Baghdad Archive

Baghdad, Nov 3 (DPA) The government of Iraq Tuesday signed a contract with a Chinese-British consortium to develop southern Iraq’s massive Rumaila oil field, a spokesman said.

Iraqi oil ministry spokesman Assim Jihad told the DPA that the contract, Iraq’s first with a foreign firm since Iraq nationalised its petroleum resources in 1972, was signed in the presence of Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani and the Chinese and British ambassadors.

The one million barrels of oil per day (bpd) that the Rumaila oil field produces already account for roughly half of Iraq’s total production of 2.5 million bpd. British Petroleum (BP) and China’s CNPC promised to increase production from the field to 2.85 million bpd.

BP and CNPC will be paid $2 per barrel produced, an oil ministry spokesman said.

The 20-year contract for the field – which contains an estimated 17 billion barrels of oil, or twice Azebaijan’s total reserves – carries risks for the consortium.

While the region around Rumaila and the southern city of Basra is mostly secure, there is real domestic opposition to foreign oil companies’ re-entrance to the market.

The Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions has opposed the contracts, and has threated to strike if they were approved. It also remains unclear whether future governments, including the one to be chosen in the next January’s elections, will honour contracts signed now.

Baghdad, Oct 26 (DPA) Iraq announced Sunday a three-day national mourning period for the victims of the twin terror blasts in central Baghdad which killed at least 50 people and injured 260.

Head of the rescue team, Abdel Rasoul al-Zaidi, said that his men were able to put out the fire in the buildings and that they are now looking for survivors or bodies under the rubble.

‘The two explosions were so huge and have left enormous damage,’ al-Zaidi said.

Baghdad, Oct 25 – At least 132 people were killed and over 500 others injured when two trucks packed with explosives detonated in quick succession in the heart of the Iraqi capital Sunday, the interior ministry said.

‘According to latest reports, up to 132 people were killed and 512 others were injured in the massive explosions in downtown Baghdad,’ an official told Xinhua requesting anonymity.

Earlier, the official put the toll at 62 killed and 180 injured.

The attack was the second largest to target government buildings in Baghdad after the deadly blasts near two Iraqi ministries Aug 19, in which dozens of people were killed and injured.

The first explosion occurred at about 10.30 a.m. when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-filled truck near the Iraqi justice ministry in Salhiyah district of the city.

The explosion killed several people and damaged many buildings in the area. Body parts were seen scattered across the place after the blast. Dozens of cars were also destroyed.

The blast occurred close to Mansour Hotel where the staff of many foreign media organisations and companies live.

The second explosion occurred near the Baghdad Provincial Council building, just 500 meters away from the site of the first blast, when another truckload of explosives was detonated.

Thick plume of black smoke was seen rising from the buildings near the blast scenes as fire tenders rushed to the area to douse the fire.

The security forces have cordoned off the area.

Baghdad, Oct 25 – At least 25 people were killed and 40 injured in two suicide car bomb attacks in central Baghdad Sunday, an interior ministry source said.

‘The toll from the two coordinated attacks in central Baghdad rose to 25 killed and 40 others injured,’ Xinhua reported quoting the unnamed source.

A suicide bomber blew up an explosives-laden car outside the building of Baghdad Provincial Council near the Mansour Hotel, the source added.

The second blast occurred outside the Iraqi Ministry of Justice close to the location of the first bombing, when a suicide bomber blew up an explosives-packed car, he said, adding that the Iraqi security forces were investigating the incidents.

A Xinhua correspondent at the scene said at least 12 civilian cars were charred and some were totally destroyed by the powerful blasts.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the scene and fire engines arrived to put out fires as columns of black smoke rise above the scene, he said.

The two attacks appear to be the biggest since the attacks Aug 19 when suicide truck bomb attacks targeted two Iraqi ministries, killing and wounding some 1,300 Iraqis.

Baghdad, Oct 25 – At least four people were killed and eight injured in two car bomb explosions which rocked central Baghdad Sunday, an interior ministry source said.

‘Our reports said that at least four people were killed and more than eight injured in two car bomb attacks near Baghdad Provincial Council and Mosul Hotel,’ Xinhua reported quoting the unnamed the source.

At least 12 civilian cars were charred and some were totally destroyed by the powerful blasts, it reported.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the scene and fire engines arrived to put out fires as columns of black smoke rose above the scene, he said.