Shafaq News/ On Thursday, Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with the newly appointed commander of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, Maj. Gen. Kevin Leahy to discuss the situation in Iraq and ongoing efforts to combat ISIS with the US Consul General in Erbil, also in attendance.
"During the meeting, we discussed the general situation in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and Syria, as well as the efforts being made to counter the threats posed by ISIS and terrorism in general," Barzani said.
He added, "We congratulated the Commander on his new position and expressed our gratitude for the continued support provided by the United States and the International Coalition to the Kurdistan Region."
In turn, Maj. Gen. Leahy emphasized the importance of the partnership and highlighted the significance of the "shared struggle" between the Kurdistan Region and the United States.
[via WiserNow] ...If it all pans out, we'll get our emails [Wednesday] – set our appointments...start as early as [Wednesday] or Thursday...Rate wise...we saw what...the dinar and dong were a few days ago...and...the redemption center screens are going to be much higher than the bank screens. Just so you know, redemption center screens are significantly higher.
Not to mention the fact that, if you're a dinar holder... and are a US citizen, you will be offered a contract rate.
What is the contract rate?
Contract rate is what a barrel of oil in Iraq is selling for, in USN dollars, whatever the per barrel price of oil is that Iraq is selling...to...other countries...That's what we are being offered. That's the contract rate, and it's pretty high.
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Bruce
[via WiserNow]
When do we get notified?
The latest information has been all over the place...but I can tell you the latest information that I believe is reliable is saying we will receive notifications sometime Tuesday...That would be the 20th...
And that would be great. Then we probably will be setting our appointments, more than likely, for Wednesday, with some possibility of Tuesday afternoon...
INTEL ONLY
***WHERE ARE WE NOW???***
Gem Finch, [16/08/2024 12:29 PM]
First R&R - new information today the money from BC and Divorce Decree or Death Certificate parent’s spouse there were four areas traded as bonds. The other thing is interest we paid on mortgages and bank loans for cars or whatever? And for some of the older folks so older people will get a pretty big chunk – now for those in the currencies and Zim and those with Zim - we will get our R&R put into our QFS accounts.
They should tell us that and how much it’s going to be before the total from the exchanges are added. When it comes to the QFS - so the Quantum Card thicker than a CC and has three chips but we never carry that around with us and we only use it to move funds into your primary and secondary accounts, from the QFS account. You can move to three different banks. You don’t use it for anything else - it’s not a CC /Debit card and you don’t ever want to lose it.
Access to the QFS we will get the R&R into that account and know what that is before the other funds are added. Now here is the other thing to access the QFS they’ll use a biometric finger or thumb print and username and password all of which have to be written down and all other passwords at that exchange. And a five digit ID number and a new email address all you have to add to access your QFS accounts. So this is backed by the New UST - Bruce is saying gmail is a safe email.
We know when the R&R is happening for us - but for non-exchanges because this goes to anyone 28 years and older and the green card holders you need to have had your card for 18 month minimum. Say you're 55 or younger – but this will be deposited directly into your bank account. They know what your bank account is because of the Ssecurity you had to use and this all starts on Monday 19th August and could take up to 7 days to show up and you’ll know when you have a deposit - email/phone call or online notification. And for the older folks its substantial – but for the younger ones under 35 that says you won’...FOR READ MORE: https://dinarevaluation.blogspot.com/2024/08/where-are-we-now-intel-only-by-gem.html
Shafaq News/ On Thursday, Iraq's Ministry of Oil confirmed its dedication to the voluntary production cuts agreed upon within the OPEC+ framework.
In a statement, the ministry emphasized its role in stabilizing global oil markets, noting that “it has taken concrete steps to reduce production levels in line with the group's decisions, while addressing excess output from previous months.”
According to the statement, the ministry has also submitted an updated compensation plan to the OPEC Secretariat, outlining “the details and procedures to ensure full compliance with its commitments.”
Iraq, OPEC's second-largest producer, relies on oil exports for more than 92% of its state budget, exporting 60% of its crude oil to Asia, 25% to Europe, and 15% to the US.
Building and growing your financial bases will be easier when you have money...The name of the game to replenish your wealth means that you invest in positive cash flow business ventures even if you go out and buy a Pizza Hut just as long as it has a positive cash flow to help support your lifestyle that you would like to live in.
You replenish your wealth by investing in business ventures that will bring you moremonthly income. That's how you maintain and generate and grow your wealth.
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Sandy Ingram
Iraq just delayed the US group exit. It's a big deal. Iraq has chosen to delay the announcement of a departure date for the US-led military coalition.
This comes amidst escalating tensions between Israel and Iran...Currently around 2,500 US troops remain in Iraq...This delay in setting a withdrawal date underscores the Iraqi government's challenging position amidst internal and external pressures. Stay tuned for more updates as this situation continues to unfold.
Sandy Ingram
Research says 70% of all lottery winners are broke within 3 to 5 years after they win the lottery. These numbers are almost as high for ex-NFL football players who once they are no longer playing football go broke... They're doing exactly what I am strongly recommending you don't do. They are living off their winnings. You want to get into a mindset of replenishing your wealth. It will be easier to build more wealth once you have wealth. Money begot money. Money attracts money.
Sandy Ingram
The news from the Middle East has gone haywire. There appears to be consistent and organized misinformation coming out of the Middle East. [I] will do everything in [my] power to report correct and confirmed news reports...
Sandy Ingram
Iraq did not follow Kuwait's revalue path. The Untied States pulled back on financial support for Iraq's revalue shortly after the invasion was over when they made the decision that were not in alignment with economic growth for Iraq. It's been 20 years and the currency still has not been revalued...
We are learning more about why including issues like the IMF will not support a currency adjustment until the county has more income streams outside the oil industry, implementing banking reform that ties into international banking standards and providing housing for the hundred of thousands of people who have been misplaced due to decades of war, not to mention...corruption.
Sandy Ingram
Question: "How is Iraq going to do business in the international market with such a low currency rate?"
This is why Iraq will need to increase the value of its currency. Currency values... act as a silent force influencing a country's global competitiveness. When a country's currency value is low it can impact it's ability to compete...Iraq's top trading partners are China, India, South Korea and on the sidelines Iran. However things are about to change and fast. The development road project places Iraq right in the middle of the global financial markets. [We] have little doubt the Iraqi dinar will increase in value but we don't know when or how much.
A major financial change in Vietnam...Decree 52 regulates non-cash payment in Vietnam and will significantly alter Vietnam's financial landscape...Decree 52 marks a significant milestone in Vietnam's journey towards a cashless economy. If you have VND bank notes you will need to find out how you can comply with Decree 52 as a foreigner. [We] will research the topic and report back as soon as we understand the procedure. According to the news report the banks have 24 months to comply...
Shafaq News / The American magazine “Forbes” highlighted the doors open to American companies in the Iraqi energy sector, considering that the United States government, in order to neutralize Iran, is working with these companies to accelerate efforts in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who described it as “pro-business sector,” in order to achieve Iraq’s independence from Iran in the field of energy by 2030.
The magazine indicated in a report translated by Safaq News Agency that the American companies “KBR, Transatlantic Petroleum, Honeywell/UOP, Baker Hughes, Emerson, Arc Energy and GE” are working with the Baghdad-based company “RASEP” in the field of infrastructure and energy development, in order to develop what could be one of the largest oil and gas fields in the world, specifically in the Ben Omar River in southern Iraq.
The report pointed out that the project includes an escort facility for the export of liquefied natural gas near Basra, which can become operational during the current decade, while France-based Technip Energies will develop the plan and feasibility study for the LNG terminal, adding that other aspects of the project are gas collection, compression and central processing and the laying of more than 400 kilometers of pipelines.
The report quoted RASEP Director Ahmed Imad Al-Mohsen, as saying that exports of liquefied oil gas and condensates alone can generate $100 million to enter the Iraqi treasury annually.
After the report pointed out that the Iraqi government agreed to establish the first liquefied natural gas import terminal in the southern port of Al Faw, which can be converted into an export terminal, Al-Mohsed said that Iraq is a welcome market for US energy and technology companies.
According to Al-Mohsen, US investments contribute to the stability of Iraq’s economy, the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, the strengthening of Iraqi finances, reconstruction and dealing with emission reduction goals, adding that this helps “strengthen US government initiatives towards climate change.”
The report quoted KBR’s head of sustainable technology solutions, Jay Ibrahim, asserting the importance of timing that.
The report pointed out that KBR has been working in Iraq since the seventies of the last century, and has recently employed more than 500 people, including 150 Iraqis to work on the development of the energy and electricity sector.
The report also stated that during the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani to Washington last April, KBR signed a contract worth $12 million to deal with the engineering side of the Ben Omar project, after which it will manage the project, engineering, procurement and reconstruction.
According to Ibrahim, Iraqi ministers are working in a way that the government shows that it is working with the private sector in a new way, which is “exciting and new and has never done before.”
The U.S. report said the ultimate goal is to produce natural gas, build electrical infrastructure, provide excess energy to allies and stop relying on Iran for energy.
The report quoted Al-Mohsen as saying that Iraq spends “about $5 billion a year on importing Iranian gas.”
According to former US Undersecretary of Defense Robert Welke, Iran’s reserves in 2021 when President Donald Trump left office was only $5 billion, adding that Iran currently exports 1 million barrels of oil per day, explaining that the Iranians “have returned to the Shah’s levels, which were present in the 1970s.”
The report added that Iran is currently exporting oil to 17 countries, including China, Oman and Bangladesh, noting that it consumes most of its natural gas production except for what it exports to Iraq.
He added that Iran has the largest gas reserves in the world after Russia, shares gas fields in the Gulf with Qatar, and exported 18.04 billion cubic meters of gas via pipelines in 2022.
The report quoted the Washington Institute as saying that Iran’s oil exports, more than tripled during the Biden administration “due to the easing of U.S. sanctions and increased Chinese demand for crude oil subject to substantial rebates.”
After the report noted that the Trump administration was able to prevent Iran from producing at the levels it currently is, Welke was quoted as saying that “Iran is back. And their cabinets are full, and they are able to cause problems all over the planet, especially in their region.”
While the report noted that given the ease of transporting Iranian power to neighboring countries, it is becoming relatively cheap, Wilke was quoted as saying that “so it is its price, and the cost of that is significant.”
According to Wilke, the development of Iraq’s energy sector is part of a larger effort to ensure U.S. national security and stability in the Middle East, explaining that “in terms of U.S. national security, looking at Iran only as Iran is not the right way to look at it,” adding that “you have to look at it as part of a trilogy involving Moscow and Beijing, and therefore weakening the Iranians, weakens the Chinese and weakens the Russians.”
Welke explained that weakening these governments requires beyond making Iraq independent in the energy field, which includes making the United States more in control of energy so that countries do not have to rely on Russian gas or Iranian oil, noting that during the Trump era the United States was able to secure cheap gas and oil for “our friends” while imposing sanctions and banning Iranian oil sales mainly.
“In theory, anything that allows countries on the outskirts of Iraq to be stronger, is a counterweight to Iranian pressure, and the Iranians will have nothing to provide for a country that has enough energy,” the report quoted Wilke as saying.
Welke spoke of “strategic calculations” for the Trump administration, namely how to establish a special “deterrence loop” about Iran, and that the “Ibrahim Accords” were the focus of that strategy.
“We were working on the Saudis when Trump left office, bringing the Saudis closer to the anti-Iran ring involving Israel with U.S. backed,” Welke was quoted as saying, adding that anything Saudi Arabia could do to challenge Iranian influence “would make sense from a military-strategic perspective.”
He noted that if Trump wins the upcoming election, he “will be a renewed push for the full inclusion of the Saudis to this alliance.”
While the report said Iraq’s oil production increased according to the International Energy Agency, it noted that Iraq struggled to lock up and process the gas, leaving its electric system at risk.
“The main pain point in the country is the lack of electricity as during the summer, there is a deficit of about 12 hours a day of electricity supply,” the report quoted Al-Mohsen as saying.
While noting that the associated gas burning poses a huge risk to the environment and government revenues, Mohsen said that one of the “top priorities on the prime minister’s agenda” is to limit the gas burning.
The report continued that “RASEP” became the first Iraqi company to lead a gas development project in the country, pointing out that the government is currently working on building electricity transmission lines to connect it to Kuwaiti, Jordanian and Turkish electricity networks.
The report mentioned the results of Sudan’s visit to Washington and the joint statement that indicated the United States’ support for Iraqi energy efforts, including the completion of the connection of the electrical network with neighboring countries including Jordan and other Gulf countries, and on helping Iraq reopen the pipeline and Turkey.
“The US government supports such initiatives that promote energy independence in Iraq, which will sever all ties and all natural gas and energy imports from Iran,” Al-Mohsen was quoted as saying, noting that Washington has “long pressed for the severing of relations with Iran.”
According to the mohenceful, the funds payable from the Iraqi side to the Iranian side are in US dollars, which is a source of funding for the Iranian government.
He pointed out that US companies have so far been focused on rebuilding the Iraqi government, and that most of those companies have dealt with the Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Electricity, but the private sector in Iraq has not been fully strengthened.
“We have open doors to invest in energy projects, and we are the first Iraqi company to carry out a gas development project,” the report quoted Al-Mohsen as saying. In the past, this was intended for the government side, and covered by the government,” he said, noting that international companies would participate in the upcoming licensing rounds to develop the oil and gas fields.