Wednesday AM Iraq Economy News Highlights 6-8-22

The Dollar Depreciates Against The Dinar

Economie| 10:25 - 06/08/2022   Baghdad - Mawazine News, the dollar exchange rates fell, today, Wednesday, on the Iraqi Stock Exchange.

The selling price of the dollar was 148,400 dinars per $100, while the purchase price of the dollar was 148,300 dinars per $100. Ended 29/N33   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=195823

Regulating Oil Theft Networks In Seven Governorates

Posted On 2022-06-08 By Sotaliraq   Detachments of the Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency in the Ministry of Interior tracked down crime gangs with their various names within continuous proactive operations, which resulted in the seizure of networks for oil theft and smuggling in seven governorates.

A statement issued by the Security Media Cell stated that the preemptive operations carried out by the intelligence agency's detachments resulted in thwarting operations to steal oil products from (5) oil sites used for trading and unofficially recycling oil and its derivatives.

The statement indicated that the operations seized oil wheels and tanks of various sizes containing unknown quantity and quality within the governorates of Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk and Basra, as well as 4 mobile stations without official and illegal approvals within Salah al-Din governorate.

The statement noted the seizure of sites used by the weak of souls to steal the people's food through the illegal trade and circulation of oil and its derivatives within the Nineveh Governorate. Basra, Diyala and Holy Karbala, and the necessary measures were taken.

Disclaimer: All published articles represent the opinion of its authors only   LINK

An International Organization: Iraq Is Among The List Of Countries Most At Risk

Posted On2022-06-08 By Sotaliraq   Translation: Hamed Ahmed   A report by an international organization stated that Iraq is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, and talked about other crises in addition to political problems, represented by floods, earthquakes and epidemics, despite the fact that the level of income in it is higher than the average.

And the French Red Cross organization working in Iraq stated in a new report issued this week on ways to mitigate the risks of disasters and crises, that "Iraq is exposed to a humanitarian crisis that requires international assistance."

The report, entitled (The Final Evaluation of the Disaster Risk Mitigation Project) and its translation (range), added, "The Information Index on Risk Management (Inform) Index places Iraq in sequence (14) as the most vulnerable country in the world."

He pointed out, that “Iraq, as it is prone to political instability, violence, corruption and natural hazards, including earthquakes, floods and the spread of epidemics, is at a high degree of risk of humanitarian crises in it, and this requires international assistance, even though it is a country, in an abnormal way, with a higher income than the average.” “.

The report pointed out that "the country's classification among the highest levels of risk comes when it is exposed to risks and the lack of absorptive capacity to confront and treat this danger."

He stressed that "the risks of humanitarian crises in the country were placed in sequence 9, and this included the potential risks of conflict and an escalation of violence."

The report noted that “Iraq, due to its geographical and geographical location, is prone to falling into several dangers,” stressing that “a review of the database of previous disasters that befell Iraq estimates that the country has been exposed to 37 disasters over the past 65 years, ranging from river floods to heat waves. drought and earthquakes.

He stated, "Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Iraq has faced needs in preparing to contain and confront the epidemic."

The report finds, "To address these problems and by forming a coalition between the Iraqi Red Crescent, the Swedish Red Cross and the French Red Cross, a disaster risk mitigation project was secured."

And he stated, "The project aims to enhance the resilience of the vulnerable segments of the Iraqi people by increasing their awareness of the danger of disasters and strengthening preparations to confront these risks at the societal and governmental levels."

The report emphasized that "the project focuses mainly on the method of disaster risk management for the community, preparation and preparation for it," noting that "the project also includes developing the capabilities of the Iraqi Red Crescent cadres in managing and addressing risks because state institutions suffer from a shortage and limitations in the field of disaster management and response."

And he added, "The project, and in light of what is related to the treatment of the Corona epidemic, also included a dedicated treatment for this issue," and he talked about the application of "the project in four governorates, which included Sulaymaniyah, Babil, Wasit and Maysan."

He continues, "The project aims to strengthen the capabilities to confront disasters and health crises by improving the awareness of the meaning of danger and the importance of containing this danger and mitigating its effects," explaining that "the capabilities include confronting the danger by reporting it and what can be done to mitigate it and prepare for it."

The report added, "The French Red Cross has been operating in the Kurdistan region since 2013, especially in the governorates of Dohuk and Erbil, and the organization's activity has been expanded to include the governorates of Babil, Wasit, Maysan and Sulaymaniyah."

He cautioned, "The organization's focus was first on the influx of Syrian refugees into Iraq, and then directed its attention to the internal displacement crisis, the challenges of displacement and the possibility of returning to the areas of origin. The organization provided services to the displaced, ranging from providing housing, educational and relief services.

Statistics indicate that the terrorist organization ISIS, from 2014 to 2017, caused the displacement of 1.029.102 million Iraqi families.

These families were displaced from their homes in more than eight governorates, in the north and center of the country, looking for shelter in all governorates of the country.

As of December 2021, approximately 825,372 families have returned to their areas of origin, equivalent to 80% of the total displaced during the ISIS crisis, while 203,730 thousand displaced families are still displaced, the majority of which are located in Nineveh Governorate by 21%, Dohuk by 22% and Erbil by 19%.  LINK

The "Oil Dispute" Is Developing Into A Case To Solve The "Kurdistan Democratic Party"

Posted On2022-06-08 By Sotaliraq  The Judicial Council in Erbil challenges the legitimacy of the Federal Court

A worker in the "Bay Hassan" field, west of the city of Kirkuk, yesterday (AFP)

Baghdad: Fadel Al-Nashmi   The dispute escalated between parties in Baghdad and Erbil; Yesterday, a member of the "State of Law" coalition, through lawyer Muhammad Al-Saadi, filed a lawsuit before the Federal Court to dissolve the "Kurdistan Democratic Party" led by Massoud Barzani and dominates the Kurdistan government in Erbil, accusing him of "failing to comply with the Federal Court's decision on the oil file." .

This step came in response to the decision of the Judicial Council of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the day before yesterday (Saturday), which said that the oil law in the region is still in force, rejecting a ruling issued by the Federal Supreme Court in February that the Kurdish authorities must hand over their supplies of crude, Noting the unconstitutionality of the Kurdistan law that regulates the oil and gas sector in it.

But the Kurdistan Regional Judicial Council took a bold step, and perhaps ambiguous results, in the context of its conflict with the Federal Supreme Court, as it challenged the legitimacy of the existence of the Federal Supreme Court, which means that it is not qualified to exercise its functions, despite the fact that it is the Supreme Court competent to adjudicate constitutional disputes.

Commenting on the lawsuit to dissolve the "Democratic Party", the head of the party's relations office, Hoshyar Siweli, said that "attempts to dissolve the party are old, and even military force was used in them, and resorting to the judiciary for the same purpose is part of those attempts." He added in statements to reporters that "those seeking to dissolve the party through the Federal Court will not succeed, and that their justifications are flimsy."

"There is no evidence of the region's lack of commitment to the decisions of the Federal Court, and discussions and attempts are continuing to issue a federal law for oil and gas, and we attend court sessions through legal representatives, present their arguments and legal defenses and defend the party," Siweli stressed. He believed that “the lawsuit (to dissolve the party) does not target the party; Rather, the entity of the Kurdistan region, the person of the party’s leader, Massoud Barzani, and the defenders of the Kurdistan region.”

In its challenge to the legitimacy of the Federal Court, the Kurdistan judiciary relied on Article 2/92 of the Iraqi Constitution, which required the Iraqi Council of Representatives to issue a law to establish the Federal Court; But this law “has not been issued yet, so in Iraq there is no federal court that was formed in accordance with the constitution,” according to a statement issued by the region’s judicial council.

In light of this interpretation, the Region’s Judicial Council found that “the Federal Court, which issued the decision of February 15, 2022, with the aim of repealing the Oil and Gas Law in Kurdistan, No. 22 of 2007, has no constitutional authority, and that the Oil and Gas Law in the Kurdistan Region remains in force.”

The council’s statement added that “the actions of the Kurdistan Regional Government related to the operation related to oil and gas are consistent with what was stated in the Iraqi constitution issued in 2005, and that the provisions of the Oil and Gas Law No. 22 of 2007 issued by the Kurdistan Regional Parliament do not contradict the provisions of the Iraqi constitution, and did not specify the operations of Exploration, production and export of oil and gas are the exclusive privities of the federal authorities, as stated in Article 110 of the Iraqi constitution, so the provisions of the oil and gas law remain effective.

Some believe that despite the legal and constitutional evidence on which the region’s Judicial Council relied in refuting the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court regarding the region’s oil law, this does not free the region’s arena from the consequences of its non-compliance with the Federal Court’s decision; Because its rulings are final and take precedence over the rulings and decisions of local courts in the case of constitutional disputes.

Especially since the region has multiple and complex differences with Baghdad regarding the oil issue, not only related to its repealed oil law; Rather, the issue of the region’s failure for years to deliver its share of oil, amounting to 250 thousand barrels per day, to Baghdad, according to the laws of the country’s general budget.

The relationship between Erbil and the Federal Supreme Court has been strained since the latter issued a ruling excluding the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Hoshyar Zebari, from the race for the presidency of the republic last February, against the background of his accusation of corruption files, but the dispute, which appears to be based on a framework A constitutional and legal dispute, in the eyes of a number of local observers, has led to a deep and prolonged political dispute for seven months between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and its Sadrist allies and the Sovereignty Alliance, which are part of the “Save the Nation” coalition that seeks to form a government, and their opponents in an alliance. The Coordination Framework” that seeks to obstruct and thwart formation efforts.   LINK

Good News For Iraq And The OPEC Countries.. A Barrel Of Oil Will Reach 140 Dollars

Shafaq News/ OPEC announced, on Wednesday, that the price of its basket of crudes rose with the increase in global oil prices, to record more than 120 dollars per barrel, while an oil expert expected prices to rise to 140 dollars in the second half of this year.

And the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries stated in a report seen by Shafak News Agency, that "the price of the OPEC basket of thirteen barrels of crude recorded today 120.16 dollars per barrel," noting that "the price rose from the previous day by 0.31 dollars, after recording 119.85 dollars."

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reference basket consists of the following: Sahara Blend (Algeria), Girasole (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabie Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Iran), Basra Light ( Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sidr (Libya), Pune Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Miri (Venezuela).

And the oil expert, Muhammad Al-Hasani, expected, during an interview with Shafaq News Agency, that oil prices will witness a further increase during the second half of this year, to reach 140 dollars per barrel as a result of the instability in the oil-producing areas, in addition to the Russian-Ukrainian war that cast a shadow on the oil and food market, as well as It is the low capital investment of international companies in oil exploration and production and the focus on renewable energy and carbon storage, which will create oil scarcity.

He added, "The spare crude oil production capacity in OPEC countries began to shrink, which led to the difficulty of meeting the scheduled monthly increase, for some countries in OPEC, which widened the gap between commitment and actual production, and this helped to raise oil and gas prices strongly."

And oil prices rose to more than 121 dollars, today, Wednesday, with the scarcity of supply and expectations of a decrease in US inventories.  LINK

Approximately 700 Million Dollars "Shy" The Volume Of Trade Exchange Between Iraq And Jordan

2022-06-08 05:26   Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the Iraqi ambassador to Jordan, Haider Al-Adhari, described the volume of trade exchange between the two countries as "shy."

Al-Adhari said in a speech during a meeting with the Paths for Development Organization in Jordan, that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries is small compared to the ambition between the two countries, adding that the numbers are shy and do not rise to the level of the relationship between the two countries. Jordan exported to Iraq with 616 million dollars, while Jordan imported 83 million dollars from Iraq.

He stressed that the directives of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to strengthen relations between the two countries.   LINK

Al-Kazemi: My Government Is Not Indebted To Iran

Shafaq News/ Today, Tuesday, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, released the responsibility of his government (which was formed in May 2020) from Iran's gas debts, which amount to about 1.6 billion US dollars.

Al-Kazemi said during the cabinet session held today, that "there are no debts regarding Iranian gas on the current government."

Al-Kazemi indicated that the reserves of the Central Bank of Iraq amounted to 76 billion dollars, stressing that it will reach 90 billion dollars by the end of this year.

Today, the Ministry of Electricity confirmed an increase in gas emissions supplied from Iran by 5 million cubic meters per day, noting that the Iranian side touched Iraq's seriousness in dealing and notifying public opinion, the government and Parliament of the need to pay the dues.

And yesterday, Monday, the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Parliament announced the allocation of the necessary funds to pay the Iranian debts due to the supply of gas to Iraq.

Tehran is deliberately reducing supplies of natural gas due to Baghdad's failure to pay the accumulated debts for the purchase of gas, which are estimated at 1.6 billion dollars.

Iraq produces between 19 and 21 thousand megawatts of electric power, while the actual need exceeds 30 thousand, which leads to frequent power cuts amid protest from the population.

Iraq is in talks with Arab countries and Turkey to import electricity from them, after it had depended on Iran alone during the past years by importing 1,200 megawatts, as well as gas fuel to feed local electric power stations.   LINK

World Bank: Electricity Shortage In Iraq Limits The Growth Of The Non-Oil Sector

Shafaq News/ The World Bank confirmed that the lack of electricity in Iraq limits the growth of the non-oil sector, expecting the country's gross domestic product to grow to 8.8 in the current year 2022.

The bank said in a report for the month of June, seen by Shafak News Agency, that "it is expected that the GDP growth in Iraq will reach 8.8% in 2022, driven by the recovery in the oil sector with the gradual lifting of restrictions on production decided by OPEC +."

He added, however, that "the lack of electricity supply, exacerbated by the imbalances in energy imports and the limitations of absorptive capacity, leads to limiting the growth of the non-oil sector."

He pointed out that "Iraq is expected to witness the highest growth in GDP during 2022 for the Arab countries and Iran, at 8.8%, followed by Saudi Arabia with a growth rate of 7%, and then Egypt with 6.1%," noting that "the GDP growth in Iraq will decrease In 2023, it will reach 4.5%, while the highest GDP growth in the region in this period will be for Djibouti, at a rate of 5.2, followed by Egypt at 4.8%, and the GDP growth of Iraq for the year 2024 will decrease to 3%, similar to the rest of the countries in the region.

Iraq suffers from a continuous crisis of power outages despite spending millions of dollars on this sector as a result of rampant corruption in this file, while it is currently importing gas from Iran to feed power stations, which led to the accumulation of debts on Iraq while Iran threatens from time to time By cutting off the gas unless it pays its dues from the supplied gas.   LINK

Al-Kazemi On The Electricity Industry In Iraq: No Answer

Shafaq News/ Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi confirmed on Tuesday that only 5% of Iraqis pay electricity bills, while he said that there was "no answer" about the possibility of the electricity industry in Iraq.

Al-Kazemi said in a press conference held after the end of the cabinet session, which was followed by Shafak News Agency, "I went to the Ministry of Electricity when I assumed the position and asked them how to make electricity in Iraq, and the answer is there is no answer."

Al-Kazemi indicated that "only 5% of Iraqis pay their electricity bills," explaining that "the total of the bills in total reaches 10 billion dollars, which is a large number."

He stressed, "We are working to increase electrical energy production and find alternatives. It is unreasonable to build stations that depend on gas, and we do not have gas. What is this mathematical equation? That is why we changed the name of the ministry to the Ministry of Electricity and Alternative Energy, and we will go to alternative energy as well." Thermal stations, as well as the connection with neighboring countries.

He continued, "We have electrical interconnection projects with the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, in order to provide gas until we reach the stage of self-sufficiency. We have a problem with Europe with electricity because of the war in Ukraine, energy prices are expensive in Europe, and we have reached reasonable prices, We will import electricity through Turkey, and we have signed agreements in this field, in addition to linking with neighboring countries."

Al-Kazemi pointed out that "the electricity file is thorny and complex and has many challenges, and the first question I asked to the Ministry of Electricity is how do you think about producing electrical energy in Iraq, and there was no answer. The absence of planning, and in the past years, electrical stations were built in an absurd manner without planning and without knowledge. That is why today we have a real electricity crisis in Iraq."

He added, "Last summer, despite all the attempts of terrorists and some groups to blow up towers and attempts to blow up some stations, despite all this, we managed to reach a production of 21,000 megawatts. Today we have less than that, because of the interruption of Iranian gas, and because of debts owed to Iran. These debts This is not a precedent for this government, and this government has been scrupulously committed to providing funds to Iran.”

The Prime Minister explained, "With all this, this government provided all the money and we did not delay a single day in paying, but there are debts before 2020, and the gas has been cut off. There is a bad atmosphere that affected the supply of electric power, but the Brotherhood in the Islamic Republic promised us a solution." The issue is that they re-pump our gas needs in the coming days."

He stressed, "the need not to politicize the electricity file, nor to use it for political purposes, as it is a shameful thing to exploit people's suffering in this way," adding, "There must be a complementary relationship between the citizen and the state, as the citizen needs to participate in the decision and perform his duty to prevent abuses." on the national network.

Iraq has been suffering from a shortage of electric power since the beginning of 1990, and the hours of electricity rationing increased after 2003 in Baghdad and the provinces, due to the aging of many stations in addition to the sabotage operations that the facilities have been exposed to during the past five years, as the hours of electricity cuts for citizens increased to about twenty An hour per day, which increased the people's dependence on small power generators.   LINK