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 BASRA 2013 البصـــــرة

“Project Iraq 2012” expected to lay solid foundations for the region’s bustling construction sector

For the fifth consecutive year, “Project Iraq” – the International Exhibition for Construction and Environmental Technology, Materials and Equipment – will be held at Erbil International Fair Ground (EIF), bringing together local, regional and international companies and decision-makers in the construction sector.

Organized by IFP Iraq – member of International Fairs & Promotions (IFP) Group, Project Iraq is the largest specialized exhibition in Iraq and one of the fastest growing shows in the entire Middle East. In last year’s edition, the show brought together 393 local, regional and international companies from 20 countries, scoring a 30% growth in the number of participants.

Project Iraq’s ongoing success is widely influenced by the country’s dynamic construction market which is fueled by reconstruction and development projects across all economic sectors, including infrastructure, housing, hospitality, education and others. In 2010, Iraq’s construction industry was valued at US$ 5.6 billion with an annual growth forecast of 6.18% until 2014. Today, the busy pipeline of current and underway projects is triggering a massive demand in terms of building material, technology, and qualified human resources.

Consequently, “Project Iraq 2012” is the ideal platform for engineers, energy experts, field specialists, investors and entrepreneurs, buyers, and distributors to gather, share innovations and seize valuable business opportunities. Expanding over 11,000 sqm, the show is expected to draw a professional crowd of more than 23,000 visitors, giving them the exclusive opportunity to learn more about the latest industry trends from more than 400 international exhibitors; to network with key decision-makers and other professional trade visitors from both the public and private sectors; explore new business opportunities, joint ventures, and much more.

Supported by a wide pool of international official bodies from Belgium, China, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Syria and Turkey, and local governmental bodies including the Ministries of Consternation & Housing and the Ministries of Electricity, “Project Iraq 2012”has attracted international participants from the four corners of the world namely from Belgium, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Spain, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Exhibits at the show will include the latest innovations covering all construction aspects such as building material, stones and stone products, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, machinery and vehicles, sanitary products, wood products, metal products amongst other; and aimed at helping visitors improve their company productivity, upgrade their projects’ quality, grow their business and deliver faster.

Adding value and depth to every visitor’s experience, Project Iraq is held concurrently with “Energy Iraq 2012” -the 2^nd International Exhibition for Electricity, Alternative Energy, Lighting and HVAC - the only international exhibition in Iraq and the neighboring countries exclusively dedicated to electricity, alternative energy, lighting and HVAC.

Don’t miss Project Iraq 2012 from 17 to 20 September 2012, atErbil International Fair Ground (EIF) from 14:00 till 20:00 daily. To pre-register your visit, log on to www.project-iraq.com.

Siemens will supply Khormala gas turbine power plant in northern Iraq with four SGT5-2000E gas turbines and four SGen5-100A generators along with the associated auxiliary and ancillary systems. The customer is the KAR Construction and Engineering Company Ltd., which is erecting the Khormala plant for the independent power producer KAR Group headquartered in the city of Erbil. Commissioning is scheduled for 2013. The order value for Siemens is worth more than USD129m.

The four-unit Khormala gas turbine power plant is located 25 kilometers south of Erbil, the region's capital, which falls under the administrative authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). With an installed electrical generating capacity of 640 megawatts (MW), this is the first major power plant project for the KAR Group, who will also operate the facility. Plant output is enough to meet roughly one quarter of the region's power demand, delivering electricity to over four million people.

Siemens Energy Sector is the world's leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for power generation in thermal power plants and using renewables, power transmission in grids and for the extraction, processing and transport of oil and gas.

Earlier this year, Dietmar Siersdorfer, Siemens Energy CEO, Middle East, said:

“Iraq is facing acute and critical challenges in providing reliable power to all the country’s residents and Siemens is fully committed to assisting the Ministry of Electricity in meeting those challenges.

“We have a long history in Iraq and the wider Middle East, and understand that this is an issue of utmost importance to the Ministry and the people of Iraq. With our complete portfolio of proven products and service solutions, we are well-positioned to address this issue.”

Sources: Siemens

By John Lee.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has extended its deadline for the federal government to pay the money it says it is due in respect of oil exports to 15th September, after which time it will again halt exports of Kurdish crude.

Baghdad, on the other hand, has threatened to trim Erbil's budget by $3 billion as a result of the KRG's failure to ship the budgeted quantities of oil.

Meanwhile, the country rations food and continues to suffer from electricity shortages and run-down infrastructure.

Despite record oil exports, Iraq can ill afford to lose the revenues from 175,000 barrels of oil per day, totalling over £500 million per month, and both sides must find a way to resolve their differences before the deadline at the end of next week.

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Minister for Communications, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, has resigned, accusing Prime Minister Nouri Maliki of refusing to stop "political interference" in his ministry.

Mr Allawi is a member of the Sunni-backed Iraqiyya bloc, and a cousin of its leader Ayad Allawi.

"I present my resignation because I have become incapable of working in such an infested environment," he said in his resignation letter, which Maliki accepted.

On Monday, Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi told the AFP news agency: "I required certain conditions from the prime minister, to stop the political interference in my ministry."

"Otherwise, I told him: 'I am not ready to work at the ministry with this big interference.'"

"I told him: 'Either you fulfil those conditions or accept my resignation.' He decided after one month to accept my resignation."

Mr Allawi is thought to be the first member of the national unity government to resign since it was formed in 2010, although the Electricity Minister was sacked last year for allegedly authorising £1.1bn ($1.7bn) of improper contracts for power stations with foreign companies.

(Sources: Reuters, BBC, AFP)

By John Lee.

A spokesman from the parliamentary oil and gas committee has said that $27 billion has been spent on the electricity sector in Iraq since 2003, and that vast amounts of money have been wasted through corruption.

According to AKnews, Qasim Mohammed said:

"Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain Shahristani will be called to parliament after Ramadan Eid for two reasons.

"The presidency created a committee to investigate the electricity sector due to the huge amount of money being spent in this sector and still the problems have not been solved.

"Some $27bn have been spent on the electricity sector in Iraq since 2003 but electricity has only increased by 1,000 megawatts. The Kurdistan Region has spent $1bn and gained 2,000 megawatts more.

"There is huge corruption in the electricity sector in Iraq."

(Source: AKnews)

By John Lee.

Iraq's Ministry of Electricity has reportedly warned that the 2,000-MW Musayyib [Mussaib] power station may be forced to stop due to lack of fuel.

Musab al-Mudares, a spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity, said that fuel tanks at the station can hold enough fuel for two weeks, but the plant may stop working within days if new shipments are not received.

Iraq's Ministry for Oil has rejected the claims.

By Jared Levy, Senior Middle East Analyst at Dunia Frontier Consultants.

Dunia Frontier Consultants tracks foreign commercial activity (FCA) in Iraq, defined as investments, service contracts or any other form of commercial activity undertaken by non-Iraqi companies inside Iraq. An analysis of this data is undertaken annually in Dunia Frontier’s end-of-year Foreign Commercial Activity in Iraq report, downloadable for free on the Dunia website.

This blog post provides a preliminary look at FCA over the first seven months of 2012. Total deal numbers are broken down by sector, country of origin, and geographic distribution of commercial activity. It should be noted that the data presented here has not been subjected to the rigorous vetting and valuation process undertaken in the annual Foreign Commercial Activity in Iraq reports. As such, analysis is focused on the number of deals, as opposed to monetary value.

To date, 176 deals have been recorded in 2012, for an average of just over 25 deals/month. Extrapolated over a 12 month period, this would total 302 deals, or a 2% increase from 2011. In terms of number of deals, this represents a marked leveling of the curve, as 2011 saw a 40% increase in number of deals from 2010.

As demonstrated by the above table, MNCs operating in Iraq are heavily focused on oil and gas and electricity. This comes as no surprise. Both the central government, through the Ministry of Oil, and the Kurdistan Regional Government, through its Ministry of Natural Resources, continue to look to IOCs to develop their respective carbon resources.

Additionally, both the central government and the KRG continue to enlist foreign firms to enhance their electrical output, with numerous American, European and Asian companies constructing new power plants, as well as providing technological support to the central government’s and KRG’s Ministries of Electricity and local companies.

By John Lee.

The Iraqi government said on Tuesday that it will exempt Iraqi citizens from paying electricity and water bills until all power plant installations are completed and services are provided 24 hours a day.

Salam al-Quraishi, Iraqi government's economic advisor, told Al-Shorfa news agency:

"The decision was made after a review of the Iraqi economy and annual per capita income ... Collection of electricity and water bills has been suspended until all services are provided in full and around the clock.

"The government also decided to permanently exempt families with monthly income of less than 500,000 Iraqi dinars ($429)."

He added that the decision will not affect the current electricity supply rate in the country, which ranges between eight and 12 hours a day.

(Source: Al Shorfa)

By John Lee.

Crescent Petroleum and its partner and affiliate Dana Gas PJSC, have, in their capacity as joint operator of the Kor Mor field, announced that total production in their major gas operations in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has grown steadily to reach 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with total investment to date approaching $1bn.

The production includes 330 million cubic feet of gas per day and 15,000 barrels per day of condensate liquids, and there are plans for further expansion.

In total, over 249 billion cubic feet of gas and 11.7 million barrels of condensate liquids have been produced by the companies since the start of production in October 2008, with the gas supply to local power stations enabling 1,750 MW of new electricity supply.

This has ensured almost continuous power supply for 4 million people in the Kurdistan Region, in contrast to the electricity crisis in other parts of Iraq, and provided billions of dollars of savings in fuel costs for the government and very significant environmental benefits in cutting down pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, while transforming the economic and social environment.

"We are proud to be the largest investors in the Kurdistan Region's oil and gas sector, and to have already enabled major economic and social benefits for the people of the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq, especially with the improved and secure electricity supply," said Mr. Majid Jafar (pictured), CEO of Crescent Petroleum and Member of the Dana Gas Board of Directors.

"We are in discussions with the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources on the next phase of development and expansion, to grow our operations and enable further progress and prosperity for the local community."