Kurdistan Region Confirms Oil Sales Through SOMO: We Will Give Our Money To Baghdad
Iraqi oil refinery energy Economy News – Baghdad The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday affirmed the region’s firm position to implement an amendment to the budget law, allowing the region’s oil to be exported and sold through SOMO, with the proceeds returned to the federal Ministry of Finance.
A statement issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Council of Ministers, seen by Al-Eqtisad News, said, “The President of the Council, Masrour Barzani, held a meeting attended by his deputy, Qubad Talabani, during which the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Finance and Economy to prepare a schedule for distributing salaries to Kurdistan Region employees for the month of February, after the deposit of 958 billion dinars into the ministry’s account for that month.”
The Council decided to begin distributing salaries starting tomorrow. All ministries and institutions were also tasked with preparing March payrolls as soon as possible and sending them to the Federal Ministry of Finance, with the goal of disbursing them before the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The statement confirmed that “in the first part of the meeting, Kamal Mohamed Saleh, Acting Minister of Natural Resources, reviewed the latest developments in the joint meetings between the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Federal Ministry of Oil, in the presence of representatives of oil companies.”
The minister explained the efforts being made to resume the region’s oil exports within the framework of the federal budget law. The Council of Ministers commended the Ministry of Natural Resources’ efforts to accelerate the process of resuming oil exports and its joint work with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to resolve the obstacles related to the process.
The Council also affirmed the “regional government’s firm position to implement the amendment to the budget law so that the region’s oil is exported and sold through SOMO and its revenues are returned to the federal Ministry of Finance.” https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=53348
OPEC: Oil Prices Recorded A Significant Decline In February.
economy | 06:59 – 12/03/2025 Mawazine News – Baghdad The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Wednesday that oil prices recorded a significant decline in February, with the average OPEC basket falling by 3.2 percent to $76.81 per barrel.
OPEC added in its monthly report that “Brent crude futures also fell by 4.3 percent to $74.95, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by 5.2 percent to $71.21.
The report indicated that “extensive selling by global hedge funds contributed to increased volatility and accelerated the decline in prices.”
Regarding global oil demand, OPEC expected in its report that it would grow by 1.4 million barrels per day in both 2025 and 2026, with a greater contribution from non-OECD countries.
In contrast, OPEC expected supply from countries not participating in the Declaration of Cooperation to grow by 1 million barrels per day in 2025 and 2026, driven by production from the United States, Brazil, Canada, and Norway. https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=260162
Al-Sudani’s Advisor Denies Any Sanctions On Rafidain Bank And Confirms Continued Gas Supplies From Iran.
economy |12/03/2025 Mawazine News – Baghdad The Prime Minister’s advisor for foreign relations, Farhad Alaa Al-Din, denied the existence of US sanctions on Rafidain Bank.
While noting that the American exception regarding importing gas from Iran continues, he confirmed that some factions have offered to join the Popular Mobilization Forces under conditions. Alaa al-Din said in a televised interview:
“Iraq is a country well-versed in managing foreign affairs and has a legacy in that,” noting that “the philosophy of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani regarding foreign relations is that the Iraqi interest comes first, and from here the country’s foreign policy is adopted.” He added that “the path of the state and government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, works from the starting point of Iraq’s interest first.”
Regarding Iraq’s relationship with the United States, Alaa al-Din indicated that “we had excellent and distinguished relations with the previous American administration,” noting that “the new American administration came with a set of promises to American voters, and part of these promises are related to the foreign policy of the United States, including ending the so-called endless wars.”
He explained that “the American letter that we received does not contain the information circulating in the media,” noting that “US Representative Joe Wilson tweeted more than 200 tweets in 15 months and did not mention Iraq even once.”
He explained that “Joe Wilson attended a meeting with al-Sudani and was not He talked about Iraq before January 13, but after that date, he started tweeting about Iraq on a daily basis,” stressing that “the American authorities denied any connection to what Joe Wilson was talking about regarding Iraq.”
He pointed out that “the US Treasury denied any intention to punish Rafidain Bank, and that American companies are working to restructure Rafidain Bank and there is no intention to punish it,” noting that “the Prime Minister is busy and does not care about Joe Wilson’s tweets.”
He stressed that “Iraq has not been a priority for America since 2011,” stating:
“We are working to change the American view that Iraq is not part of the Iranian file.” Regarding the issue of armed factions, Alaa al-Din indicated that “the issue of factions is an internal discussion, not an external one,” stressing that “the dissolution of the factions is among the points of the supreme authority, Mr. Sistani, and the government program.”
He continued, “Some factions have offered to join the Popular Mobilization Forces with conditions,” warning against restricting the weapons of the factions by force, as this leads to a civil war. He stressed that “the discussion about the fate of the factions occurs every day.
” Regarding the fate of the kidnapped Zionist researcher, Elizabeth Tsurkov explained that “Tsurkov entered legally and is protected from the government’s responsibility,” noting that “Tsurkov’s continued absence will cause future problems for Iraq.”
He explained that “according to the government’s information, Tsurkov is alive.
” Regarding the cancellation of the US waiver for importing energy from Iran, he indicated that “the cancellation of the waiver targeted the import of electricity, but the gas waiver continues,” noting that “Turkey began importing gas from Turkmenistan via Iran after the implementation of US sanctions.
” Regarding the events in Syria, Alaa Al-Din said: “The events on the Syrian coast are not encouraging for Iraq to open up to the head of the Syrian administration, Ahmed Al-Sharaa,” stressing that “ISIS obtained supplies and seized weapons in Syria, and Iraq is concerned about them.”
He continued, “We have security cooperation channels with Syria.”Regarding Iraq’s relationship with China, he explained that “25% of Iraqi oil is purchased by China and we have a great interest in it,” noting that “Iraq’s relationship with China and Russia is commercial, not political.
” Regarding Iraq’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, he indicated that “our relations with Saudi Arabia are at their best and there is no concern from Saudi Arabia about the development of Iraq’s relationship with Qatar.” He stressed that “Iraq is returning today to the Arab fold more than ever before,” noting that “Iraq has transformed from an arena of conflict to an arena where countries meet.”
He pointed out that “the path of development has transformed Iraq into an area where the interests of the countries of the region meet,” stressing that “Iraq played a calming role between Iran and America, especially in Syria.”
Regarding the presence of the international coalition in Iraq, he indicated that “nothing has changed with the agreement to end the international coalition in Iraq and we are awaiting the US administration’s opinion on its presence,” indicating that “the end of the international coalition will make Iraq determine the type of foreign forces it needs.”
https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=260152
Nearly One Billion Shares Were Traded On The Iraqi Stock Exchange During Today’s Session.
Stock Exchange Economy News – Baghdad The Iraqi Stock Exchange traded nearly one billion shares today, Wednesday. The value of the shares, which numbered more than 954 thousand, amounted to 1.4 billion dinars. The market was able to conduct 738 transactions. https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=53338
Iraqi Ports: Plans To Establish An Industrial Zone And Large Companies In The Grand Faw Port.
Director General of Iraqi Ports Farhan Al-Fartousi Money and Business Economy News – Baghdad
The Iraqi General Company for Ports confirmed on Wednesday that it has reached advanced stages of contracting with an international company to manage and operate the Faw Port. It also indicated that a large package of projects will be announced at the Faw Port, similar to the refinery package.
“The fixed part of the submerged tunnel will soon be 100% complete, consisting of two lanes for outbound and two lanes for outbound, connected to the highway from the outside and to the submerged tunnel from the inside,” said Farhan Al-Fartousi, director of the Iraqi Ports Company, in a statement reported by the official news agency, and seen by Al-Eqtisad News.
He explained that “the submerged part consists of 10 concrete blocks, 11 meters high, 34 meters wide, 126 meters long, and weighing 45,000 tons, which were completely poured into a special basin called the (submerged tunnel basin).”
“After the sections were created, they were examined and prepared, and then the floating operations began, i.e. lifting them with water and transporting them to the designated location, and starting the process of submerging and connecting them to the fixed sections,”
he added, indicating that “our cadres and the companies working with us, namely the Italian company Technical, which is supervising, the Korean company Daewoo, which is implementing the project, and the Dutch company specializing in such work in the world, were able to connect the first section and place it in its place, and open it to the fixed section, and it became part of the tunnel.
We had a tour and presence in this section, and at the same time the cadres began floating the second section until it was formed. After the ten sections are connected, the tunnel will be completed and ready across both banks, whether the direction is from Umm Qasr to Al-Faw or vice versa.”
On the other hand, Al-Fartousi explained that “we have reached very advanced stages of contracting with a scientific company to manage and operate the port. We are awaiting the consulting company’s opinion on the contracting mechanism, regulations, and other details. After that, the file will be presented to the Supreme Committee for approval, and we will proceed with the contract.”
Al-Fartousi pointed out that “there is a large package of projects, including the naval base project, which will be contracted within a month or a month and a half, followed by the liquefied natural gas station project, in addition to the major project, which is a refinery within the port complex, and a petrochemical plant, which was contracted by the Ministry of Oil, and we are following up on this file, which will be operational soon.”
He added, “We have a plan to establish an industrial zone, and there are communications and companies interested in entering into this major project. A large package of projects will soon be announced in the port of Faw, similar to the refinery package.” https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=53344
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