More Iraqi News Friday Evening 8-19-22
Tlm724 Administrator Bondlady’s Corner
Increasing Iraqi Oil Production… Ambitious Numbers Clash With “Corruption And Failure”
Reports & Analytics Iraqi oil Increasing oil production 2022-08-18 16:20 Shafaq News/ An economic analysis concluded that two obstacles are “corruption and failure” to the increase of Iraqi oil to millions, which the country’s oil officials are seeking.
An economic report published on “Yahoo” and translated by Shafak News indicated that “Iraq plans to increase its oil production to achieve an interim goal of between 5 to 8 million barrels per day over time.”
In this context, he recalled recent statements by the First Vice President of the Iraqi National Oil Company, Hamid Younis, and the Director General of the Iraqi Oil Exploration Company, Ali Jassem, about this planned increase and the significant activity expected in the next phase in the exploration sector, including in the Western Desert and Nineveh Governorate..
The report considered that “given the current delicate balance between supply and demand in the global oil pricing equations, these large supplies may lead to mitigating the economic damage that has affected many countries due to the exorbitant oil and gas prices.”
However, the report, after questioning the extent of the realism of these statements about high oil prices, added that “these statements are “completely realistic”, given that Iraq possesses about 145 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves (about 18% of the total Middle East, and about 9%). of global reserves, and it has the fifth largest reserves in the world).
Despite this, the report quoted data from the International Energy Agency from 2012 on Iraq, which considers that the volume of Iraqi recoverable oil resources is subject to a great degree of uncertainty,” noting that “the number of 145 billion barrels is sourced from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from year 2000.
He explained that “through the use of these data, the International Energy Agency’s 2012 analysis concluded that the volume of recoverable crude oil and natural gas liquids resources in Iraq is estimated at 232 billion barrels.
However, at the end of 2011, only 35 billion barrels were produced. out of this figure of 232 billion barrels. And the report continued that “also in 2012, and based on the figures of the US Geological Survey, Iraq produced only 15% of its recoverable resources, compared to 23% at the level of the Middle East as a whole, according to data from the International Energy Agency.”
The report explained his idea, saying that “it is important to distinguish that having huge levels of reserves and recoverable resources is one thing, but drilling and exporting them is another matter entirely.”
The report pointed out that “during the period in which the International Energy Agency report was issued in 2012 until now, crude oil production in Iraq rose from more than 3 million barrels per day to just above 4 million barrels per day.”
Although this percentage is exciting and equivalent to 25% as an increase, the report considered that “in terms of its absolute value, it constitutes a weak return on the oil revenues owned by Iraq, especially if it takes into account the ease of recovering its oil, as it is clear that Iraq has the lowest extraction cost in The world is worth between 1-2 dollars per barrel, as oil from Saudi Arabia and Iran.”
The report mentioned that “Iraq launched in 2013 the “Integrated National Energy Strategy”, which lays out three scenarios about oil production, the
best of which is to increase production capacity to 13 million barrels per day (at that stage by the year 2017), with a peak until the year 2023., while the medium scenario was set to reach 9 million barrels per day (at that stage by the year 2020), while the worst scenario was to reach the production of 6 million barrels per day (at that stage by 2020).”
However, the report asked, “Why was Iraq not able to achieve this despite the fact that the basis on which these expectations were based is very solid.”
The report identified two main reasons, the first is the rampant corruption that afflicted the oil sector, especially since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, and the second reason, which is partly related to the first, is the failure to build the “Common Sea Water Supply Project (CSSP)”.
The report pointed to the “culture of corruption in Iraq”, recalling the data of the independent Transparency International on the “Corruption Perceptions Index”, in which Iraq appears among the worst in the world out of 180 countries due to the extent and scope of corruption.
The report quotes Transparency International, speaking in this context about “massive embezzlement, fraud in the field of procurement, money laundering, oil smuggling and widespread bureaucratic bribery that led the country to the lowest international corruption ratings, provoked political violence and impeded building an effective state and providing services.”
As for the “Joint Sea Water Supply Project (CSSP)”, the report considered that the extent of rampant corruption may be a main reason for not moving forward with its implementation, but it indicated that if Iraq manages to cordon off the project as much as possible to keep the corrupt elements away from it, It may be able to start achieving the envisaged huge increases in oil production,
noting that the project includes plans to withdraw water from the Gulf and then treat it before transporting it through pipelines to the oil fields to be used to strengthen pressure and increase oil absorption, which is estimated to cost about 10 billion dollars, and aims to secure About 6 million barrels per day of water flow to at least five oil fields in the southern Basra region and another field in the Maysan region. LINK
An Argument Between Al-Maliki And Al-Kazemi In The Dialogue Of The Senior Political Leaders In Baghdad Almost Torpedoed The Meeting
Politics , 2022/08/19 11:13 , the number of readings: 306 Baghdad – Dr. Hamid Abdullah:
A source who attended the meeting of senior political leaders that was held in Baghdad recently revealed an altercation An incident between former Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi almost torpedoed the meeting
The source said that during the meeting, Al-Kazemi expressed his regret for not attending the Sadrist movement and boycotting the dialogue that called Al-Kazemi responded to him by Al-Maliki by saying: Al-Sadr did not boycott the meeting because you represent him, adopt his views and defend him..
Nouri al-Maliki, the head of the Al-Fateh coalition Hadi al-Amiri, and the head of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq movement, Qais al-Khazali, appeared They seemed very annoyed during the meeting due to the boycott of Al-Sadr, and the lack of any usefulness in the dialogues absent About her the most effective party in the political equation, which has become at
the highest levels of complexity and tension Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in agreement with the leader of the Sadrist movement and working to form a government led by the
Sadrists Meanwhile, Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi revealed the interference of officials, senior politicians and influential employees to steal billions dollars from the central treasury.
Allawi said in the text of his resignation to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi that there are those who tamper with Iraqi money Billions are wasted and stolen without the state being able to deter thieves or stop the bleeding of public money. LINK
Report: The Resigned Finance Minister Detonates A Bomb At The Foundations Of The Political System In Iraq
On August 18, 2022 Minister of Finance The Independent/- Finance Minister Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi detonated a “dynamite package” in the foundations of the political system that ruled Iraq after 2003, and this development came in a letter of resignation from the position that Allawi addressed to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, on Tuesday evening.
Although most of what was mentioned in the speech about corruption and mismanagement in the joints of the Iraqi state, and the forces of power’s struggle over public money for years, is self-evident on the lips of most Iraqi citizens,
its issuance by a high-ranking official familiar with the weight of the Minister of Finance gives it exceptional and extreme importance
It was viewed locally by observers and those interested in political affairs as “the highest political document submitted by an Iraqi minister for two decades.”
The resigned minister began his long 10-page speech by talking about the nature of the difficult circumstances that were associated with the formation of the government of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi in May 2020, in which he held his position, and about the challenges that it faced in terms of coming to the ruins of the government of Adel Abdul-Mahdi that toppled it.
Massive protest demonstrations, along with the outbreak of the “Covid-19” health problem and the country’s stifling economic crisis, which he said as:
“There were times when government funds were literally exhausted, and our foreign exchange reserves were withdrawn.”
After a long talk about the nature of the work of the Ministry of Finance,the disastrous interventions by political parties and the rise of the unqualified to high positions in it,
“it was a ministry full of people with questionable qualifications” and the willful neglect practiced by successive governments on this important ministry, he moved to talk about urgent measures that He took it to face the successive crises that afflicted the country to prevent its collapse.
After mentioning the range of actions that have been taken, he concluded:
“However, it is very difficult to make significant economic changes and reforms on a continuous and permanent basis in light of the context of our political economy,
I must admit that I did not anticipate the appalling deterioration in the standards of governance in our country over the course of a long period of time. the past fifteen years.
Almost everything was conspiring to thwart real change and entrench the persistence of corrupt practices that destroy the moral and material foundations of the country.
Then Ali Allawi moved to talk about the case of the “Ishtar Gate” company, which erupted a few days ago, after the company won a court ruling in the amount of 600 million dollars against the Rafidain Governmental Bank. In his speech, he said: “The issues of electronic payment corruption for me were the straw that broke the camel’s back.
It was not a rare case, but it clearly reflected to all parties the extent of the imbalance in the system, as it crystallized the degree to which the status of the state deteriorated and became a puppet of special interests.
The matter is now with the judiciary and its investigations after the ministry made its observations, so it cannot be commented on.”
He believed that an issue of this kind “raises a whole range of questions about how to make the right decisions that affect millions of people and vital state institutions without regard to the public interest.
Extensive underground networks of corrupt high-ranking officials, businessmen, politicians, and state employees work in the shadows to control entire sectors of the economy, withdrawing billions from the public coffers.
These networks are protected by major political parties, parliamentary immunity, the arming of the law, and even foreign powers.
Although Allawi praised some of the achievements made by Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s government, he admitted that “it did not succeed in controlling corruption and then reducing it.
Corruption is a multi-headed beast and in the past twenty years it has dug deep roots in the country, it cannot be controlled if there is no policy and consensus to do so, as corruption remains rampant, debilitating and widespread.
He also admitted its inability to curb external and internal interference in the state’s work and sovereignty.
In addition to his long talk about issues of the economy and corruption, Allawi frequently touched on political issues, the issue of the current Sadrist protests, the position of the Najaf authority regarding the conflict between al-Sadr and his opponents from the Shiite “coordinating framework” forces, and issues related to the constitution and its rewriting.
Allawi believes that “civil disobedience is the only way to change,” and that “state institutions, even in their weak state, lose their credibility and authority with the withdrawal of the Sadrist movement from the House of Representatives.
Any new government that is formed under the current regime lacks full legitimacy in my opinion unless it is recognized by the opposition outside Parliament.”
He continued, “There is no doubt that reforming this system with constitutional changes or even a new constitution is necessary, and unlike humans, states do not die permanently, and (zombie) states can remain for years or even decades before they are buried, I think that the state that emerged after an invasion 2003, showing signs of terminal illness.”
On his opinion of the position of the Najaf reference point and the external parties on the current political crisis, Allawi said:
“There is no external party that can separate the dispute, and there is no willingness on the part of the honorable reference in Najaf to influence one side or the other or against both (the Sadrist movement). framework forces), this could give legitimacy to abandon the current system and move towards a new one.
He concluded that “there is no sacred constitution, which must be changed and amended as necessary to serve the greater interest of our people, and in particular, vague clauses, uncertain powers, and difficult and even impossible conditions for making amendments, made it necessary to consider the possibility of new constitutional arrangements.” LINK
Video: Al-Maliki’s Leaks Bomber Publishes An Oath In Front Of “Abu Mazen” For The Former Minister Of Industry
08/19/2022 1209 Earth News/ Today, Friday, Iraqi blogger Ali Fadel published a video clip of former Minister of Industry Saleh al-Jubouri taking the oath in front of the head of the Jamahiriya Party, “Abu Mazen”.
According to the video monitored by Earth News, the minister pledged, while swearing by the “Quran,” to place the Ministry of Industry under the sign of “Abu Mazen,” and not to violate his directives, in addition to bearing all the consequences that may occur in the event of his breaking the oath.
Minister of Industry Saleh al-Jubouri swears an oath to Ahmad al-Jubouri (Abu Mazen) that he and the ministry will be under Abu Mazen’s command, interests and directions, one day before receiving the ministry.
The minister in Iraq is to serve the head of the bloc, not the people.
A copy of it to the people and the Iraqi judiciary. # Leaks_war pic.twitter.com/oDG4EESV9Y
— Ali Fadhil _ Ali Fadhil (@ali_alifadhil) August 19, 2022 LINK
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