EDITORIAL : THE AZZAMAN, IRAQ

Relative security lures foreign firms to once ‘too dangerous’ Iraq

Local newspapers carry daily reports on foreign firms striking new contracts with Iraqi ministries and provincial authorities.

Relative security and massive oil revenues have persuaded many firms that the risks involved in working in Iraq are worthwhile.

Iraqi oil exports now have passed 2 million barrels a day at a time oil prices on international markets have been soaring due to instability in other oil-producing countries such as Libya.

Baghdad residents enjoy a relative degree of quiet they had lost in the years since the 2003-U.S. invasion.

Several foreign firms have started developing gigantic oil fields in the south and others are involved in reconstruction, mainly in the country’s rickety power sector.

With Iraqi provinces having more power on how to spend their allocations and with oil-producing provinces earning one dollar for each barrel of oil they churn out, many foreign firms are bypassing the central government and striking deals directly with provincial officials.

Some provinces are more stable and secure than others and foreign firms willing to work in Iraq and reap the benefit have that factor in mind.

There is more competition for contracts in southern provinces like Najaf, Karbala, Wasit, Muthana and even Basra than Kirkuk, Nineveh, Anbar or Diyala.

Karbala this week signed a contract with the Swedish Scania for the import of 600 tourist buses.

The Koreans have signed deals for the construction of four power plants each with a capacity of 130 megawatts.

Firms from the United Arab Emirates are heavily involved in reconstruction.

This month, a U.A.E. firm, Dubai Holding, said it was interested in investing $30 billion to construct a modern city in Karbala.

Swiss, U.S. and Brazilian firms are working on developing oil fields and digging new oil wells across the country.

In Wassit, where the Chinese are developing a new oil field with a capacity of 120,000 barrels a day, the provincial officials are keen to put an end to electricity shortages in their province.

The Brazilians are reported to have offered the construction of several small-scale power plants with various capacities and have them ready in two months.

Needs in Iraq are huge. With the expected hike in oil production, the country is not expected to have payment problems.