Industry is seeking investors willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to modernize 12 major Iraqi industries. The investors, whether local or foreign, are required to submit comprehensive plans on how to rehabilitate these firms to make them competitive in the face of foreign imports.
In return for their investments, the entrepreneurs will have a share in the products for up to 20 years. According to Industry Minister Fawzi Hariri, the country hopes to attract $750 million in investments that will cover major industries such as cement, glass, steel and petrochemicals.
The investors will have to adhere to certain conditions, among them a pledge to improve the living standard of workers and raise quality of products. Hariri said the Glass Works Factory in the restive province of Ramadi is in need of at least $50 million to modernize. The country’s petrochemical complex in the southern city of Basra requires up to $120 million, he said. The complex was once one of the largest and technologically most advanced in the Middle East.
Hariri said the steel factory, also in Basra, requires up to $220 million. He said the factory needed new boilers and fresh infrastructure. Iraq’s cement industry was in need of $360 million, Hariri said. The minister said the rehabilitation of these companies and several others was necessary to meet needs of reconstruction once security and stability return. However, he said, security was a necessity for the rehabilitation of these firms as investors, whether foreign or local would only be interested if they knew their entrepreneurial activities will eventually bear fruit.
In return for their investments, the entrepreneurs will have a share in the products for up to 20 years. According to Industry Minister Fawzi Hariri, the country hopes to attract $750 million in investments that will cover major industries such as cement, glass, steel and petrochemicals.
The investors will have to adhere to certain conditions, among them a pledge to improve the living standard of workers and raise quality of products. Hariri said the Glass Works Factory in the restive province of Ramadi is in need of at least $50 million to modernize. The country’s petrochemical complex in the southern city of Basra requires up to $120 million, he said. The complex was once one of the largest and technologically most advanced in the Middle East.
Hariri said the steel factory, also in Basra, requires up to $220 million. He said the factory needed new boilers and fresh infrastructure. Iraq’s cement industry was in need of $360 million, Hariri said. The minister said the rehabilitation of these companies and several others was necessary to meet needs of reconstruction once security and stability return. However, he said, security was a necessity for the rehabilitation of these firms as investors, whether foreign or local would only be interested if they knew their entrepreneurial activities will eventually bear fruit.
Labels: Basra, cement, Fawzi Hariri, glass, investors, Ministry of Industry, petrochemicals, Ramadi, steel
