A delegation from the Iranian Farast Group visited the Basra Investment Commission (BIC) and met its chairman, Khalaf Al-Badran.

They discussed the possibility of obtaining investment opportunities in various sectors, including housing and electricity.

The representative of the group, Ridha Mudhahari, said that his group includes 78 foreign and local specialized companies and that they have executed projects in a variety of countries.

Al-Badran explained to the delegation the duties of BIC and the facilities it provides to the investor, and said that there were many investment opportunities in the housing sector ready for investment.

(Source: Basra Investment Commission)

The Baghdad Company for Gas Turbines Ltd. has announced that it has won the contract to rehabilitate the Mullah Abdulla power plant in Baghdad.

The company’s managing Director, Mr. Mumtaz Rushdi, signed the deal for the 11units on Friday.

When completed later this year, the plant will provide more than 250 MW of power.

(Source: Baghdad Company for Gas Turbines)

AKnews reports that up to 26 foreign companies are engaged in preparations to build a 500 MW power plant in Kirkuk.

Kirkuk currently requires 880 MW, but can only provide 450 MW: 240 MW from the national grid and 225 MW through a contract with Kurdish investor.

Rebwar Talabani, the Deputy head of Kirkuk Provincial Council, told AKnews that American, British, Turkish and Arab companies are building the 500 MW plant the Council approved last year.

The location for the project will be decided in coordination with the power distribution and transportation offices.

A small new power plant was built in December in the Darman village area of Kirkuk.

(Source: AKnews)

Reuters reports that Iraq has signed a $235-million electricity deal with a subsidiary of Turkey’s Enka Insaat to install a 500-megawatt power plant in the Al-Najibiya district of Basra.

The company will install four General Electric (GE) gas units, each with a capacity of 125 megawatts, within the next 16 months, said electricity minister Karim Aftan.

The green-field project will by financed by the local government of Basra.

(Source: Reuters)

The Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization has launched a tender to buy 3,400 tons of gasoil per day for 12 months to power electricity generators.

In July 2011, Iraq signed a one-year deal with Iran to receive approximately 1,300 tons per day of gasoil to help power the growing needs of a country already short on fuel.

Over the past eight years, the finance ministry has tried to alleviate the problem with $27bn of disbursements. Power supply has roughly doubled since 2006 from 4,000 MW to between 7,000 MW and 8,000 MW, but demand has also grown due to Iraq’s strengthening prospects, from around 8,000 MW to 14,000 MW.

When there are no power failures, Iraqis gets electricity for roughly two-thirds of the day, on average. Mortality in Iraq is still high during the hot summers due to power shortages and failures.

(Sources: Reuters; AKNews)

Iraq signed a $72 million deal with Iranian firm Sunir [Sanir] to expand the Dibis power plant in northern Kirkuk province by 320 megawatts, according to Bloomberg.

The company will install two gas units, each with a capacity of 160 megawatts. The units were purchased from Siemens in 2008, and will be installed in just over 14 months.

Dibis currently produces 150 MW.

The deal with Sunir is the second contract awarded to the company. It has already built a $150 million gas power plant in Baghdad, consisting of two units with a total capacity of 320 MW, but the company was criticised for its execution of the project.

(Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters)

Basra Investment Commission has announced a new investment opportunity for the establishment of power plant in the Hartha area.

The new plant will have a capacity of 100 MegaWatts.

Companies interested in this opportunity should contact Basra Investment Commission for more details: info@investbasrah.com

(Source: Basra Investment Commmission)

Patrick Kron, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, and the Iraqi Vice Minister of Electricity, His Excellency Salam Kazzaz, signed on 11 December, in the presence of His Excellency Karim Aftan El Jumaily, Minister of Electricity, a contract worth approximately €400 million to build the 728 MW Al Mansuriya gas-fired power plant in the Diyala Governorate, northeast of Baghdad. The plant will consist of four units, based on Alstom’s GT13E2 gas turbine, and will be constructed under a turnkey contract, covering delivery of equipment and civil works.

The plant will add generation capacity to Iraq’s electricity network by providing enough electricity to the entire Diyala Governorate and a part of Baghdad, located 80 km away from the plant. The first unit of the plant is scheduled to be operational in early 2013. Equipment will be manufactured in Alstom’s factories in France, Switzerland and Germany. With more than 10 million operating hours accumulated worldwide, Alstom’s GT13E2 gas turbine has demonstrated superior operational performance and continues to provide reliable power to millions of consumers worldwide.

Commenting on the win, Mark Coxon, Senior Vice President of Alstom’s Gas business said:

“Alstom is proud to be participating in the reconstruction of Iraq’s energy infrastructure. I am positive that our superior gas turbine technology, offering outstanding availability and reliability, will support the country in building up secure electricity supplies for the future.“

In July 2010, Patrick Kron, Chairman and CEO of Alstom, and the Ministry of Electricity, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development and modernisation of Iraq’s electricity infrastructure. Under this MoU, Alstom is currently rehabilitating unit 1 of the Najaf gas-fired power station, 160 km south of Baghdad. The unit was out of operation for five years; the rehabilitation will allow the first turbine, recontribute again an output of 60 MW to the Iraqi electricity network.