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The Iraqi government has asked for bids to build four large power plants in southern Iraqi governorates that could boost its power generating capacity by 2,750 megawatts, a spokesman for the electricity ministry, Mussab al-Mudaris, said on Monday.

"The ministry will announce provisions of new tenders to build four gas power stations during a roadshow meeting that will be held in Baghdad Saturday Dec. 18,"  he said, according to Dow Jones.

Iraq, which suffers from an acute power shortage, hopes to at least double its power production which is only 7,000 megawatts--less than half of the country's actual electricity needs.

The ministry would offer investors the contract to install and operate 22 gas-fired turbines that it has already purchased from General Electric (GE).

Separately, ministry officials said that they were offering private companies contracts to install and operate these turbines for a period of 20 to 25 years and sell the power back to the government in accordance with international standards and the government, on its part, would sell it to consumers at subsidized rates.

Ten of the turbines would be installed in Basra province, and four in each of Diwaniya, Muthanna and Missan governorates, Mudaris said. Each of these turbines would produce some 125 megawatts, he added.

The ministry wants investors to install and operate these turbines, each valued at around $40 million, within two years of awarding the contracts, the spokesman said.

Iraq Business News will provide full details of the tenders as soon as possible.

(Source: Dow Jones)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region District soldiers and civilians help the people of Iraq everyday through the construction of quality hospitals, schools, water treatment facilities, security facilities and infrastructure projects.

But, recently, the USACE Southern Area Office (SAO) implemented a program that will help the Iraqi’s in a different way – by providing them with clothes, hygiene products, toys, school supplies and treats for school children.

The Adopt-A-Project program (AAPP) brings together stateside schools and other charitable and/or private organizations and companies that would like to adopt “like Corps projects” within the SAO area of responsibility.

According to Maj. Kurt Hense, deputy officer in charge of the SAO the goal of the AAPP is to help build good working relationships with Iraqi contractors, public figures, families and leadership that are vital to the successful completion of USACE projects.

“Apart from the simple humanitarian aspect of giving to those less fortunate than you, there are several other reasons for developing these types of important relationships within a post-war Iraq,” said Hense, of Woodbridge.

“While combat operations have technically ceased, daily incidents targeting the 50,000 troops and several thousands of U.S. and allied civilians remaining have not. Developing relationships while working with Iraqi contractors and public figures and leaders is vital to completing our projects.”

According to a report from Reuters, Turkish clothing and beer are hot sellers in the streets of Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish north, while in the South, Iranian cars roam the streets of Basra and Iranian pilgrims flock to Iraq's holy sites.

Sunni Ankara and Shi'ite Tehran, old rivals turned friends, are vying for post-war economic clout in neighbouring Iraq to capitalise on an expected oil boom, and have been flexing their muscles in Baghdad's government formation talks, diplomats and politicians said.

Both Iran and Turkey are using Iraq to increase their respective economic and political power.

Turkish companies are top investors in hotels, real estate, industry and energy in Iraq's semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, and increasingly in the Shi'ite south where Iranian influence had been almost unchallenged, says Reuters.

Iran is Iraq's main trading partner and has been one of the largest investors in its construction and industrial sectors since the fall of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.

"It is clear that they are competing, specifically in Turkey's effort to dam in Iranian influence. Iran has undoubtedly gained a significant role in Iraq since 2003, and from about 2007 on, Turkey has started to push back," said Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group.

"They are holding each other in balance."

Iraq's State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) has issued a tender for 2,600 tonnes of gas-oil for the Ministry of Electricity.

Bids will be accepted until 12:00 on 20 December, 2010, Baghdad time.

Please click here to download the English tender document ...

... and here to download the document in Arabic.

Najaf's provincial council confirmed that it has been given final approval to get a loan of ID 47 Billion [$40m] for the province to buy new electricity generators to be run by Najaf's citizens.

A source in the province told the National Media Center that generators will be distributed to jobless citizens with guaranties to maintain their service, he added that generators will offer better service to people in the province, and good returns for operators.

(Source: National Media Center)

GE (NYSE: GE) today announced that it will provide gas turbine technology to Mass Global Investment Company, an independent power producer, to help meet northern Iraq’s growing demand for electricity. Under the agreement, GE will supply three Frame 9E gas turbines and generators for the 375-megawatt expansion of the Arbil Power Plant, located in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

“Our mission is to support Iraq’s overall efforts to continue developing and expanding its energy infrastructure,” said Ahmad Ismail, chairman of Mass Global. “We are confident that working with a global technology leader such as GE, with its proven and reliable advanced energy technology, will contribute significantly to helping us fulfill our mission, which is in line with the Kurdistan regional government’s initiative calling for the private sector to help meet the energy requirements in this region.”

This new contract follows an announcement earlier this year that GE is providing equipment for two other projects in the same region that are part of Mass Global’s ongoing efforts to support Kurdistan and Iraq’s current and future power needs. When all of the current projects are completed, the total electricity capacity of Mass Global-developed power plants in the Kurdistan region will be increased to 2,200 megawatts.

“This latest agreement builds upon our growing relationship with Mass Global to provide innovative technology and services to help ensure that the people of northern Iraq have a reliable and secure supply of electricity,” said Joseph Anis, GE Energy’s president for the Middle East. “This agreement also reflects GE’s ongoing commitment to support Iraq in boosting its power generation and infrastructure growth.

An investment delegation from the Korean company Hyundai, specialized in establishing and equipping oil-fired power plants, visited Anbar province on Tuesday to discuss proposals for investment in the province, according to a report from AKnews.

Wissam al-Rawi, the head of the Energy Committee of Anbar Council, said that the council discussed investment with the Hyundai delegation and ways of operating oil-fuelled plants and satisfying the needs of citizens through setting up several power stations.

Khalil Ibrahim al-Awwad, the director of the electricity distribution department, said that the Korean company’s proposals to set up three large stations and link them to a central plant were discussed in detail.

"The Korean company Hyundai has a long history in building plants and generators,” he said.

Hyundai's representative, Medhat al-Hamdani, said that "the company is ready to begin working in Anbar and eliminate the electricity problem. Its mission is to quickly establish power stations that work using oil, as a result of deteriorating conditions and the lack of gas or diesel.”

Hamdani said that the new plants would satisfy the power supply needs of the province, particularly during the scorching summer months when extra electricity is needed to power air-conditioner units and water coolers.

Consumer payments were also discussed: Interest free credit installments and governmental subsidies were the two possibilities currently being examined.

(Source: AKnews)

A confidante of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki claims there will be a shake-up in the oil and energy portfolio when the new cabinet positions are announced.

According to Iraq Oil Report, Hussain al-Shahristani will move from his current position as Minister for Oil and Acting Minister for Electricity, into a newly-created Deputy Prime Minister role with responsibility for oil and electricity issues.

This effectively creates an additional plum vacancy to be gifted as part of the negotiations between the rival blocs, while allowing Maliki's right-hand man to retain at least some control of this key function.

The report says Maliki targets to have cabinet positions decided by 15th December.

(Source: Iraq Oil Report)

Local government in Basra province announced that a new gas-powered electricity station with a capacity of 500 MW will soon be built in Najibia region in the north of the province.

Technical deputy Munthir Niema told NMC that the cost of the station will depend on petro-dollar balance, and its output will be used for Basra only. He added that the station will consisted of four units.

Niema mentioned that another three stations will be established in the province in the near future according to the agreement with international companies Siemens and General Electric.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Oil has announced that Shell will create a major new gas recovery plant in Basra.

(Source: National Media Center, AKnews)

The Iraqi Oil Ministry announced on Tuesday plans to establish a natural gas extraction company in Basra in collaboration with Shell, according to reports from AKnews.

Ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told the agency that the joint venture would extract the gas from the fields in Basra to power electrical generators.

"The company will seek to reach a daily production of 700m cubic feet of gas for use in electricity generation, and thus electricity will improve markedly,” he said.

Surplus gas will be exported, contributing to the venture’s profitability.

"There have been offers from many investment companies to invest in gas extraction,” he explained, “especially since Iraq is seeking to ensure its production of gas and oil meets international standards."

Meanwhile, Basra's local government has announced the creation of a new 500MB gas-fired power station.

(Source: AKnews, National Media Center)