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Iraq Moves to Elect Speaker in Bid to Form New Government

The Iraqi Parliament met on Tuesday hoping to elect a speaker, in efforts to reach a political breakthrough that could ultimately lead to the formation of a new government. The meeting came as the Iraqi Army launched a major air assault on Tikrit in an effort to flush out the remaining Sunni militants in that city, which lies 95 miles north of Baghdad. The leading candidate for the post of speaker is Salim al-Jubouri, a member of the main Sunni bloc in Parliament. He was selected on Saturday by the Sunni bloc and his candidacy was being voted on by the full Parliament on Tuesday morning. The effort to elect a speaker came after the United Nations warned of “chaos” if lawmakers failed to start the process of forming a government. By custom, a Sunni holds the position of speaker in the Parliament, a Kurd holds the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Barzani in Ankara for Key Talks on Oil Exports, Revenues

Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani (R) is received by his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. Photo: DHA Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani (R) is received by his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. Photo: DHA ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani was in Ankara Monday for important talks on oil exports and revenues, officials said. Safeen Dizayee, spokesman of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), told Rudaw that the visit could mean Kurdish civil servants finally getting paid at the end of this month, after going without salaries since Baghdad froze budget payments early this year. “We requested that Turkey import more Kurdish oil,” Dizayee said. He revealed that current exports were 120,000 barrels per day (bpd), and that “we will try to raise the rate to 400,000 bpd by the end of the year.”  Despite the fact it has at least $93 million in its account at Halkbank, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Get Ready for Kurdish Independence

In the coming weeks, Iraq ’s leaders must make existential decisions. If they cannot form a unity government led by a new prime minister and motivate Sunni moderates and tribes to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria , Iraq is likely to disintegrate. If the central government fails to grant satisfactory concessions to Sunnis and Kurds, the Kurds will push for sovereignty and independence. The Kurds are serious, and the international community must adapt to this emerging reality. While all Iraqi leaders bear responsibility for resolving the current crisis, the greatest share lies with the country’s Shiite politicians, who dominate the central government. Shiite parties must select a candidate for prime minister who can share power, decentralize the government and depoliticize the security forces. As a prerequisite for working with the central government, Kurdistan seeks the right to export its own oil; integrate Kirkuk and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Rocket hits airport in Libyan capital

Several rockets have reportedly hit the airport in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, where fighting between rival armed groups has been raging since Sunday. Several Grad rocket struck the airport late on Monday,destroying 90 percent of the planes parked there, government spokesman Ahmed Lamine said.  "The government has studied the possibility to bring international forces to enhance security", he said. The attack also damaging the control tower, residents said. Two people were also killed in the attack, Reuters news agency reported. Authorities had closed the airport due to previous fighting on Sunday, which medics say killed at least seven people . Rival militias have clashed for control of the airport. The powerful Zintan armed group ,which has been in control of the airport since the fall of Gaddafi, was still holding it by Monday. The United Nations mission in Libya said it was withdrawing its staff from Libya "temporarily" because of the deteriorating […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Militia shells Tripoli airport, U.N. pulls staff out of Libya

TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) – A militia shelled Tripoli airport, destroying 90 percent of planes parked there, a Libyan government spokesman said, as heavy fighting between armed groups prompted the United Nations to pull its staff out of the North African country. At least 15 people have been killed in clashes in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi since Sunday, and a Libyan official said several Grad rockets hit the Tripoli International Airport on Monday, damaging the control tower. Government spokesman Ahmed Lamine said 90 percent of the planes parked at the airport were destroyed. "The government has studied the possibility to bring international forces to enhance security," he told reporters On Tuesday. Three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has slipped deeper into chaos with its weak government and new army unable to control brigades of former rebel fighters and militias who often battle for political […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Israel to reap rewards of gas reserves

Israel will be able to reap the benefits of energy independence through growing gas reserves at the offshore Leviathan gas field, a development executive said. The partners developing the giant Leviathan offshore gas field said an audit by Dutch consulting company Sewell and Associates put the reserve estimate at 21.9 trillion cubic feet, up from the previous estimate of around 18.9 trillion cubic feet. Gideon Tadmor, board chairman at Delek Drilling and chief executive officer at Avner Oil Exploration — two of the project’s developers — said the revision "will ensure us energy independence for decades to come, and an expansion of export options, with all the accompanying economic and geopolitical benefits." Leviathan should go onstream in 2016, with much of the offshore field’s reserves already designated for exports to regional customers. Noble Energy, another drilling partner, this year signed export contracts for gas from the Leviathan and nearby […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Yemeni oil pipeline attacked

| License Photo The Yemeni Oil Ministry said restive tribesmen in Marib province attacked an oil pipeline, cutting exports to a Red Sea terminal. Yemen relies heavily on oil revenue to support its economy. Tribesmen in an area thought to be under the influence of al-Qaida fighters targeted the 100,000-barrel-per-day pipeline to the Ras Isa export terminal Saturday, the oil ministry confirmed . Yemen since the so-called Arab Spring in 2011 has struggled to maintain a sense of national security. It’s faced pressure from Shiite rebels in the north of the country and from the presence of al-Qaida, a predominately Sunni group, elsewhere. The Yemeni government has said militants have tried to use attacks on oil infrastructure as a way to bargain for more revenue sharing. Norwegian energy company DNO International said last week it resumed oil production from Yemen, ending a two-week hiatus. The company suspended operations there […]

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Putin vows to help develop offshore Cuba

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the conclusion of a regional visit his government would help Cuba’s state oil company develop offshore reserves. Putin met in Havana with Cuban President Raul Castro during a tour of Latin American countries. Putin said Russian oil company Rosneft would help its counterparts at state-owned Cubapetroleo develop offshore Cuban reserves. "Developing new blocks on Cuba’s offshore shelf is (expected) in the very near future," the Russian president said Sunday. Cuba has limited proven reserves of its own and relies on imports from Latin American countries to meet its energy demands. Cuba had weighed joint partnerships with its Russian counterparts as recently as 2012. Cuba aims to cut the amount of oil it imports from Venezuela through development of its own offshore reserves. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that, as of 2009, Cuba had less than 1 billion barrels of oil reserves.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Miners Struggle as China's Appetite for Coal Eases

China’s coal imports in the first half of 2014 grew just 0.9%, compared with 13.3% a year earlier. The WSJ’s Ramy Inocencio speaks with Beijing reporter Wayne Ma on the trend’s winners and losers. China’s once insatiable appetite for coal is cooling, raising questions about mining companies’ big bets on new projects. Beijing’s figures on coal imports and domestic production this year indicate sharply weaker demand, which experts say stems from slowing growth in the world’s No. 2 economy. Longer term, factors including new policies to curb air pollution by limiting coal use are likely to keep growth in coal consumption far below the double-digit increases of the past. The slowdown already is affecting the production plans of companies in Australia , China’s largest overseas supplier. "If the economy can speed up again, I think the situation for coal will be better because demand from small factories and small […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Miners Struggle as China’s Appetite for Coal Eases

China’s coal imports in the first half of 2014 grew just 0.9%, compared with 13.3% a year earlier. The WSJ’s Ramy Inocencio speaks with Beijing reporter Wayne Ma on the trend’s winners and losers. China’s once insatiable appetite for coal is cooling, raising questions about mining companies’ big bets on new projects. Beijing’s figures on coal imports and domestic production this year indicate sharply weaker demand, which experts say stems from slowing growth in the world’s No. 2 economy. Longer term, factors including new policies to curb air pollution by limiting coal use are likely to keep growth in coal consumption far below the double-digit increases of the past. The slowdown already is affecting the production plans of companies in Australia , China’s largest overseas supplier. "If the economy can speed up again, I think the situation for coal will be better because demand from small factories and small […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple