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)

The post Iraq was Largest Beneficiary of China’s Belt & Road in 2021 first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Iraqi Cabinet Awards Energy Contracts

By John Lee.

At its regular meeting on Tuesday, the Iraqi Cabinet agreed to send an invitation, “in a single bid manner“, to the French company Total to invest in a project to generate 1,000 megawatts of solar electric power.

The project was originally agreed in March as part of a larger engagement with the French energy company, which last week announced that it would rebrand itself as TotalEnergies.

The cabinet also approved a request from the Ministry of Electricity to award a contract “in a single bidding manner” to the Chinese company PowerChina (Power Construction Corporation of China).

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

The post Iraqi Cabinet Awards Energy Contracts first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Chinese Consortium to Develop Dhi Qar Refinery

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has signed an outline agreement with a Chinese consortium for the development of the Dhi Qar refinery.

A Ministry official described the signing of the initial principles agreement as an important step forward, and a prelude to the signing of the final investment contract for the Dhi Qar refinery project, which will have a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The Director General of the Southern Refineries Company (SRC), Hussam Wali, said that the final signature of the contract will be made “after the completion of the economic model of the investment contract“, and it is hoped that this will take place within three months.

The consortium consists of Chinese state-owned arms manufacturer Norinco (which owns ZhenHua Oil), Power China (Power Construction Corporation of China), CNEC (China Nuclear Engineering & Construction?) and the UAE Company for Middle Services Ltd.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post Chinese Consortium to Develop Dhi Qar Refinery first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Chinese Companies to build Fao Refinery

By John Lee.

Iraq has reportedly signed a contract with two Chinese companies to build the Fao [Faw] oil refinery.

An Iraqi oil official told Reuters the 300,000-bpd facility will include a petrochemical plant.

It is to be built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) and Norinco.

(Source: Reuters)