Clare: Central Bank contracts with international auditing firm in New York
The Central Bank confirmed during the visit of the delegation headed by His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, to the United States of America that the delegation discussed the use of electronic payment cards and ways to regulate and stimulate their use in line with Iraq’s trend towards electronic payment.
This came during separate meetings with a group of companies such as (Visa, Mastercard and MoneyGram), as the international auditing company (KPMG) presented an extensive analytical presentation of the uses of these cards, supported by recommendations and proposals to enhance organized use and accommodate the significant increase in citizens’ use of these cards.
During the negotiations, the parties gathered praised the important steps in enhancing the banking sector reforms, most notably the contract that the Central Bank of Iraq delegation concluded with Oliver Wyman to conduct a comprehensive review of the conditions of Iraqi banks, especially banks prohibited from dealing in the US dollar.
The company will work to develop practical solutions to reintegrate these banks into the Iraqi and international banking sector, in addition to improving the level of bank procedures in line with international standards. This initiative aims to facilitate the process of establishing direct banking relations and improve the quality of services provided by banks to serve the Iraqi economy. The company is scheduled to start its work in the coming period.
Central Bank of Iraq
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Clare: Oil Minister reveals upcoming visit to US to discuss gas investment file
Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani confirmed today, Saturday, the intention to refer 10 gas exploration blocks for investment in a new licensing round, and while revealing an upcoming visit to the United States to discuss offering them to international companies, he confirmed the intention to launch a new gas investment project at the end of the year with a capacity of 125 Mcm.
Abdul Ghani said: “The fifth and sixth supplementary licensing rounds included 29 blocks and fields, and contracts were completed on 14 of them, and there are about 10 gas blocks among the remaining that companies have not applied for and we are in the process of offering them in a new licensing round.”
He added, “The Ministry of Oil plans to offer these gas investment opportunities to specialized companies, and we have a visit to the United States soon for this purpose, as we plan to offer them to international American companies.”
He added, “The Ministry of Oil took the initiative to drill an exploratory well in the Al-Anz area with a capacity of 1,000 cubic meters, and the Halfaya gas investment project was also opened with a capacity of 300 cubic meters, and it is hoped to launch the gas investment project in the Al-Faiha oil field at the end of this year with a capacity of 125 cubic meters.”
