UK Companies in Iraq
Corporate Carve Up: UK Companies in Iraq – Top Ten
1. AMEC – £500m (approx)
Construction
Subcontractor on $154m Fluor contract to restore electrical power systems (Feb 2004)[1]
Joint contract with Fluor to ‘provide design-build services for construction, rehabilitation, operation, and maintenance of power generation facilities’ $500m from USAID (March 11 2004)[2]
Joint contract with Fluor to ‘provide design-build construction services for water resource projects in the northern and southern regions of Iraq’ $500m and $600m from USAID (March 11 2004)[3]
Unknown sum from Centcom contract;[4]
‘Federal spending in Iraq has helped Amec make a positive start to 2005.’ (May 2005)[5]
2. Aegis – £246.5m+
Private security
Three-year $430m Pentagon contract to coordinate military/security companies in Iraq: ‘a workforce the size of a military division; and may rank as the largest corporate military ever assembled’ (June 2004, extended by another year in 2005).'[6]
Turnover of Aegis has gone from £554,000 (2003), to £62m (2005); three-quarters of this from work in Iraq.[7]
3. Erinys – £86m+
Private security
$50m from US Army Corps of Engineers. $100m to protect oil fields (2003 to December 2004)[8]
4. Petrel Resources (Anglo-Irish) – £56.6m
Petroleum
Awarded $197.4m (£113.17m) contract to develop Subba and Luhais oil fields by Ministry of Oil (September 2005)[9]. Have formed a joint venture with Makman oil and gas, in which each will take 50%.[10]
5. HSBC – £36.88m (stake in Dar es Salaam bank)
Financial
Has bought 70% of Dar es Salaam Investment Bank, (which has assets of $91.1m)[11]. HSBC share is therefore £36,881,225. HSBC profit from Middle East business rose 25% in 2004.[12]
6. Cummins UK – £25.8m+
www.cummins.com/eu/pages/en/distributors/uk/index.cfm
Power
$45m from sale of power stations.[13] ‘To date we have supplied four power stations: 2MW for the Forum in Baghdad, 4MW for the El Rasheed Hotel (USAID), 5MW for the airport and 8MW for the US army.’
7. PB Power – £24.88m
$43.4 ‘Provide program management office support for the electrical services sector’ (March 10 2004).[14]
8. Control Risks – £23.5m+
Private security
Unknown proportion of $500m; subcontractor for Parsons USAID buildings contract.[15] (March 2004)
£23.5m from UK government for protection squads; figure disputed by CR (March 2004)[16]
‘one of the largest British PSCs in Iraq'[17]; 2004 turnover £80m[18]. Has over 250 personnel in Iraq (June 2005)[19].
9. MerchantBridge – £22.07m (capitalisation)
Financial
‘lead advisor’ to Iraq Ministry of Industry and Minerals for factory lease programme (Jan 2004)[20]
Launched Mansour Bank (Sep 2005), capitalised at $38.5m; 90% from Iraqi investors.[21]
10. Global Risk Strategies – £15.4m (at least)
Private security
Has 2,000 staff in Iraq.[22] Received $27m contract to distribute new Dinar (May 2004).[23] Guarded part of Baghdad airport (May 2004).[24]
References
[1] ‘AMEC Wins Leading UK Role in Rebuilding Iraq’, AMEC press release, 17/02/04 www.amec.com/news/mediareleasedetails.asp?Pageid=876&MediaID=852
[2] Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF) — Major Project Contractors, 2004, www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/2207_appx3.pdf
[3] Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF) — Major Project Contractors, 2004, www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/2207_appx3.pdf; ‘Exports to Iraq rise 150% in first half of year’, FT, September 27, 2005
[4] www.export.gov/iraq/pdf/contracts04_print.pdf
[5] ‘Iraq Boost for Amec’, Building Magazine, 18/05/05, www.building.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3051238§ioncode=284
[6] ‘From Mercenaries to Peacemakers?’, Corporate Watch (US), 29/11/05, www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12829
[7] ‘Dog of War Builds £62m Business’, Sunday Times, 05/02/06, http://corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13229
[8] ‘Out of the shadows? “Silent partners” deliver safety and security in a dangerous world’, Pipeline Magazine, (September 2005) www.pipelinedubai.com/feat/2005/security.htm
[9] ‘Petrel Signs Iraqi Contract’, 02/12/05, www.petrelresources.com/_latestNews/news_archive.asp?newsID=13
[10] ‘Petrel Resources enters into Joint Venture to develop Subba & Luhais oil field’, 06/01/06, www.petrelresources.com/_latestNews/news_archive.asp?newsID=14
[11] HSBC press release, 28/10/05, http://www.hsbc.com/hsbc/news_room/news/
news-archive-2005?cp=/public/groupsite/news_room/
2005_archive/dar_es_salaam_investment_bank.jhtml&isPc=true
[12] www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=aGB0Btl54tMc&refer=uk
[13] Cummins profile, UK Power Companies in Iraq, UKTI, June 2005
[14] www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/2207_appx3.pdf, ‘Australia turns to experts at PB Power’, UK Newsquest Regional Press – This is The NorthEast, September 14, 2004
[15] Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF) — Major Project Contractors, 2004, www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/2207_appx3.pdf
[16] ‘A fistfull of contractors’, British American Security Council, 04/09/0, p.9 www.basicint.org/pubs/Research/2004PMC2iii.pdf
[17] ‘HSBC eyes stake in Iraqi bank’, Times, January 29, 2005
[18] ‘HSBC eyes stake in Iraqi bank’, Times, January 29, 2005
[19] Control Risks profile, UK Power Companies in Iraq, UKTI, June 2005
[20] www.ameinfo.com/33857.html
[21] www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?storyid=108206
[22] ‘War’s fertile grounds for soldiers of fortune’, Sunday Times, 30/10/05, http://corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12711
[23] ‘The Baghdad boom’, Economist, 25/03/04, www.sandline.com/hotlinks/Economist-Baghdad.html
[24] ‘Don’t call us mercenaries, says British company with lucrative contracts and cheap labour’, Guardian, 17/05/04, http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,11816,1218365,00.html