Free Republic

Iraq: Danish Soldier Killed, Two U.S. Soldiers Wounded Copenhagen, 17 August 2003 (RFE/RL) -- A Danish soldier has been killed in a clash with Iraqi gunmen in Al-Basrah, Danish Army command in Copenhagen confirmed today. The soldier, the first Danish casualty in Iraq, was killed when his patrol was shot at. Two Iraqis died in the exchange of fire. Denmark has 420 soldiers stationed in southern Iraq. In Baghdad, a U.S. military spokesman says two U.S. soldiers were shot and wounded as they left a Baghdad restaurant. The spokesman said today the attack occurred yesterday. He said the injuries were...

Oil firms promised lucrative deals in return for hefty commissions – MEES editor London, Iraq Press, July 29, 2003 – Several Iraqi officials are embroiled in murky contacts with foreign oil firms, MEES editor-in-chief Walid Khadouri has said. In an interview with the London-based Azzaman newspaper, Khadouri, a respected worldwide authority on Middle East affairs and energy, said Iraqi politicians are in talks with foreign oil firms to "facilitate the garnering of investment contracts in the Iraqi oil sector. "A number of current (Iraqi) officials are involved in attempts to gain commissions for facilitating the work of these companies …,"...

Iraq's oil minister announced yesterday that three oil production contracts signed by the previous regime with Russian and Chinese companies would be either terminated or frozen, according to Reuters news agency. The move seems likely to plunge Iraq into complex international litigation, just days after the United Nations voted to end sanctions against Iraq. Thamir Ghadhban, US- appointed oil minister, said a contract with the Russian oil giant Lukoil had been terminated, while another contract with a Chinese company to develop al-Ahdab field had been frozen by "mutual agreement". The fate of the third contract was unclear. French, Russian, and...

<p>May 25, 2003 -- With 13 years of crippling economic sanctions finally lifted, Iraq is set to resume oil exports next month, an interim government official said yesterday, a major step toward rebuilding the country's economy.</p> <p>"By two to three weeks, Iraq will be back in the market," said Thamir Ghadhban, director of Iraq's oil ministry, at a news conference. "It will take a few weeks but we should be producing 1.3 to 1.5 million barrels per day by the middle of next month."</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq May 24 — The acting oil minister of postwar Iraq predicted Saturday that crude production would double within a month and oil exports would resume "within three weeks."Thamer al-Ghadhban said Iraq was currently producing 700,000 barrels of oil a day and working hard under U.S. occupation to increase that number as quickly as possible."It is a matter of a few weeks, and we can reach 1.3 or 1.5 million barrels a day," al-Ghadhban said at a coalition-sponsored news conference in the capital.Prewar production under Saddam Hussein was about 3 million barrels daily.Iraq is being watched closely by the...

The acting oil minister of post-war Iraq predicts that crude production will double within a month and oil exports could resume "within three weeks". Thamer al-Ghadhban said Iraq was currently producing 700,000 barrels of oil a day and working hard under US occupation to increase that number as quickly as possible. "It is a matter of a few weeks, and we can reach 1.3 or 1.5 million barrels a day," al-Ghadhban said at a coalition-sponsored news conference in the capital. Pre-war production under Saddam Hussein was about 3 million barrels daily. Iraq is being watched closely by the world's financial...