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Sat Jan 16, 2010 3:43pm GMT BAGHDAD, Jan 16 (Reuters) - All companies still waiting to sign final contracts for oilfields won in Iraq's second bid round have agreed to proposed amendments and the deals will all be finalised by end-January, the government said on Saturday. Talks to try and seal two other deals -- an Exxon Mobil (XOM.N)-led bid for West Qurna Phase One and an Eni-led (ENI.MI) bid to develop Zubair -- will take place in the coming two days, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. "By the end of this month the Iraqi government will finalise all the deals from the first and second bid rounds," Dabbagh told Reuters. The series of deals inked last year have the potential to catapult Iraq into third place from 11th among global oil producers, giving it the billions of dollars it needs to rebuild after years of war and economic decline. The first tender held in June and the second tender in December could eventually vault Iraq's oil output capacity to 12 million barrels per day from 2.5 million bpd now, rivalling top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia. The Iraqi Oil Ministry on Sunday will sign the final deal for the giant 12.6-billion-barrel Majnoon oilfield with Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Malaysia's Petronas [PETR.UL]. On Monday it will sign a final contract with Petronas and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co (Japex) (1662.T) for the smaller Gharaf oilfield and on Jan. 26, it will sign final deals with Angola's Sonangol for the northern Qayara and Najmah fields. Still outstanding from the second tender though are final deals for Halfaya, Badrah and West Qurna Phase Two fields. West Qurna Phase Two, a super giant with reserves of 12.9 billion barrels, went to Russia's Lukoil (LKOH.MM) and Norway's Statoil (STL.OL). Halfaya, with reserves of 4.1 billion barrels, was won by China National Petroleum Company (CNPC), Total (TOTF.PA) and Petronas. Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM), Turkey's TPAO, South Korea's Kogas (036460.KS) and Petronas won the deal for Badrah field. The government proposed amendments to the text of all the contracts that Dabbagh said did not affect the "essence" of the deals. "All the remaining companies that won contracts in the second bid round approved the amendments and the Oil Ministry will set a date to sign final contracts with them before the end of this month," Dabbagh said. Also still in the pipeline are two other deals with the Exxon and Eni consortia for West Qurna Phase One, an 8.6-billion-barrel oilfield, and Zubair, which has 4 billion barrels in reserves. Dabbagh said Eni executives would hold final talks with the Oil Ministry in Baghdad on Sunday while Exxon and its partners would be in town for final talks on Monday. http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE60F06V20100116

Saturday, January 16, 2010 09:00 GMT 2010 budget law is still under debate among political powers mainly after the financial committee in Parliament called on the government to pass the amended version for revision and discussion. http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-43263-2010-budget-still-under-debate.html

It does not really matter to me, ads are ads no matter what they are. I just would not want anyone pumping dinars in the chat and would like for that rule to remain the same.

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Posted GMT 1-12-2010 22:55:9 NEW YORK -- Iraq's ravaged oil industry is on the verge of a major reconstruction and experts now believe that by the decade's end it could rival the world's top oil producers. But major challenges lie ahead. Iraq's success depends in large part on a mosaic of international investments. The oil ministry has awarded contracts to at least a dozen firms from around the globe to develop its oil fields and boost production in the next seven years to over 11 million barrels a day. That's a five-fold increase, and would put it on par with top producers Russia and fellow OPEC member Saudi Arabia. "They have the oil in the ground," said James Placke, a senior associate at Cambridge Energy Research Associates who specializes in the Middle East. "It's getting it out that's always been the problem." The payoff Iraq sits on at least 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the world's third-largest behind Saudi Arabia and Canada. And analysts believe there could be much more, given that the country's western desert hasn't even been explored. But Iraq's oil industry has suffered from decades of mismanagement, sanctions and war. For the last several years, violence and internal squabbling over distributing oil revenues has largely kept international oil firms out of the country. That changed last summer, when BP and China's CNPC won a bid to develop the huge Rumayla oil field near the southern city of Basra. Initially the Rumayla field was the only one that attracted the attention of international oil firms. Iraq's royalty terms seemed too strict, said Colin Lothian, a senior analyst at the energy consultants Wood Mackenzie. The Iraqis had hired a top-notch negotiating firm that ensured over 90% of the oil revenues would flow right back to government coffers, one of the highest royalty rates in the world. This is a potentially huge windfall for Iraq, which derives over 75% of its economic output from the relatively small 2.4 million barrels a day of oil it pumps now. But those terms might be tough for the oil companies. "They will completely and entirely fund the development of those fields, and get very little profit in return," said Lothian. Still, faced with declining fields elsewhere and the need to continually find oil in order to support a healthy stock price, the big oil firms have finally agreed to those harsh terms. This December a dozen other companies bid on at least nine major fields in Iraq. The firms are not just from Anglo-American-led coalition countries that toppled Saddam Hussein, like Exxon (XOM, Fortune 500), Shell (RDSA) and BP (BP). Russia's Lukoil, China's CNPC, and Malaysia's Petronas, among others, are also in the game. Whether these tough contract terms will hold is another matter. They may be amended, or more likely, new terms may be negotiated on future contracts. There is a feeling among analysts that the oil companies came in with low-ball offers just to make sure they establish a history of working in Iraq and aren't shut out of future bids. Iraq production is expected to remain at around two-and-a-half million barrels day for the next year or two as lawmakers ratify the contracts and security continues to improve. Barring any unforeseen developments, and contingent on the security situation continuing to improve, foreign oil workers should begin pouring into the country in a couple of years. They'll have plenty to do. In addition to simply drilling new wells and retrofitting old ones, Iraq needs to repair and expand the major pipeline that runs through the country and expand the shipping facilities south of Basra. But even amid a global recession there's a shortage of skilled workers and materials needed to engage in a project of this magnitude. Skilled workers are especially rare in Iraq as many left the country over the last couple of decades. Most experts say the 11 million-plus barrel-a-day target is a long shot. Somewhere between 6 million barrels and 10 million barrels is probably more realistic. But even that would be a significant jump in global oil supplies over a relatively short period of time, potentially sending prices lower and straining the relationships in OPEC. "Iraq's Ministry of Oil appears to not have considered how the world market can absorb this extra capacity and the impact it could have on prices in the coming decade," Fadhil Chalabi, executive director of the Center for Global Energy Studies and a former acting secretary general of OPEC, wrote in a recent paper. Put more bluntly: "Peace in Iraq is probably the biggest threat to OPEC that we've had in decades," said James Williams, an energy economist at the oil and gas consultancy WTRG Economics. "Depending on the state of the economy, you're talking a major impact on prices." Chalabi noted that it would be expensive for Iraq to build 11 million barrels of production capacity, then shut in nearly half of it, which is what they would have to do under their current OPEC quotas. And it's unlikely the Iraqis would want to flood the market and depress oil prices. So the Iraqis are either hoping to get a larger share of OPEC output at the expense of another cartel member, or they don't believe their own 11 million barrel per day production target. By Steve Hargreaves www.cnnmoney.com http://www.aina.org/news/2010011216559.htm

Get well Dfek we miss u here. GOD bless you

4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Courtesy Story Date: 01.11.2010 Posted: 01.11.2010 01:04 By Capt. Randy J. Michael CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq - Iraq may not be ready for Paypal, but with the help of the U.S. Army, the southern Iraqi provinces of Dhi Qar, Maysan and Al Muthanna are moving closer to a cashless system in order to deal with the mounting costs of dealing with cash. Task Force Pathfinder is increasing its use of electronic funds transfer as a way to pay local contractors and vendors instead of stacks of Iraqi dinar. The transactions are part of the unit's role aiding the State Department's Provincial Reconstruction Teams as they build-up the Iraqi civilian infrastructure. The benefits of this change have been immediate. The Army saves money, Soldiers eliminate the security risks associated with transporting funds and confidence in the Iraqi banking system gets an added boost with every deposit. Today, the U.S. Army brings an estimated $42 million in currency into Iraq and Afghanistan monthly, down from $192 million per month the previous year and as much as $400 million a month in 2003. With the development of new banks, including one nearing completion at Contingency Operating Base Adder's Iraqi-Based Industrial Zone, EFT is becoming the preferred method of payment. When paying for reconstruction projects with hard currency, the cost to the Army is an estimated $32 per payment due to the additional security costs. By contrast, EFTs costs a scant $2.50 per transaction and could save the Army an estimated $20 million annually. Task Force Pathfinder's paying agents have handled more than $14 million in both dinar and EFT disbursements with local contractors and vendors in Maysan, Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar provinces over eight months. Another $21 million is approved and pending future payments for local humanitarian assistance projects. Most of this will be paid via EFT. So what is the Army's delay in including this into reconstruction contracts? It isn't easy convincing Iraqi businessmen that an electronic receipt is going to pay them when for years they have received bundles of cash. Contractors need reassurance that the process works. This means both Soldiers and program managers must be well versed in the process and understand everyone's responsibility to ensure efficiency. 1st Lt. Andrew King, disbursing agent, of the 33rd Finance Management Company, deployed to COB Adder, explained the EFT process. "We process the EFT request and send it up within the first 24 to 48 hours. Then, Baghdad releases a voucher number. At this point, it takes 5 to 7 days for the payment to reach the contractor's account," he said. Not only is the finance company a resource, but there is also the EFT Assistance Center. The center was established and funded by the taskforce to serve as a help-desk to all the stakeholders in Iraq's newly introduced EFT payments system. Since Oct. 2008, the assistance center has resolved over 150 EFT payment problems totaling more than $15 million. Also, they provide monthly statistical analysis of the most common EFT payment issues within Iraq, and communicate the root causes of these issues to Joint Contracting Command-Iraq, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Department of Defense, and all other applicable government agencies. Brig. Gen. Phillip E. McGhee, director of resource management for U.S. Army Central Command, said the Army will go cashless in theater at the beginning of the 2010 fiscal year when writing contracts with local vendors. As the Soldiers of Task Force Pathfinder continue their efforts to build civil capacity in southern Iraq, "the transition to electronic funds transfers is a welcomed sign of progress that has the added benefit of saving the U.S. government money," added Lt. Col. Mike Eastman, commander, Task Force Pathfinder.

Conscious / Baghdad / p. X 11/1/2010 7:30 pm Rep. Sabah al-Saadi on Kllp Virtue "We can vote on the budget after approval by the Federal Parliament today on the legal budget for the House of Representatives and the Supreme Judicial Council's budget." Saadi said in a statement singled out by the reporter (news agency, Iraqi Information / conscious) "The House of Representatives can now after the ratification of the financial budget for 2010 after approval of the parliament today on the legal budget and the House of Representatives also have to balance the Supreme Judicial Council because these two important pieces of legislation to supplement the gaps in the budget." Explaining that "there are points of parliamentary work to amend the supplementary budget because of fears of some members. Who objected to the use of federal budget funds for electoral purposes. Ant and increased work of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives has been completed on budget, and there are some changes pending approval by the Council of Ministers. With a view to facilitate the ratification process of ratification of the budget by the Council of Representatives. Adding that next week will be crucial for the ratification of the Enactment of the budget, and an end to all problems which revolve around the budget. " http://translate.google.com/translate?client=tmpg&hl=ar&u=http://www.al-iraqnews.net/new/&langpair=ar|en

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Maliki: No Longer Any Excuse for the Advancement of the Process of Reconstruction 2010-01-11 14:01:17 BAGHDAD (Iba) .. Stressed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that he is no longer any excuse for the advancement of the process of reconstruction.Maliki said during the opening of a water project in the province of Muthanna Rumaythah "If there is no excuse now for all of us as a government, ministers and everyone no excuse is acceptable and no longer any excuse for the advancement of the process of reconstruction."He explained, "that Iraq today Aenqs nothing to advance the process of reconstruction and building after completion of the necessary groundwork for that," pointing out that "Iraq's wealth not invested in the past is something natural to deprive a citizen of the wealth of services because I went and turned into a means of killing, wars and prisons."He said al-Maliki Rumaythah water project as "one of the priorities and the most basic services for citizens, particularly in the oil rich country", adding that Iraq is a country rich in wealth and energies, but "living a clear case of misery, deprivation and poverty. And that's normal when a dictator was governor in the system the past. ""We've got many ways of building, rebuilding, and actively got rid of the faithful who were disrupting the reconstruction of the byproducts of the wheel of the former regime and terrorists. We were able to accomplish much, but we want more for the advancement of Iraq."He described the province of Muthanna to "maintain safe," indicating that it "has managed to be the first province to receive security file and should be given to projects service to them." (End) / g / .. Maliki: No Longer Any Excuse for the Advancement of the Process of Reconstruction 2010-01-11 14:01:17 BAGHDAD (Iba) .. Stressed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that he is no longer any excuse for the advancement of the process of reconstruction.Maliki said during the opening of a water project in the province of Muthanna Rumaythah "If there is no excuse now for all of us as a government, ministers and everyone no excuse is acceptable and no longer any excuse for the advancement of the process of reconstruction."He explained, "that Iraq today Aenqs nothing to advance the process of reconstruction and building after completion of the necessary groundwork for that," pointing out that "Iraq's wealth not invested in the past is something natural to deprive a citizen of the wealth of services because I went and turned into a means of killing, wars and prisons."He said al-Maliki Rumaythah water project as "one of the priorities and the most basic services for citizens, particularly in the oil rich country", adding that Iraq is a country rich in wealth and energies, but "living a clear case of misery, deprivation and poverty. And that's normal when a dictator was governor in the system the past. ""We've got many ways of building, rebuilding, and actively got rid of the faithful who were disrupting the reconstruction of the byproducts of the wheel of the former regime and terrorists. We were able to accomplish much, but we want more for the advancement of Iraq."He described the province of Muthanna to "maintain safe," indicating that it "has managed to be the first province to receive security file and should be given to projects service to them." (End) / g / .. http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.ipairaq.com/index.php%3Fname%3Dinner%26t%3Dpolitics%26id%3D19762&prev=/language_tools&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhhwC-

hello reposting again. good to be here as always for the rv

Hello, I am an Iraq veteren an am an investor. I have been a member of dinarvets.com since november 09. Glad to be here and I do have faith for all... Thank You, Troy Bush Oklahoma

This is my actual first post as I am one who mostly observes/reads. I spoke to the Bank of America in my area being in Oklahoma. I advised that I had IQD and would at some point want to open an account exchanging the currency into USD. They told me that this was not a problem but that they would only except IQD in paper bills and would not except any IQD in coin. Tbush