Custom Search

By John Lee.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani met on Monday with the Finnish Ambassador to Iraq, Ms. Anu Saarela, who was accompanied by a delegation representing Wärtsilä, a Finnish company specializing in energy projects.

The meeting focused on enhancing relations, particularly in the areas of politics, investment, information technology, and modern digital technologies, where Finland has extensive expertise.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the government has a comprehensive program and that Finnish companies are welcome to invest in all sectors, especially the energy sector.

He noted that a contract had been signed with Wärtsilä for the maintenance of the Samarra power plant, which should commence soon, as its implementation has been delayed since the contract was signed in 2019.

(Source: PMO)

By John Lee.

Iraq's Minister of Electricity, Ziad Ali Fadel, recently hosted the Finnish Ambassador to Iraq, Ms. Anu Saarela, along with a delegation from Wärtsilä, a company specializing in the installation and maintenance of engines.

During the meeting, the minister emphasized the government and ministry's commitment to fostering common prospects, job opportunities, and partnerships, capitalizing on the significant openness and security stability in Iraq, aiming to create an attractive environment for global investments.

According to a statement, the minister focused on two main points during the meeting:

1. The importance of reviving stalled projects and addressing their obstacles. This included discussions on rehabilitating the Samarra diesel power generation station with 11 generating units, each with a capacity of 340 megawatts.
2. Preparation of a comprehensive vision by the company's experts regarding the maintenance needs of power generation units, the possibility of their expansion, and increasing their design capacities. He instructed the technical and production department of the Northern Electricity Production to provide the necessary requirements for the company's experts to perform their tasks, subject to meeting deadlines and presenting them to the ministry for approval after discussion, with continuous follow-up through regular meetings.

The visiting ambassador expressed her gratitude for the minister's keen interest, acknowledging the success of Iraq in establishing and implementing significant and qualitative projects contributing to the development of the energy sector in Iraq. She particularly highlighted Iraq's shift towards renewable energy sources and diversification of its energy sources.

(Source: Ministry of Electricity)

A 29 MW gas-fuelled power plant supplied by the technology group Wärtsilä to the Umm Qasr Ports Authority Zone in Basra, Iraq, commenced commercial operations in February. The plant ensures availability of a reliable supply of electricity to the port's operations, which had previously been subject to frequent power interruptions.

The Wärtsilä plant was ordered in October 2018 by Lebanon-based Butec, the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider for the project. Butec was contracted by Prime Metro Power Holdings (PMPH), the company having a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the General Company for the Ports of Iraq, an Iraqi Ministry of Transport entity.

Wärtsilä delivered the plant on a fast-track basis, and the project was completed in an exceptionally short period of time, despite delays caused by the ongoing political situation in the country.

Guillaume Lucci, President and COO of PMPH, said:

"We have been able to leverage the local natural gas resources to develop a first class, state-of-the-art power plant facility that adds a vital power generation infrastructure and services to the state of Iraq. The completion of this project in less than one year is a significant milestone in our strategy to quickly develop the needed power infrastructure.

"We are pleased to have worked with Wärtsilä on this project, and we are certain that the quality and performance of the engine will be an asset over the lifecycle of the plant."

Alexandre Eykerman, Energy Business Director, Middle East, Wärtsilä Energy Business, said:

"The fast-starting, flexible operation of the Wärtsilä engines was a decisive consideration in the award of this contract. The plant can run fewer engines when less power is demanded and start the additional engines only when and as needed. This provides a cost-effective, efficient, and highly reliable solution that will greatly enhance the port's operations."

The Umm Qasr plant operates on three Wärtsilä 34SG gas engines, which deliver reliable baseload power on a 24/7 basis. Wärtsilä has also signed a maintenance agreement, the scope of which includes field service, and engine maintenance planning based on remote monitoring and asset diagnostics. For this, the plant is already connected to the Wärtsilä Digital Expertise Centre located in Dubai.

In addition to providing cost predictability, the agreement ensures the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the plant's operations. Wärtsilä will have technical advisors stationed on site for mutually agreed periods of time to supervise the plant's performance.

This is the first phase of an overall power supply project that will be expanded to increase the availability of electricity throughout the region. It represents Wärtsilä's first gas-fired power plant in Iraq.

(Source: Wärtsilä)

Prime Power Middle East (PPME), a wholly owned subsidiary of Prime Metro Power Holdings Corporation, has commenced operation of its power plant in Umm Qasr, Basra.

The power plant started its commercial operation last Sunday, 09 February 2020, and is designed to deliver base load of 24/7 power to the Umm Qasr Ports Authority Zone.

The gas-fired power plant is equipped with three latest version Wartsila W20V34SG engines with fast start capability able to provide power to the GCPI grid within 30 seconds. It is fully automated with the latest control system allowing stable electricity generation to the Umm Qasr Port grid.

Prime Power started discussions with the Iraqi government in 2016 in light of the growing power shortages. In May 2018, Prime Power signed a 23-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Genral Company of Ports or Iraq (GCPI).

Benefiting from natural gas supply from a specially built 15km natural gas pipeline, the Umm Qasr Port Power Plant is the first phase of a multi-phase development program that starts with its current Phase 1 operational capacity of 29.3MW reaching total generation capacity 68.4MW in Phase 2, with room to increase capacity up to 150MW in the coming years.

The power plant operation will be integrated with a distribution system to support the port industrial zone and surrounding cities.

Enrique Razon Jr., Prime Power Chairman and CEO, said:

“We are delighted to start our greenfield power plant in Umm Qasr Port. It is a testament to the potential of Iraq.

"Under a join operation framework with GCPI we were able to leverage the Basra Governorate’s natural gas resources to develop a first class state of the art facility that adds vital power generation infrastructure and services to state of Iraq.

"We see this plant as the first phase of many as we continue to be long term investors in Iraq and to contribute to its economic and social development.”

In spite of some of geopolitical and social challenges Iraq is going through, the plant was built within record time and ahead of schedule.

Guillaume Lucci, Prime Power President and COO, said:

“We are pleased to have delivered such critical infrastructure and services to GCPI and the Port of Umm Qasr.

"The completion of Phase 1, in less than one year, is a significant milestone in Prime Power’s strategy to build up an infrastructure portfolio that delivers fast and critical investments to regions in need.

"We will continue to rest on our strong presence on the ground as we work hand in hand with the government and the communities we serve.”

Moving forward, PPME will continue to improve the electricity situation at the port, and is looking forward to launching the Phase 2 in the last quarter of 2020.

Prime Metro Power will continue to aim for an even greater contribution to the Iraq power market, and continue the boundless use of economical and sustainable power generation facilities.

(Source: ICTSI)

By John Lee.

Pakistan-based Lucky Cement has said that it plans to achieve commercial production at its greenfield clinker production facility in Samawah by the end of first quarter of financial year 2020-21.

In its Annual Financial Report, the company said that the first shipment of plant and machinery to the 1.2-million-tons-per-annum project is expected in October 2019.

It adds that the letter of credit for the power plant has been established, and shipment from Wartsila is expected in December 2019.

(Source: Lucky Cement)

(Pictured: A Lucky Cement plant in Pakistan)

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has said it will supply the equipment to enable an efficient, reliable, and independent power source for an Iraqi cement producing plant.

The 20 MW engine power plant is being built by Al Shumookh Lucky Investments Ltd, a JV company of Lucky Cement Limited and a limited liability company registered in the United Arab Emirates. The power plant will serve the Najmat Al-Samawa cement factory in Iraq. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in Q1, 2019.

Wärtsilä has a long-established relationship with Lucky Cement Limited, one of Pakistan’s leading cement producers and exporters. The company has earlier built two power plants for Pakistan and one power plant for Iraq based on Wärtsilä Smart Power Generation technology.

Intisar Haqqi of Lucky Cement commented:

“It is important that large cement producers operate with maximum efficiency to reduce their operating costs. For this a reliable and price predictable supply of electricity, independent from the grid, is essential. We have always had excellent support from Wärtsilä, and their power generating technology provides the certainty of supply that is needed.”

Pierpaolo Mazza, Regional Director, Wärtsilä Energy Business, added:

“There is no greater endorsement of customer satisfaction than repeat orders. This is the seventh order received from Lucky Cement Limited, which indicates the success of Wärtsilä’s engine power plants in meeting our customers’ expectations, regardless of extreme climatic conditions.”

The power plant will operate on two Wärtsilä 32 engines running on locally available heavy fuel oil (HFO) with diesel as a back-up fuel. The engine is designed to deliver outstanding efficiency with reduced fuel and water consumption in hot temperatures.

The equipment is scheduled for delivery towards the end of 2019, and the plant is expected to become fully operational during the third quarter of 2020.

Image caption: From left to right: Arif Akram, Wärtsilä Energy Business; Muhammad Qasim Latif, Wärtsilä Energy Business; Pierpaolo Mazza, Wärtsilä Energy Business; Adnan Ahmed and Najam ul Hassan, Al Shumookh Lucky Investments Ltd

(Source: Wärtsilä)