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JICA (Japan) and UNDP Partnership Agreement to Accelerate the Projects for Socio-Economic Development in Iraq

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and UNDP announced a renewed agreement and commemorated the 10th anniversary for their partnership to accelerate the implementation of socio-economic infrastructure projects in Iraq to improve the economic recovery and living condition of Iraqi people in key sectors such as electricity, water and sanitation, oil, irrigation, transportation, industry, health and communication. The GoI welcomes the reinforced partnership between JICA and UNDP.

Since 2008, JICA has signed 31 loan agreements, total amount of which is JPY 830 billion (equivalent to USD 7.7 billion), with Iraqi Government for economic and social infrastructure projects and programs in Iraq to improve daily lives of Iraqi people. In order to ensure accountability, transparency and efficiency in project implementation, the Government of Iraq (GoI) and the Government of Japan/JICA jointly established a monitoring mechanism called Monitoring Committee (M/C) in 2008. UNDP has undertaken the supporting role to assist and advise the M/C based on the partnership agreement between JICA and UNDP.

Under this partnership, UNDP has been working alongside JICA and the Government of Iraq (GoI) on project monitoring and capacity development. UNDP identifies bottlenecks pertaining to project implementation, providing analyses and recommendations for action on cross-cutting issues to the M/C to accelerate project implementation.

The M/C is the longest continual committee in the GoI system as the 43rd M/C Meeting was held on 4th July 2019 in Baghdad with Iraqi ministries to update the progress and find the solutions for challenges that the projects face in order to accelerate the project implementation and deliver the public services to the Iraqi people.

The GoI, JICA and UNDP reconfirm all parties’ continual efforts to enhance this tripartite collaboration mechanism to expedite the improvement of national strategic infrastructures, which will contribute to better public services as well as to the private sector development for more and better job opportunities.

(Source: UN)

Germany's Siemens has received an order to supply the key components and long-term power generation services for the 840-megawatt (MW) Maisan combined cycle power plant in Iraq.

CITIC Construction Co., Ltd., the Chinese engineering procurement and construction firm building the plant, and Iraqi developer MPC, part of Raban Al-Safina for Energy Projects (RASEP) awarded the contract valued at more than EUR 280 million to Siemens.

The independent power project is expected to deliver first power by March 2021 and enter full combined cycle mode by early 2022. The plant will supply sufficient electricity to meet the needs of more than three million Iraqis, while also supporting the industrial sector.

The Siemens scope of supply includes two SGT5-4000F gas turbines, oneSST5-4000 steam turbine, and three SGen5-2000H generators, along with the SPPA-T3000 control systems, transformers and related electrical equipment, and the fuel gas system.

Saadi Saihood, Chairman of Raban Al-Safina Group, said, "Maisan combined cycle power plant project will be one of the unique projects in a series of power generation projects in Iraq's history that will stand out due to its combining innovative German technology with an experienced Chinese EPC service provider. We are confident that such a strong team will enable us to deliver a successful project that will benefit millions of Iraqis."

"Iraq is undergoing an economic transformation, and as the country embarks on a series of ambitious infrastructure projects, efficient and reliable electricity will be essential to powering this development," said Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO of Siemens Middle East and UAE. "With a presence in the country that dates back more than 100 years, we are proud to support the generation of half of Iraq's power supply. We are also committed to providing vocational training for up to 1,000 Iraqis in order to develop a pipeline of talented local employees who can contribute to the new Iraq."

The Maisan combined cycle power plant in Iraq will add 840 megawatts to the grid and provides a reliable power supply for more than three million Iraqis.

"This project will mark an important power generation milestone in Iraq. The state-of-the-art power island that will be installed by Siemens, including the latest technology of F-class gas turbines, will turn the Maisan power plant into the most efficient gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Iraq. This is very critical for the economics of the long-term operations and the effective utilization of fuel," said Karim Amin, CEO of Power Generation at Siemens Gas and Power. "In addition, the long-term service agreement is designed to ensure increased efficiency and maximum availability of the power plant while also providing technical training for local Iraqi staff on the operation and maintenance (O&M) front. This will support skills development and knowledge transfer to the Iraqi people."

Siemens will also utilize its Power Diagnostics Services (PDS), part of the Omnivise Digital Services portfolio. The company's PDS solution combines asset data with industry expertise to deliver information that allows faster and accurate predictive analysis for effective decision-making. This enables improved operational planning to increase availability, mitigate risks, and optimize operational costs.

Siemens and the Ministry of Electricity of the Republic of Iraq recently signed an implementation agreement to kick off the actual execution of the roadmap for rebuilding Iraq's power sector. As part of the implementation agreement, the two agreed on the awarding of contracts valued at approximately EUR 700 million for phase 1 of the roadmap. This includes the EPC construction of a 500 MW gas-fired power plant in Zubaidiya, the upgrade of 40 gas turbines with upstream cooling systems, and the installation of thirteen 132 kV substations as well as 34 transformers across Iraq.

(Source: Siemens)

By John Lee.

The World Bank will reportedly lend a total of $200 million to Iraq for upgrades to its electricity grid.

According to Basnews, the agreement was signed by Finance Minister Fuad Hussein and Yara Salim, a representative to the World Bank.

"There will be attempts to address the problem of power supply in Basra province and surrounding areas in collaboration with the World Bank," the Iraqi minister added.

Iraq is expected to implement the projects within five years, and repay the debts in ten to 15 years.

(Source: Basnews)

By John Lee.

The Cabinet held its regular meeting in Baghdad on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister, Adil Abd Al-Mahdi.

The Cabinet approved a series of recommendations from the Ministerial Economic Council to support the growth of Iraq’s cement industry and to ensure that production capacity continues to meet domestic demand. No details of the recommendations have been announced.

It also approved a loan agreement between the Republic of Iraq and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for what it described as an "electricity services reconstruction and enhancement project".

According to a governmengt statement, it also approved a recommendation from the housing consultative group that investors in housing projects need to complete a percentage of the planned building work before they are allowed to own the land.

(Source: Government of Iraq)

By Mustafa Saadoun for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Basra protests build in Iraq as sub-standard services persist

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Iraqi Minister of Electricity Luay al-Khatteeb talked about the situation of Iraq’s electricity sector amid tense US-Iran relations.

He discussed the waiver timeline that Washington granted Baghdad to keep buying Iranian gas and mentioned his fear that some parties are politicizing the electricity sector in Iraq.

Click here to read the full story.

By John Lee.

General Electric (GE) is reportedly expected to win a large share of the multibillion-dollar contracts to rebuild Iraq’s electricity system.

According to a report from Reuters, "under U.S. prodding, Iraq is asking both Siemens and GE to bid on contracts and expects to make awards to each of the companies".

Following a hotly-contested competition last year, it was agreed that Siemens and GE would share the work to upgrade the system, with GE supplying 14 gigawatts (GW), and Siemens 11 GW.

The Financial Times subsequently reported that the deals were not certain to be approved.

(Source: Reuters)

By John Lee.

The Trump administration has reportedly granted Iraq a 120-day waiver from its sanctions against Iran, to allow it to continue importing electricity from the country during the hottest of the summer weather.

The decision followed a phone call on Friday between Secretary of State Michael Pompeo (pictured) and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

The State Dept said it is continuing to work with Iraq to end its dependence on Iranian natural gas and electricity.

(Sources: Bloomberg, The National)

By John Lee.

Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi has met with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and his accompanying delegation during a visit to Baghdad.

The Prime Minister expressed his desire to deepen relations with Germany, and cited in particular the signing of a road map for the electricity sector with Siemens.

Minister Maas expressed German concern for stability in the region, and said he will visit Iran in the coming days to discuss this issue.

(Source: Office of the Prime Minister)

US-based Capstone Turbine Corporation (Nasdaq: CPST) has announced today that it has secured an order for two C600 Signature Series microturbines to provide 1.2 megawatts (MW) of energy to power a triethylene glycol (TEG) dehydration facility in the Basra region of Southern Iraq.

The order also includes Capstone’s new self-cleaning pulse filtration system which will allow the microturbines to endure the remote and sandy conditions with minimal maintenance. The order was secured by Technical Solutions to Industry FZE (TSI), Capstone’s authorized distributor to Iraq and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Fueled by available raw gas, Capstone’s two C600S microturbines will power 100% of the new dehydration facility. The new facility is part of a larger 25-year joint venture between local gas and leading oil producer’s efforts to capture, treat and monetize associated gas currently being flared from three southern Iraq oilfields.

Capstone recently developed a new line of self-cleanable severe environment air filtration systems for its Signature Series line of microturbine products to facilitate its expansion into the oil and gas business in the Middle East as part of its overall double digit revenue growth strategy.

The company announced its intentions to expand its business into the Middle East a couple of years ago and has previously delivered successful projects in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Capstone expects that higher oil prices and the move towards reduced gas flaring will continue to drive demand and should provide a positive backdrop for Capstone’s low emission microturbine solutions.

Darren Jamison, President and Chief Executive Officer of Capstone, said:

“Flaring is the traditional way to dispose of unwanted gas produced during oil exploration activities, but the long standing practice creates an immense amount of carbon dioxide emissions and adds to climate change.

“In Iraq alone, 16 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas is flared annually, making it a wasted resource that could instead provide electricity or other benefits to meet the predicted doubling demand by 2030.”

Iraq is one of the world’s biggest energy producers and is set to become the fourth-largest oil-producer by 2030 behind the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia according to the IEA report, Iraq’s Energy Sector: A Roadmap to a Brighter Future 2019.

At the same time, 60-70% of gas produced is being flared due to the lack on infrastructure causing Iraq to import natural gas from the neighboring country of Iran. To improve efficiency and help with shortfalls due to rising electricity demand, the Iraqi government is working with international gas companies to capture and utilize its resources versus flaring.

Jim Crouse, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Capstone, said:

“As pressure for more efficient and environmentally conscious oil and gas production increases, we continue to see an increased demand for microturbines for flare reduction applications.

“Capstone, through its distributor network, is committed to do its part by educating and working with producers and local operators for a more profitable production. Flare reduction applications like this in Basra can have a payback as short as one year which makes it an economic win as well as an environmental win.”

(Source: Capstone)