Latest news with #INA
Rudaw Net
a day ago
- Business
- Rudaw Net
Iraq says Turkey ready to renew, expand oil export deal
Also in Middle East PKK disarmament could be completed within four months: Kurdish lawmaker Sudani, Erdogan discuss Ankara-PKK peace talks President Barzani plays key role in PKK peace talks, says veteran politician Turkey continues to strike PKK ahead of disarmament: Watchdog A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi oil ministry said late Monday that the Turkish government has officially expressed its willingness to renew the 1973 oil export agreement with Baghdad and expand it to other fields, a day after Ankara announced the end of the deal. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not renew the 1973 Iraq-Turkey oil export agreement and the deal is set to be terminated in 2026, the country's official gazette announced on Monday. The agreement stipulates that the deal will be considered extended unless a termination note is sent by one of the parties one year before its expiration. The state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) late Monday cited an official from the Iraqi oil ministry as saying that based on this Ankara has sent a letter to Baghdad 'expressing its desire to renew the agreement and attaching a draft of a new agreement for cooperation in the energy field that is more comprehensive than the previous agreement, as it included cooperation in the fields of oil, gas, petrochemical industries, and electricity in order to expand the horizons of cooperation between the two countries." The unnamed source added that both sides have been negotiating a new deal since July 2014, noting that the Iraqi oil ministry 'is in the process of reviewing the draft agreement sent by the Turkish side and negotiating with them about it to reach a formula that serves the interests of Iraq and Turkey." Turkey has confirmed sending the letter to Iraq. The agreement was first signed between the Turkish and Iraqi governments on August 27, 1973, and has been renewed repeatedly over the years, most recently in 2010. The Iraq-Turkey crude oil pipeline was built to transport crude oil from Kirkuk and other fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. The development comes amid renewed efforts by the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to resume long-stalled oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline. Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the pipeline have been halted since March 2023 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had violated the 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to begin exporting oil independently in 2014.
Iraqi News
a day ago
- Business
- Iraqi News
Schlumberger launches development of Iraq's Akkas gas field
Baghdad ( – Deputy Oil Minister Basim Khudair said on Wednesday that Schlumberger, an international oilfield services firm, has started operations at the Akkas gas field in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. Khudair's statements came as he confirmed that multinational oil companies are increasingly seeking to invest and engage in Iraqi oil reserves, the state-run news agency (INA) reported. In April, the Iraqi cabinet authorized the Midland Oil Company's quick development plan for the Akkas gas field in western Iraq. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said at that time that Schlumberger will carry out the initial phase of the field's development. The gas field is estimated to produce 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day within a year. The Akkas gas field, discovered in 1992, contains around 5.6 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves. The Oil Ministry's Undersecretary for Gas Affairs, Izzat Sabir, stated earlier that the project will supply a gas-operated power plant in the western Iraqi province with 100 million cubic feet of gas per day. According to Sabir, this initiative will enable Anbar's power plant to generate 1,640 megawatts of electricity. This is part of a broader plan that aims to increase the gas field's production to 400 million cubic feet per day over the next four to five years. The Akkas gas field, which has large reserves, was being developed by Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), a South Korean public natural gas firm, before Ukrzemresurs, a Ukrainian oil corporation, concluded a deal for the project.
Qatar Tribune
6 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Death toll in Iraqi mall blaze rises to 61
dpa Baghdad A massive fire at a recently opened shopping mall in the Iraqi city of al-Kut killed 61 people including 14 unidentified charred bodies, the country's Interior Ministry said on Thursday. The blaze erupted overnight at the multi-storey hypermarket in the province of Wasit, around 170 kilometres south-east of Baghdad, trapping shoppers inside the place amid rising flames and heavy smoke, eyewitnesses said. Initially, the death toll was put at 50. In an update, the Interior Ministry said the fire had left 61 people dead, mostly due to choking when trapped inside toilets as a result of the heavy smoke. Civil defence crews were meanwhile able to rescue at least 45 others, according to the ministry. The fire had broken up at a five-storey commercial building comprising a hypermarket and a restaurant that was opened to the public just seven days before the disaster, according to the ministry. Iraq's state news agency INA, citing an unnamed medical source, reported that 63 people were killed and 40 others injured in the fire. Interior Minister Abdel-Amir al-Shammari ordered the formation of a committee to determine the causes of the blaze. The dead included women and children, Wasit Governor Mohammed Jamil al-Miyahi said earlier, according to INA. 'We will not be lenient towards those who directly or indirectly caused this incident,' he said, declaring three days of mourning in the province. Al-Miyahi added that findings of a preliminary investigation into the incident would be made public in 48 hours.
eNCA
6 days ago
- eNCA
Iraq shopping mall fire kills more than 60
BAGHDAD - A fire tore through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight, killing at least 61 people, authorities said Thursday as grief-stricken families searched for missing relatives. Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person told AFP his five relatives died in an elevator. The blaze the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected broke out late Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the five-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall. The cause was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded. Several people told AFP they lost family members and in some cases whole families who had gone to shop and dine at the mall days after it opened in Kut, around 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad. Footage shared on social media showed people including children standing on the roof, calling for help. An AFP correspondent reported seeing charred bodies at the province's forensic department. AFP | AHMAD AL-RUBAYE Ali Kadhim, 51, said he had been shuttling between the mall and the main hospital, where the victims were taken, looking for his cousin, who is missing along with his wife and three children. Back at the mall, he waited anxiously as rescuers searched for victims in the wreckage, with an ambulance on standby. "We don't know what happened to them," he said. An AFP correspondent at the scene said the blaze had been contained and the front of the building was severely charred. The interior ministry said in a statement that "the tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified". - 'We couldn't escape' - The official INA news agency later quoted a medical source who put the toll at 63 dead and 40 injured. Wasit provincial governor Mohammed al-Miyahi told INA the victims included men, women and children. A medical source in Kut told AFP there were "many unidentified bodies". AFP | Christy-Belle GEHA The ward of the main hospital was overwhelmed, while elsewhere, an AFP correspondent witnessed distraught relatives waiting at the forensic department for news, some collapsing in grief. One man fell apart, pounding his chest and screaming. Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he lost five family members in the fire. "A disaster has befallen us," he told AFP. "We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. "An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted -- and we couldn't escape." - Lax safety regulations - Moataz Karim, 45, rushed to the mall at midnight, only to be met with the devastating news that three of his relatives were missing. Hours later, he identified the charred bodies of two relatives, one of whom had begun working at the shopping centre three days ago. AFP | AHMAD AL-RUBAYE "There is no fire extinguishing system," he said angrily, as he waited for further news outside the forensic department. Safety standards in Iraq's construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, often experiences fatal fires and accidents. Fires increase during the blistering summer as temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked stampede for the exits. In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people. Governor Miyahi said local authorities would file a lawsuit against the mall's owner and the building contractor. "The tragedy is a major shock... and requires a serious review of all safety measures," he said. The government declared three days of mourning. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a "thorough probe" into the fire to identify "shortcomings" and prevent further incidents. Several countries, including Egypt, Iran and France, offered condolences to Iraq and the victims' families. The US embassy in Baghdad likewise offered "its deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims".
Al-Ahram Weekly
6 days ago
- Health
- Al-Ahram Weekly
55 dead in Iraq shopping mall fire: Health officials - Region
A fire tore through a shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight, killing more than 50 people, medical sources told AFP Thursday. "We have more than 50 martyrs, and many unidentified bodies," a medical source said. An official in the health department of Wasit province put the toll at 55 dead, adding that rescuers are still looking for missing victims. Wasit province governor Mohammed al-Miyahi had earlier told the official INA news agency that "the number of victims has reached 50 people, martyrs and injured, in the tragic fire at a major shopping centre". The blaze broke out late Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the Hyper Mall. The cause was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded. Ambulances were still ferrying casualties to hospitals as late as 4:00 am, filling the wards of a hospital in Kut, about 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad. An AFP correspondent said the mall had only opened five days earlier and reported seeing charred bodies at the hospital. The fire has since been contained, but firefighters were continuing to search for missing victims. Videos shared on social media showed distraught relatives waiting at the hospital for news, with some collapsing in grief. One man was seen sitting on the ground, pounding his chest and crying out, "Oh my father, oh my heart". Dozens of people gathered in front of the hospital checking ambulances as they arrived, and some of them collapsing on the floor in agony. 'We couldn't escape' One of them, Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he lost five family members in the fire. "A disaster has befallen us," he told AFP. "We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. "An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted and we couldn't escape." Miyahi declared three days of mourning and said local authorities would file a lawsuit against the mall's owner and the building contractor. An investigation into the cause was underway, the governor said, adding preliminary findings were expected within 48 hours. "The tragedy is a major shock... and requires a serious review of all safety measures," he said. Safety standards in Iraq's construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, is often the scene of fatal fires and accidents. Fires increase during the blistering summer as temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked stampede for the exits. In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
