To whome this victory: Hussain Al-Shahrisntani or Big Oil?

Unlike his previous public appearances, Iraq's Oil Minister Hussain Al-Shahristani on Tuesday was happy and friendly and never complained when local and foreign reporters circled and rained him with questions, but even I had the feeling that he was ready to talk for hours about his last achievement, the biggest in Iraq's history.

Yes, it is a victory for Al-Shahritsnai to bring UK's BP and China's CNPC to develop Iraq's biggest oil field, the 17.8-billion-barrel Rumaila, with these companies' money and according to the Iraqi terms. And even he promised that more such deals will see the light in the coming days.

Analysts say Big Oil accepted Iraqi low fees only to set foot in this country and then they will have more lucrative deals in the future. But what would happen if they find Al-Shahristani again in office in the next government? Would be any chance for any lucrative deals in the future after signing such deals now?

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Iraq's new Kurdish government takes over

Iraq's former deputy prime minister, Dr. Barham Salih and his 20-Minister Cabinet sworn in today before the parliament of the self-ruled northern Kurdish region as the region's sixth government since 1992.

What is interesting is that Salih reappointed the region's Minister of Natural Resources , Dr. Ashti Hawrami, despite the controversy that surrounds his career due to his vague oil deals.

The latest controversy is around an illegal transaction of shares in which he worked as a middleman, or may be as a businessman, between Norway's DNO and Turkey's Genel Enerji.

The other interesting thing is that assigning the Justice portfolio to judge Raouf Abdul-Rahman, a previous chief judge in Baghdad who sentenced Saddam Hussein to death in November 2006 for his role in the killing of Shiite Muslims in the town of Dujail after an assassination attempt in 1982. Saddam was hanged the following December.

For more on Salih's biography click here: http://barhamsalih.net/

kassakhoon@gmail.com

For how long Iraq will continue like this?

Despite the grief and sorrow that have engulfed Baghdad since last Sunday when two suicide car bombers killed 155 people and injured hundreds others, some upbeat news were brought amid that atmosphere.But of course will not help removing that grief.

The Associated Press reported today that Iraq's oil exports climbed almost 6 percent in the third quarter of the year, gaining $12.18 billion in revenues versus $9.57 billion in the prior quarter.Daily oil exports averaged 1.998 million barrels per day compared to an average of 1.885 barrels per day in the preceding quarter.

How much of these money will be spent to renovate the buildings, roads and other infrastructure which were destroyed in Sunday's attacks? how much of these revenues will be allocated to buy more or new "technologically advanced" equipment to detect bombs or stop the suicide bombers?

And for how long Iraq will continue like this: spends what it earns to fix things damaged by the war or buys weapons or loses what it earns due corruption?

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Another dagger in Baghdad's heart

At least 736 families are grieved now.Some 155 of them lost their beloved ones while the rest have their beloved ones wounded in today's explosions in the heart of Baghdad.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Do I need to tell you who you are?

Iraq's 2003 war aimed at grabbing the country's oil not for Mass Destruction Weapons. And China has become the envy of the rest of the world specially the U.S. as the energy-thirsty nation has so far secured two oil deals with Iraq and it keeps its eyes open on other lucrative deals in this country.

That was summarized by the U.S. oil tycoon T. Boon Pickens comments which were made Wednesday before the Congress in which he claimed a share in Iraq's oil in return to the lost lives of the American troops and the money the American taxpayer spent in Iraq.

"They're opening them (oil fields) up to other companies all over the world ... We're entitled to it," Reuters quoted Pickens as saying of Iraq's oil. "Heck, we even lost 5,000 of our people, 65,000 injured and a trillion, five hundred billion dollars."

"We leave there with the Chinese getting the oil," Pickens said.

Mr. Pickens, the Chinese are smarter than you, they have morals and they value their and other peoples' lives.They are not killers, gang leaders and thugs. They respect other countries' people and never humiliate them or destroy their houses, schools, mosques or violate their honor.

Do I need to tell you who you are?

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Ashti Hawrami to be brought before parliament

The regional parliament of Iraq's self-ruled Kurdistan Regional Government will summoned its Natural Resources Minister, Ashti Hawrami, on Monday to investigate the vague and outlawed shares' transaction with the Norway's DNO ASA oil company, a local daily reported Saturday.

During the investigating session, Hawrami is supposed to clarify the deals he had with the DNO when secretly bought 43 million of its shares and then sold them, also secretly, to Turkey's Genel Enejri, according to Hawlati’s interview with Kurdish lawmaker Sherwan Haidary.

Hawrami will face tough questions from at least quarter of the 111-seat parliament members who won remarkable number of seats after July's regional elections.They were tapping into widespread frustration over alleged corruption and intimidation by the longtime ruling establishment.

The expected investigation will definitely embarrass the region's designated Prime Minister, Barham Salih, who, according to some Kurdish politicians, wants to reinstate Hawrami in this position.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

It is still scandal, more to come

The Minister of Natural Resources in Iraq's Kuridstan Regional Government, Ashti Hawrami is now asking Norway's DNO International ASA to "find ways to remedy, and to our full satisfaction, the damage done to the KRG reputation," the KRG Web site says.

And in a bid to present himself as an honest man who raged by the reveal for his name by Oslo Stock Exchange as the secret middleman to sell DNO's shares to Turkey's Genel Enerji, Hawrami ordered the suspension of all DNO's oil operations in the region for six weeks until it finds these ways.And if not he will terminate the DNO's involvement in the region.

I challenge you that you will not to do it Mr. Hawrami.And it is still a scandal and I'm sure that more scandals will come soon.

Dear Mr. Hawrami, nothing in the Iraqi law allows you to do what you said it was "with the sole intention of helping DNO to raise the capital required for its projects in the Kurdistan Region" and "to be supportive of the companies working in the Kurdistan Region."

Simply put, you have breached Iraq's Penalty Law No. 111 in 1969 and the Civil-servant Disciplinary Law No. 14 in 1991.

Both laws say that any civil servant in the Iraqi government, from the lowest levels to the president of the state, has no right by any mean to practice any work outside his governmental job especially the commercial activities.

Such acts, which you described as to fall in your "official capacity as minister, and not on a personal basis", are considered by these two laws as either bribe or exploiting governmental position for raising money illegally. The penalty for the two cases could send you to the prison for up to three years.

And therefore, the regional parliament has the right now to summoned you for investigation, but just like other Iraqi officials I'm sure you will say "I'm not an Iraqi citizen, I hold another nationality so the Iraqi law doesn't apply on me."

Am I right?

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Disappearing marshlands

Iraq's once-lush southern marshlands area is disappearing as it has reached almost the same level during Saddam-era, a report issued in a UN-affiliated Web Site says.

The UN IRINnews gives scary figures; from 8,350sqkm in 1973 to 835sqkm by 2003 due to upstream dam construction in Iraq, Turkey and Iran and Saddam's drainage operations to chase down Shiite insurgents.

By 2006-2007 only about 75 percent of the marshlands as they were in the 1970s had been restored.But now only 10-12 percent of the current marshland area is covered by water due to low water levels of the Tigris and Euphrates and below average rainfall.

What else Iraq is going to lose?

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Sorry for misunderstanding you

The Minister of Natural Resources in Iraq's self-ruled Kurdistan Regional Government, Ashti A. Hawrami, was not working for his pocket sake when acted as a secret middleman in a transaction of 43 million DNO International shares last year.But instead his intention was to be "supportive" as much as he can to the western oil companies working in the KRG.

That's the core of the Sept. 19th statementt made by KRG which written by Hawrami's senior adviser, Dr. Khaled Salih, to face the scandal that had come to surface a day before with publishing the results of a probe done by Oslo Stock Exchange which found that the deal was arranged the between Hawrami and DNO Chief Executive Officer Helge Eide.

Salih said facilitating the treasury shares transaction was a "sole intention of helping DNO to raise the capital required for its projects" in KRG. WOW!, IT SOUNDS THAT DNO KNOWS ONLY KRG AND ITS HAWRAMI IN THIS WORLD TO OFFER SUCH A HELP.

He added: "We wish to make it absolutely clear that neither the KRG nor any of its ministries, officials, employees or advisers has benefited directly or indirectly, through DNO or Genel Enerji, from the transaction or subsequent resale of the shares referred to by OSE." O REALLY!, GOOD TO TELL ME THAT...SORRY FOR MISUNDERSTANDING YOU.

I would like to ask Dr. Salih this question: does the the Iraqi law permit Hawrami to offer such a help? Only one law permits your master to do so; it is your law according to which you granted more than two dozens of production sharing contracts on no-bid basis to these companies.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

The secret middleman and Salih

The first scandal for the Minister of Natural Resources in Iraq's self-ruled Kurdistan Regional Government, Ashti A. Hawrami, has just come to surface, a report by Bloomberg News reveals.

The Sept. 18 report says that a probe by Oslo Stock Exchange found that Hawrami was the secret middleman in a transaction of 43 million DNO International shares last year. And the transaction was arranged between Hawrami and DNO Chief Executive Officer Helge Eide.

That simply helps to understand Hawrami's underground deals with the international companies that have secured lucrative deals in northern Iraq on no-bid basis. I'm sure that there will be more to come in the coming days or months or years about this man and his vague deals.

According to a Sept. 6 report by Reuters, Hawrami was expected to be reappointed in the yet-to-be-formed new KRG government by former Kurdish deputy prime minister, Dr. Barham Salih.

Salih now faces his first exam.

kassakhoon@gmail.com

Iraq-Shell gas deal delayed or not?

Once again Iraqi Oil Minister, Hussein al-Shahristani issues statements differ from the ones his close aides issue and that could explain a gap between the politician and the technocrat inside the Ministry of Oil. Or what the politician and the technocrat want.

Few days ago, senior Deputy Oil Minister, Ahmed al-Shamaa told Reuters that the Iraq-Royal Dutch Shell final deal to make use of the flared gas in the south was likely to be postponed until after the Jan. 16 national elections, citing current political strife. It was planned to be finalized this month.

But al-Shahristani, a politician more than anything else, denied Wednesday that the multi-billion-dollar deal will be postponed, the Dow Jones Newswire's Hassan Hafidh reported from Vienna. "No," al-Shahristani told reporters when asked if the deal is going to be postponed. "We are negotiating with Shell," he added.

Al-Shahristani is in dire need to collect as much as he can from the "achievements cards" to face his political foes when summon by the parliament and to enhance his position when runs in the coming elections along with Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki.

While al-Shamaa, an advocate to the deal, is realizing that he deal will be dead if it will be negotiated by the current government.Al-Shamaa's comments also reflected he desire of Shell for not signing the deal with outgoing government.

kassakhoon@gmail.com