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Iraq was Largest Beneficiary of China’s Belt & Road in 2021

By John Lee.

Iraq was the largest beneficiary from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2021, according to a study by the Green Finance & Development Center, at Shanghai’s Fudan University.

It says the country with the highest construction volume was Iraq, with about $10.5 billion, followed by Serbia (about $6.8 billion) and Indonesia (about $2.4 billion).

In the energy sector, Iraq received by far the most investment from China in 2021.

Iraq and China cooperate on oil (e.g., construction of the Al Khairat heavy oil power plant with a total value of about $5 billion), gas (e.g., development of the Mansuriya gas field by Sinopec together with Iraq’s Midland Oil Company), as well as solar (e.g., a 2 GW power PV project, currently in permission stage developed and owned by Power Construction Corporation of China valued at $3.7 billion).

The report suggests that the price for the solar power project seems unusually high if no energy storage facility is included, with a comparable 2.2GW solar plant completed in China’s Qinghai, with 202 MWh storage, at a cost of $2.2 billion.

A Chinese company, the China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), will also rehabilitate Nassiryiah International Airport.

The full report can be read here.

(Source: Green Finance & Development Center)

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Aggreko completes Flare-Gas-to-Power plant in KRI

UK-based Aggreko has announced that it has completed commissioning of the largest flare-gas-to-power project in the Middle East to date at 165 MW capacity.

The plant is situated nearby the Saqala [Sarqala] Field, Garmain block, South East Kurdistan.

The 165 MW modular power plant has run at full capacity for 72 hours in the project’s final site acceptance test (SAT), marking successful on-time, on-budget delivery.

The plant is run on approximately 40 million square cubic feet (SCF) per day of associated petroleum gas (APG) from the Saqala Field, saving 840 tonnes of CO2 per day, and cutting flaring by a third.

Delivered over the course of 2020-2021 against the backdrop of the pandemic, the project was conceived and executed in close collaboration with Kurdistan’s Ministry of National Resources (MNR) and Ministry of Electricity (MOE).

Aggreko also delivered a new 6km gathering pipeline to transport the APG to the power plant, and upgraded 7km of 33 kV and 33km of 132 kV overhead cables to new high tensile low sage (HTLS) conductors in order for the local distribution grid to handle the new power plant’s full output.

Ahmed Mufti, Kurdistan Regional Government’s Deputy Minister of Natural Resources (MNR) said:

“We worked with Aggreko to provide a creative solution to convert flare gas to power in a way that directly benefits the local population and the regional in general, while creating a positive environmental impact and improving air quality.”

Phil Burns, Managing Director for Aggreko Middle East, comments:

“Kurdistan’s Regional Government has been forward-thinking in looking for ways to capture and convert gas that would otherwise be flared, to unlock production and power the local economy. We are extremely proud to have worked with the Ministries to deliver the Middle East’s largest flare gas to power project to date, while upgrading the local infrastructure to the lasting benefit of the community and businesses it serves.”

The project is now contracted to run for four years, delivering power 24/7/365.

Built using 192 MW of modular gas generators, the plant can easily be scaled up or down in response to changing gas volumes.

Approximately 60 Aggreko engineers have delivered the project, with 80 local jobs created directly and indirectly for the site’s delivery and ongoing operation, including 44 local nationals who have already commenced Aggreko’s official training scheme.

More here.

(Source: Aggreko)

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Construction Starts at $94m Shatra Hospital

By John Lee.

The Secretary-General of Iraq’s Council of Ministers, Dr. Hamid Naim Al-Ghazi [Hamed Al Gazi] has laid the foundation stone for a 200-bed general hospital in Shatra City, in Dhi Qar province.

The hospital will serve the inhabitants of Shatra and the surrounding areas.

UK-based Protechnique will complete the project within 36 months, under the supervision of Japanese engineering firm ITEC and the Iraqi Ministry of Health.

Funding for the $94-million project includes a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

(Source: Protechnique)

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Jordanian Firm to build Shatrah General Hospital

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health has signed the contract for the construction of the Shatrah General Hospital, in Dhi Qar governorate.

Acting Minister of Health, Dr. Hani Al-Uqabi, signed the contract with a Jordanian company to build the 200-bed facility, with fund including a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The hospital will serve a population of approximately 400,000 people.

(Source: General Secretariat for the Council of Ministers)

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CITIC Construction Wins $3.7bn Iraq Power Deal

By John Lee.

China’s CITIC Construction has won the bid for the first and second phases of AI Khairat heavy oil power plant in Iraq.

Yang Jianqiang, Deputy President of CITIC Construction, held talks with Mazin Wajih, Chairman of Harlow International, in Dubai representative office, and received the letter of acceptance issued by Mazin Wajih.

It is estimated that the contract value of each phase of the project is about $2.85 billion.

The AI Khairat heavy oil power plant is located in Karbala Province in south-central Iraq, about 100km away from Baghdad, next to the Karbala refinery, which provides its by-product heavy oil for the power plant as fuel.

The total installed capacity of the project consists of 8 power generating units of 400MW each, of which 4 units will be constructed in each phase and put into operation in batches.

As the EPC general contractor of the project, CITIC Construction will be responsible for designing, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning and operation and maintenance of the project for a period of ten years, and assist in financing on the premise that the owner is guaranteed by the Iraqi government.

Wining the bid has made CITIC Construction see another major breakthrough in electric energy market of Iraq following the project of Maisan combined cycle power plant. After the completion of the project, it will become an energy hub around the capital, which will provide power for the reconstruction of Iraq’s post-war industry, help ease the power shortage of residents in central and southern Iraq, improve people’s livelihood and safeguard social stability.

(Source: CITIC)

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IBBC’s Autumn Conference – Open for Business Engagement

IBBC’s Autumn conference is back with a bang and open for business engagement.

On 22nd November this year the overarching conference topic is looking to the future with ‘sustainability’- whether in terms of energy and renewables, the Iraqi economy and its diversification, or sustaining finance, logistics and training. Underpinning much of this is the application of technology and modernising ways to run a successful economy, with the tech forum’s online sessions.

With a successful election now completed and a new government being formed, it’s a good time to discuss the prospects for reform and sustainability.

IBBC members find that the Autumn conference is probably the best forum to meet the leaders in the region and those engaged with provision of supply chains and decision making. Many of Iraq’s industry sectors have regional headquarters in Dubai, which enables the high turnout and interest in the networking opportunities.

The current speaker line-up is probably the best for some years, featuring the Iraqi Minster of Oil H.E. Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismaael giving a keynote speech, H.E. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade. Dr Salem Chalabi, President and Chairman of the Trade Bank of Iraq, Iraqi Ambassador to the UAE H.E. Mudaffar Mustafa Al Jubouri and UK ambassador Mr Mark Bryson-Richardson, Mr Simon Penny, UK’s Consul General and Trade Commissioner for the region, and top academic Professor Frank Gunter on the economic outlook for Iraq.

For those engaged with energy, Mr Zaid Elyaseri from BP will be speaking, and Dunia Chalabi will be representing new Iraqi entrants Total, who have signed contracts to invest USD 27 billion in and plan to bring in hundreds of expatriates into Iraq to develop the Ar-Ratawi oil field and build gas capture, solar power and injection water facilities. Leading figures from Oilserve, Ms Sara Akbar, and Hydro-C, Mr Hassan Heshmat, will discuss sustainable energy, and a separate session will be voted to Basrah Gas Company.

The Finance panel includes a stella line up with Emirates Credit Insurance Co, Standard Chartered Bank and IFC. Mr Aziz Khudairi heads the Industry panel and a significant group including Martrade and IBBC Autumn Conference Principal Sponsor Sardar Group.

Finally, and in parallel, an online Tech forum session on Data and its benefits to Government, Economies, business, and citizens, will include speakers from UK’s GDS, British Water, Agri-epicentre, Serco and Mastercard with more to be confirmed.

Overall, the panels will be exploring in more detail how to ensure the current high oil and gas prices can bring investment and rebalance the economy and promote and develop agriculture and enhance the food chain to increase employment and reduce food poverty. These discussions will also address how to improve the water supply and waste reduction and consider the role of clean power generation in relation to climate change and initiatives to improve sustainability.

We look forward to welcoming you to Dubai, or even following us online if you are unable to make it in person.

A pre-conference reception will be held at the Iraqi Pavilion at Dubai EXPO2020 in the evening of 21st November.

Finally, we’d very much like to thank our sponsors: Principal Sponsor Sardar Group, Gold Sponsor: Hydro-C, Silver Sponsor: Serco and Reception Sponsor: Basra Gateway Terminal

(Source: IBBC)

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