Iraq’s economic stability has been impacted by budget deficits that have been worsened by low global oil prices. Since early 2014, Iraq has experienced massive economic decline due to territory that has been lost to militants in extremist groups, such as the Islamic State.
globalEDGE Blog - By Tag: iraq
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Standard Chartered, a British bank with more than 1,700 branches in over 70 countries, has officially opened its first branch in Iraq. This branch will be located in Baghdad. The British bank plans to open another branch this year in Erbil, Iraq and another next year in Basra, Iraq. These Iraq-based branches are being established to meet the needs of Standard Chartered’s global clients working in the oil, telecommunication, and infrastructure industries. Standard Charter also intends for these branches and their personnel to aid the Iraqi Government, its ministries, and the Iraqi Central Bank in an advisory role.
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This week, multiple oil companies are battling for control over Iraq’s 15 fields, located in Baghdad. These fields contain at least 41.121 billion barrels of oil. This is the biggest cut of Iraq's existing oil assets of 115 billion barrels in decades! A total of 44 companies, which include Exxon Mobile Corp, Chevron, and Britain’s BP Group PLC, will be placing their auction bids this week. After all, how could they pass this up?
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Check out these two articles from the New York TImes on the recent opening of oil fields in Iraq. This article from December discusses the second round of bids that happened a few weeks ago. The second article is from last June, which discusses the impact of opening the fields to foreign investment.