Custom Search

Today [Monday] the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Barham Salih, following the visit to Erbil of Iraqi Federal Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, welcomed the new efforts made by all parties in the federal government on Iraq’s planned oil and gas legislation.

“We have had excellent discussions with Finance Minister al-Issawi,” said Prime Minister Salih. “The formation of the new government in Baghdad under the premiership of Dr Maliki has clearly been an opportunity to address these important oil and gas issues. The planned legislation will address oil and gas revenue distribution policy and improved oil exports.”

Federal legislation

Prime Minister Salih confirmed that the KRG has received from the federal government proposed drafts of an Iraqi National Oil Company (INOC) law and a revenue sharing law from Baghdad for the KRG’s review.

On the progress made on the advancement of much needed federal legislation, Prime Minister Salih stated, “It is essential that all the inter-related laws of the INOC, Federal Hydrocarbon Law and the Ministry of Oil Restructuring Law are presented to the Parliament as a package to ensure consistency and to avoid further delays.”

On cooperation with Baghdad, Prime Minister Salih said, “The KRG believes that close cooperation on oil and gas strategy and export policies is vital to the security and well-being of the people of Iraq.”

He added, “The KRG Ministry of Natural Resources has accepted an invitation to support the advisory office of the federal Prime Minister and its international consultants on an integrated energy strategy for all of Iraq.”

KRG oil export and contractor payments

Oil exported from newly discovered fields in the Kurdistan Region is currently being marketed by the federal government’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO), with a percentage of the revenues to be allocated to the contractors via the KRG, according to the recent agreement between Erbil and Baghdad.

Prime Minister Salih stated, “The federal government had previously committed itself to the payment of KRG oil contractors. These contractors are now adding significant volumes to Iraq’s oil exports.”

“Under the management of the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources and the leadership of our Minister Dr Ashti Hawrami, we are now exporting via Turkey significantly more than 100,000 barrels of oil per day. That volume is increasing day by day,” Prime Minister Salih said.

He added, “The KRG has today presented its first oil export statement to the federal Finance Ministry for over five million barrels of oil delivered to SOMO since the commencement of export earlier this year. The KRG expects to receive from Baghdad its first payment for the Kurdistan Region contractors, as previously agreed with Prime Minister Maliki.”

South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries has tendered the lowest of six bids for the construction of a 500-megawatt natural-gas fired power plant in Najaf, an Iraqi Electricity Ministry official said.

According to Bloomberg, Hyundai bid $158.9 million for the work; Metka SA (METTK) of Greece, Turkey’s Enka Insaat & Sanayi AS, Lanco Infratech Ltd. (LANCI) of India, and companies from Iraq and Jordan also bid for the project, Deputy Electricity Minister Salam Qazaz said in an interview.

The  plant is to be built within 18 months.

“The winner of the bid will be announced between three days and one week following a study of technical and financial aspects of the tender,” Qazaz said in Baghdad.

In a separate bid, Hyundai Heavy, Lanco Infratech, three Iraqi groups and an Italian company submitted offers to build a 250-megawatt power station in Al-Qaim in western Iraq, Sabih Ishak, a director general at the Electricity Ministry, said in an interview from Baghdad. Results will be announced April 17, he said. The plant will run on gas from the nearby Akkas field, he said.

Iraq’s electricity plants and distribution system have suffered through years of conflict, sanctions and sabotage. Iraqis receive power from the national grid for an average of about one hour in every five. Frequent outages hamper economic reconstruction, and protests over unreliable electricity supplies have made the issue a major concern of the government.

Former Electricity Minister Karim Wahid resigned last June after two people were killed in riots over blackouts and power rationing. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged to address the problem after forming his new government in December.

A group of South Korean companies signed contracts on April 7 to build 25 power stations, half of 50 that are planned at a total value of $6.25 billion. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) and Man SE (MAN) are among companies that have bid for the remaining 25 plants, Electricity Minister Raad Shallal said on March 23.

The government also invited bids in December for the construction of four bigger plants that would raise generating capacity by a combined 2,750 megawatts. Those bids will be for a 1,250-megawatt plant near Basra, and three plants of 500 megawatts each in the cities of Samawa, Diwaniya and Amarah.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Iraq's Electricity Ministry said on Wednesday it had shortlisted two private Kurdish-owned companies to build and operate a power plant costing up to $1 billion in Iraq's southern Basra province, Reuters reports.

The companies concerned are the Jordan-based Mass Global Investment Co and Arbil-based Kar Group. A winner will be selected at the end of April, electricity ministry spokesman Musab al-Mudarres said in a statement.

The 1,250 megawatt power plant will be constructed on a build-own-operate basis in the Shatt al-Basra, Iraq's southern oil hub. The winning company will then sell the power generated by the plant to the government, the statement said.

The plant is due to start operating in May 2013.

(Source: Reuters)

According to a report from Reuters, the Saudi-based Dao al-Jomaih Group tendered the low bid of $204.4 million to install four gas turbines in Iraq's southern Basra province.

Salam Qazaz, Iraq's deputy electricity minister, said on Tuesday that the units will have a total generating capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) and will be installed at a power plant in al-Najibiya, a district in Basra, Iraq's southern oil hub.

The units are to be installed within 17 months, he added.

"Final approval of the deal will be decided after we study the technical aspects of the tender," Qazaz told reporters in Basra.

Reuters reports that China's Machinery Engineering Corp is also party to the winning bid; AFP says the company is China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corp (CMEC).

The bid beat tenders submitted by Swiss engineering group ABB, Turkey's Enka Insaat and South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries, the ministry said.

(Source: Reuters)

The Ministry of Electricity in Iraqi Kurdistan has signed a contract with a Turkish Company to connect electrical power lines between the provinces of Sulaimaniya and Erbil.

Kurdistan’s Electricity Minister, Yassin Sheikh Abu-Bakr, has signed a contract on Sunday with the Turkish ‘Shar’ Company to build these lines, adding that the total cost of the contract is 21.6 billion Iraqi dinars [$18 million], a Ministry statement said.

The Minister expressed his Ministry’s readiness to “extend every possible assistance to the Turkish Company, as well as accepting other foreign companies wishing to work in electric power plants in Kurdistan,” it added.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

The Iraqi electricity ministry has given the thumbs up to the construction of two new power stations with a capacity of 600 megawatt in Maysan [Missan], according to Aswat al-Iraq.

“One station with a capacity of 100 MW will be set up in al-Batira, (5 km) north of al-Amara, while the other will be near the al-Kahlaa transformer station, (18 km) southeast of Amara,” Amer Nasrallah, the Missan provincial council’s energy committee chairman, said on Sunday.

“The approval came after a visit by the council chairman, Abdul-Hussein al-Saadi, and the council’s energy committee chairman to the electricity ministry,” he added, noting the two stations will be linked to the public grid as part of the ministry’s plan to reduce power shortages.

Maysan, a province with a population of more than one million, needs 400 MW of electricity while the current capacity is below 150 MW from neighboring provinces.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

The local government in Ninewa signed a deal with a Turkish company on Wednesday to build a gas-fired electricity generating plant.

The plant will generate 750 Megawatts, a source from the Ninewa governor's office told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The $388 million-deal aims to improve the electricity in the province,” he noted.

(Source: Aswat al-Iraq)

Iraq has awarded a $125 million [150 billion Iraqi dinars] contract to a Saudi Arabian company to build a 150 MW power plant in Basra, an Iraqi official said.

Haider Ali Fadhil, head of the Basra Investment Commission, said the Saudi-based Dao al-Jomaih Group was awarded a contract to build the plant and install two French-made gas turbines. It will take six months for the project to be completed, according to the report from Reuters.

Under the deal, the company will operate the plant and sell the electricity to the province for a three year period after finishing the installation of the turbines, Mohammed Oun, a representative of Dao al-Jomaih said.

Aswat al-Iraq, meanwhile, reports that an Emirati company called 'al-Jameeh Company' was granted the contract, which it values at $153m

(Sources: Reuters, Basra Investment Commission, Aswat al-Iraq)

By Leanne Case.

Years of war and suffering in Iraq have left a legacy of destruction which includes ancient monuments and broken cities. During my time there I pestered those that I knew to share both their stories and images of what once was. One doesn’t have to go far to discover a land of awe inspiring architectural feats, ingenuity and adventure.

However, this is not the place that I have seen from behind the compound walls or the thick glass of my vehicle. This is not the expanse of mud and wreckage I have seen on my travels but I know that it existed and have seen it proudly displayed in the gait of the people I have watched, and in the proud histories of those I have been honoured to meet and listen to.  This is the essence of what draws me to Iraq, proud, resilient and beyond belief.

This is exactly the reason that Iraq should not seek to recreate the bland architecture endemic in modern cities but should be brave in seeking new architectural paths.  History is not something that should hold us back but should rather be proudly incorporated into the future. History is a recognised commodity in Iraq and the Tourism Board are very actively pursuing growth in tourism as a key economic opportunity. Although I realise that the thought of Iraq’s tourism potential is ludicrous to those that cannot see beyond the current security situation; Iraq is a cultural Mecca and that has always meant and will always mean tourism. The kind of tourism growth will very much depend on the future security situation and the preservation, development and tourism polices of the Iraqi government.

Basra known in the 17^th century as the Venice of the Orient, rich in history and oil, once a cornerstone of Islamic civilisation is once again central to the re-emergence of Iraq. In December 2010 the Friends of the Basra Museum held a fundraising event in London.  The first formal event in the plan to re-establish the Basra museum in a new location and a welcome one, after all any well thought out plan that recognises Basra’s place in history is a vitally important one.

Iraq plans to sign power plant contracts valued at $6.25bn [7.3 trillion Iraqi dinars] next week with Caterpillar and other companies, according to Arabian Business.

Caterpillar, Man SE of Germany and at least one South Korean company will build 50 new power stations, each capable of generating 100 megawatts, Electricity Minister Raad Shallal said on Thursday.

"In the short term, nationwide we will build 50 stations with a capacity of 100 megawatts," he told reporters.

"Work will begin immediately and be completed in the summer of 2012, but the first effects will be felt next winter" when the plants connect to the grid, he added.

Iraq’s power plants and distribution network have suffered from years of war, sanctions, insurgent attacks and under- investment.

Iraqis currently receive power from the national grid for an average of about one in every five hours. Chronic outages are hampering the economy, and violent street protests over unreliable electricity supplies have made the issue a major concern for the government.

Former Electricity Minister, Karim Wahid, resigned last June after two people were killed while rioting over summer blackouts and power rationing.

Wahid said at the time that his efforts to tackle the problem had failed because of a lack of money and fuel. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki pledged after forming his new government in December to address the problem.

The planned investments are part of a plan to end power shortages completely by 2015. Power supply this summer, the peak season for electricity consumption, will improve to an average of eight hours a day nationwide, up from about six hours a day last summer, Shallal said.

Iraq produces 7,000 megawatts and imports an additional 1,000 megawatts, while demand totals about 14,000 megawatts, he said.

The country imports electricity mainly from neighboring Iran and Turkey, which has also sent two ships to southern Iraq where they serve as floating power plants, Masaab Serri, an Electricity Ministry spokesman, said on Jan. 4. Iraq is in talks about importing electricity via Syria using a regional grid.

The government invited bids in December for the construction of four power plants to raise generating capacity by 2,750 megawatts.

Those bids will be for a 1,250-megawatt plant near Basra, and three plants of 500 megawatts each in the cities of Samawa, Diwaniya and Amarah.

The contracts to be signed next week for 50 smaller plants would be in addition to these earlier projects.

(Source: Arabian Business, Middle East Online)