The Sadr movement announced on Aug. 26 that it will begin serious negotiations with other blocs the week of Aug. 30 to end the government stalemate over the premiership, AKnews reported. A member of the party’s negotiating team said they will “nominate a new candidate who cares of the interest of the Iraqi people.” An Iraqi National Alliance (INA) member said on Aug. 25 that his party has accepted the candidacy of current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of the State of Law coalition, alongside other INA candidates. INA will choose a final prime minister candidate through internal voting.

Source : STRATFOR

BAGHDAD – Iraq will produce natural gas in two years, and will become one of the most important gas exporters to Europe.

“Iraq will allow international firms to bid on investing in three gas fields by Oct. 2010,” a source from the Iraqi Oil Ministry told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Monday.

He noted that measures such as production levels and costs will be employed to evaluate bids.

“Iraq will use only 1-50% of the produced gas to generate electricity, while the rest will be exported,” the source added.

© Aswat Aliraq 2010

Stockpiles of the coin at the box in an Iraqi bank.

The Central Bank of Iraq that he was serious in the application of deleting three zeros from the national currency in the near future. Bank adviser said the appearance of Mohammed Saleh, said that it depends at the present time the formation of the next Iraqi government and parliament two new Siokman on them, which will be determining the mechanism whereby the application of the project to delete the zeroes of the Iraqi currency.

The question being debated extensively about the success of this step in improving the Iraqi economy, says Chancellor valid in an interview with Radio Free Iraq that the deletion of zeros will contribute to reduce the size of inflation and reduce the size of the money supply in the Iraqi market of 26 trillion dinars to approximately 25 billion dinars, indicating that the Kurdish language to be added to the new currency as well as Arabic and English.

The consultant said that for the large number of money circulating in the Iraqi market has led to a confusion in large commercial transactions, the work of banks, noting that deleting three zeros from the Iraqi dinar will to reform the management system of the national currency and thus improve and revitalize the Iraqi economy.

However, the economic expert, Salim al-Jubouri varies with the central bank adviser believes that the deletion of zeros from the Iraqi currency will not necessarily lead to improved national economy, but on the contrary may cause additional confusion in the local market, calling at the same time the Iraqi government to go to support market stability and the national currency rather than replaced with a new value and other currency.

Source – iraqhurr.org

Al-Iraqiya List leader Ayad Allawi said he expects the new Iraqi government to take form by August, Aswat al-Iraq reported July 9. Allawi also said he hopes the top three government positions will be known by the end of July. Negotiations are in their final stages, so he hopes “the affair will end as soon as possible,” Lebanon’s National Information Agency quoted Allawi as saying following a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on July 9.

Ex – STRATFOR

Gas output will probably exceed the nation’s domestic demand for power generation by 2015 or 2016, according to a statement for government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh today. Once achieved, Shell can export the fuel in liquid form, Iraq said.

Middle Eastern states are seeking to develop their natural gas reserves to use the fuel to fire power plants and boost economic growth. Iraq is still trying, after seven years of conflict and prior sanctions, to restore power generation capacity to levels achieved before the U.S.-led military invasion of 2003.

The country’s cabinet yesterday approved the creation of the Basra Gas Co. joint venture including Shell and Mitsubishi Corp. along with state-owned South Gas Co., which will hold a 51 percent stake in the business. Shell first agreed with the government in September 2008 on a project to capture associated gas from Iraq’s southern oil fields with a view to exporting it.

Associated gas is pumped in conjunction with crude and the amount produced is set to rise as the nation increases oil output. Iraq, which generates most of its revenue from crude exports, intends to raise output to pay for the refineries, power plants, and other facilities needed to meet domestic demand for the fuel and electricity generation.

The government awarded foreign companies 11 development licenses for crude deposits in two rounds of bidding last year, and it aims to attract investors in three gas areas this year.

Burnt Off

Shell, which won contracts last year to develop two Iraqi oilfields, said when announcing the project it aimed to capture about 700 million cubic feet of gas a day in southern Iraq, making use of fuel that’s currently burnt off. Total associated gas production is 1.1 billion cubic feet a day now, with some used and the rest flared, according to the statement.

Southern Iraq’s associated-gas supplies may double within three years as the country boosts oil output, Shell’s Middle East Vice President for new business Mounir Bouaziz said in an interview March 29. Iraq awarded oil-service contracts last year to international companies that pledged to raise output to 12 million barrels a day within the decade. It pumped 2.37 million barrels this month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Shell has pledged to meet domestic gas demand to fire power plants, for example, before exporting the fuel as liquefied natural gas by ship from southern ports.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at adipaola@bloomberg.net.