Azzaman reports that French company Alstom has started work on a new power plant in Diyala.

The 730 megawatts plant will be one of he largest in the country, and is being built at a cost of $450 million.

Electricity Minister Abdulkarim Aftan, accompanied by representatives from Alston, laid the foundation stone for the project last week.

The project is planned to be completed within 18 months.

(Source: Azzaman)

The head of the joint management committee at the giant Rumaila oilfield has told Reuters that BP will issue tenders for the drilling of 150 new oil wells in the second half of this year.

Salah Mohammad said there would be three tenders of 50 wells each, and added that 300 wells are planned over the next five years.

Reuters also reports that more than 20 firms are competing to build a 300,000-bpd production facility for the project; a decision is expected in early 2014.

(Source: Reuters)

(Picture: a wellhead at Rumaila)

Agency: Department of the Army

Office: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Location: USACE Middle East District

Solicitation Number: W912ER-13-R-0050

Notice Type: Presolicitation

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) Middle East District intends to solicit names of construction firms experienced in working in the Middle East region who are interested in submitting a firm-fixed price offer for this project.

PROJECT SCOPE: This project includes the following elements:

a. Design and construct a floating pier, approximately 165m in length, for berthing of vessels with draft of up to 6 meters. This new pier will connect to an existing fixed concrete pier by means of a new ramp or gangway that is included in this design-build contract. The proposed pier will include utility connections to existing or future infrastructure to include electrical shore power connections, compressed air, fresh (non-potable) water, fuel lines and lighting.

b. Design and construct supporting facilities for the floating pier. These Supporting facilities include electrical, water and fuel infrastructure, transformers, site work, a paved road connecting the pier to existing road infrastructure and drainage.

c. Design and execute an initial dredging operation from the boundary of the commercial port to the southern border of Iraq as shown in the attached figure. The approximate dredging area is 300,000 square meters and the approximate volume of dredged material to be removed is 900,000 cubic meters, including a 1.0 meter overdredge tolerance. The contractor will construct a dredged materials disposal area in an authorized location adjacent to the dredging area. The contractor will provide a dredged material disposal system that allows for dredging operations with no interruption of navigational traffic in the existing nearby channels.

d. For one entire year, after the initial dredging is complete, the contractor will provide maintenance dredging to maintain the required design depth. The contractor will prepare and provide an engineered maintenance dredging plan and schedule which satisfies the maintenance dredging requirements.

As part of the design effort, the contractor must prepare a detailed project site conditions report. This report shall include the results of several studies and investigations of the project area, including (but not limited to) geotechnical studies, navigational studies, a hydrographic survey and a bathymetric survey.

The anticipated period of performance is 365 calendar days for the Project. A firm fixed price contract will be awarded to a prime construction contractor. The magnitude of the project is between $10,000,000 and $25,000,000.

A deadly few days, in which more than 200 have been killed in Iraq, have caused fearful glances at potential wider Sunni-Shi’ite conflict in the Middle East.

Sarah Sheffer reports:

The company has begun work on Princess Tower – a 26-storey, luxury furnished apartment complex in the heart of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

The US$ 100 million project is the first stage of a long-term commitment to the country, said Ziad El Chaar, Managing Director, DAMAC Properties:

“Iraq is a key market for us and the Princess Tower is a clear sign of our commitment to build luxurious living environments in a country which is seeing strong investment and capital growth.

“Iraqi nationals are looking to own in their own property in Iraq and the population is growing 2.3% according to the World Bank as people return.”

The tower will include three bedroom fully-furnished luxury apartments in addition to a private Health Club & swimming pool, Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, Gymnasium and state-of-the-art 24-hour security. Once complete in 2016 Princes Tower will be one of the highest residential towers in Baghdad providing much needed exclusive living.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that Iraq’s economy would grow around nine percent this year helped by surging oil production, which is expected to gain around 10 percent to 3.3 million barrels a day. The report added the Iraqi economy had gained around eight percent in 2012.

DAMAC Properties has also recently opened up an office in the Karrada district of Baghdad and will soon finish a company headquarters in Mansour.

The company is also working closely with many departments within the Iraqi Government, to start work on a master development in many of the major cities. DAMAC Properties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Iraqi Ministry of Housing on the final day of Cityscape 2012 to provide expertise and insight for a number of residential and commercial projects in Baghdad and the surrounding region.

(Source: DAMAC)

In an interview with Al Jazeera from London, Sabah al-Mukhtar, a political analyst said, he doubts that a federal system could work in Iraq.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Mukhtar said. “The idea of federation cannot be based on sectarian or ethnicity. It’s usually a geographical situation”.

Mukhtar also said that there is “no effective” government in Iraq that could solve the recent sectarian violence.

“The dictatorship of Saddam Hussein has been replaced by the dictatorship of Maliki,” he said, referring to Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki:

National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) has awarded an irrigation project known as East Gharraf [Gharaf], reports The News.

A  spokesperson for the company said that Dr Mansoor Ahmad Hashmi, vice president of Water Resources Division at Nespak, will sign the agreement with the Ministry of Water Resources in Iraq by the end of this month.

The company will provide engineering consultancy services, including updating topographic survey data and detailed design of irrigation and drainage networks of the project area.

The project aims to providing sustainable irrigation and drainage facilities to about 390,000 acres of land in the areas of Nassiriya and Kut.

(Source: The News)

Shell is to start producing crude at the Majnoon oil field (pictured) as early as next month.

Bloomberg quotes the company’s regional vice president, Mounir Bouaziz, as saying that output will start “around mid-year” and increase to 175,000 bpd by the end of 2013.

He said that the project had faced “teething problems”, mainly due to the unexpected quantities of unexploded munitions at the field, customs-related delays of imported equipment and slow processing of entry visas, but added, “however, what is encouraging is that we do see real improvements in these administrative processes.”

(Source: Bloomberg)

Associated Gas

Shell and its partner Mitsubishi Corp. (8058) started operations on May 1 at a $17 billion joint venture for salvaging gas from fields in southern Iraq. The venture, Basrah Gas Co., is now capturing 400 million cubic feet a day of so-called associated gas, which occurs together with crude, Bouaziz said. Iraq estimates that it’s losing millions of dollars by flaring off some 700 million cubic feet of gas because it lacks facilities to store and sell the fuel.

Basrah Gas will start within 18 months exporting liquefied petroleum gas, which is used for cooking and heating homes, he said. Iraq currently imports 500 metric tons to 1,000 tons of LPG a day, while it flares 4,000 tons daily, Bouaziz said.

The venture may eventually produce liquified natural gas.

“Considering the amount of gas that will be produced in Iraq, it is very likely that the Basrah Gas Co. LNG project will be needed,” he said. A final decision would be up to state-owned South Gas Co., the venture’s majority shareholder, Bouaziz said.