Posted on

TotalEnergies Re-affirms Commitment to Iraq Energy Projects

By John Lee.

France’s TotalEnergies has re-affirmed its commitment to energy projects in Iraq.

Following a meeting in Paris with Iraq’s Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, the Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, said that Iraq is one of the most promising countries in attracting global investment for energy projects.

He added that TotalEnergies is ,”committed to partnering with the Iraqi government for its keenness to deal with us transparently, and to achieve the principles of mutual trust in a way that serves the common interests.”

Last year, Iraq and TotalEnergies agreed a series of high-value investments in Iraq, including:

  • The construction of a new gas gathering network and treatment units to supply the local power stations, with TotalEnergies also bringing its expertise to optimize the oil and gas production of the Ratawi field, by building and operating new capacities.
  • The construction of a large-scale seawater treatment unit to increase water injection capacities in southern Iraq fields without increasing water withdrawals as the country is currently facing a water-stress situation. This water injection is required to maintain pressure in several fields and as such will help optimizing the production of the natural resources in the Basra region.
  • The construction and operation of a photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 1 GWp to supply electricity to the grid in the Basra region.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post TotalEnergies Re-affirms Commitment to Iraq Energy Projects first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Posted on

Iraq committed to Renewable Energy

By John Lee.

The Minister of Oil, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, has said that Iraq is committed to reducing carbon emissions through implementing a number of gas investment projects and developing gas fields, as well as projects to produce solar energy.

At a conference in Iraq under the title “Pathways for a lower carbon future for Iraq“, GE presented an integrated roadmap to support the energy transition sector in Iraq by focusing on specific areas, which include:

  1. Use of associated gas for power generation: Iraq can benefit from associated gas to generate more than 13 gigawatts of power, which would meet the needs of up to 15 million houses in the country;
  2. Converting simple cycle (SC) to combined cycle (CC): Converting electric power plants from simple to combined cycle can help enhance their efficiency by up to 50%, and decrease emissions intensity by 35%. GE estimates that if this solution applied to 19 different sites, it can provide approximately 5.3 kilowatts of additional power over a  4 -year period without burning additional fuel;
  3. Use of  hydrogen for power generation, and deploying post combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies: Use of hydrogen as a fuel for power plants and/or adoption CCS solutions in the future can decrease emissions rates to near zero levels in the long term. GE has more than 100 units around the world that are fully or partially hydrogen-powered and collectively clocked more than 8 million man-hours. Many of GE model B, E and F turbines in Iraq can also be modified to run on 100% hydrogen in their operations.

The conference included a presentation of a short film entitled “Renewable Energy – Our Way to Protect the Environment“, prepared by the Media Office of the Ministry of Oil, and another film prepared by General Electric Company about the company and the energy transition.

The conference was attended by a number of Advisers to the Prime Minister, Directors General of the Ministry of Oil affiliates, and a number of specialists and experts in the field of clean energy.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post Iraq committed to Renewable Energy first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Posted on

Norwegian-led Consortium to build Solar Plant in Karbala

By John Lee.

Iraq signed an agreement to build a 525-MW solar power plant in Karbala.

The project will be built by a consortium of companies led by the Norwegian Scatec, whose main shareholder is Equinor (formerly Statoil).

Also involved are Egypt’s Orascom and Iraq’s Al-Bilal.

The signing comes after recent announcements of renewable energy projects by Masdar, TotalEnergies and PowerChina.

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post Norwegian-led Consortium to build Solar Plant in Karbala first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Posted on

TotalEnergies signs $10bn New Deals in Iraq

TotalEnergies, the Iraqi Ministries for oil and electricity, and the country’s National Investment Commission (NIC) have signed, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Iraq, major agreements covering several projects in the Basra region, designed to enhance the development of Iraq’s natural resources to improve the country’s electricity supply.

Iraq, a country rich in natural resources, is indeed experiencing electricity shortages while it faces a sharp increase in demand from the population.

TotalEnergies, with the support of the Iraqi authorities, on the one hand will invest in installations to recover gas that is being flared on three oil fields and as such supply gas to 1,5 GW of power generation capacity in a first phase growing to 3 GW in a second phase, and, on the other hand, will also develop 1 GWac of solar electricity generation capacity to supply the Basra regional grid.

These agreements include:

  • The construction of a new gas gathering network and treatment units to supply the local power stations, with TotalEnergies also bringing its expertise to optimize the oil and gas production of the Ratawi field, by building and operating new capacities.
  • The construction of a large-scale seawater treatment unit to increase water injection capacities in southern Iraq fields without increasing water withdrawals as the country is currently facing a water-stress situation. This water injection is required to maintain pressure in several fields and as such will help optimizing the production of the natural resources in the Basra region.
  • The construction and operation of a photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 1 GWp to supply electricity to the grid in the Basra region.

These projects represent a total investment of approximately $10 billion (100% share).

Patrick Pouyanné, TotalEnergies’ Chairman and CEO, said:

“These agreements signal our return through the front door to Iraq, the country where our Company was born in 1924. Our ambition is to assist Iraq in building a more sustainable future by developing access to electricity for its people through a more sustainable use of the country’s natural resources such as: reduction of gas flaring that generates air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, water resource management and development of solar energy.

“This project perfectly illustrates the new sustainable development model of TotalEnergies, a multi-energy Company which supports producing countries in their energy transition by combining the production of natural gas and solar energy to meet the growing demand for electricity. It also demonstrates how TotalEnergies can leverage its unique position in the Middle East, a region where the lowest-cost hydrocarbons are produced, to gain access to large-scale renewable projects.“

(Sources: TotalEnergies, Ministry of Oil)

The post TotalEnergies signs $10bn New Deals in Iraq first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Posted on

Iraqi Cabinet Approves TotalEnergies’ Projects

By John Lee.

The Iraqi cabinet has approved the agreement between the Ministry of Oil and French company TotalEnergies to implement four major energy projects in the country:

  1. Plants to collect and refine associated natural gas at the fields of Artawi [Ratawi], West Qurna 2, Majnoon, Tuba [Subba] and Lahais [Luhais]. This will include a Central Gas Complex at Artawi;
  2. Development of the Artawi field;
  3. The integrated seawater project [Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP)?], which the ministry has been trying to implement for more than ten years; and,
  4. A 1,000MW solar energy plant.

The project was originally agreed in March.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

The post Iraqi Cabinet Approves TotalEnergies’ Projects first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Iraq signs 4 Major Energy Deals with Total

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Ministry of Oil has signs an agreement of principles with the French company Total for four major energy projects in the country:

  1. Plants to collect and refine associated natural gas at the fields of Artawi [Ratawi], West Qurna 2, Majnoon, Tuba [Subba] and Lahais [Luhais]. This will include a Central Gas Complex at Artawi;
  2. Development of the Artawi field;
  3. The integrated seawater project [Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP)?], which the ministry has been trying to implement for more than ten years; and,
  4. A 1,000MW solar energy plant.

Full statement here (Arabic)

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

The post Iraq signs 4 Major Energy Deals with Total first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Posted on

Iraqi Cabinet approves New “Alternative Energy” Power Plants

By John Lee.

The Iraqi Cabinet has agreed to approve a recommendation from the National Investment Commission (NIC) for the Ministry of Electricity to proceed with an investment project for the construction of seven “alternative energy” power plants.

The new power stations are to be built in Karbala, Wasit, Babylon, and Al-Muthanna provinces.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

The post Iraqi Cabinet approves New “Alternative Energy” Power Plants first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Posted on

Iraq plans 20GW Solar Power by 2030

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Minister of Oil has his Ministry’s goal is to support the Ministry of Electricity to have 20 gigawatts of solar energy capacity installed by 2030.

In a promotional video issued by the Government of Iraq, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar added that the recently-announced partnership with French energy company Total will include the production of clean solar energy in Southern Iraq.

He said the Ministry was in discussion with other oil producers, including BP, to use their sites to produce solar power.

(Source: Govt of Iraq)

The post Iraq plans 20GW Solar Power by 2030 first appeared on Iraq Business News.

Posted on

Iraq’s Future Isn’t Oil, It’s Sustainable Electricity

By Luay al-Khatteeb, for Foreign Policy. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq’s Future Isn’t Oil, It’s Sustainable Electricity

As the country continues to grapple with the aftermath of the Islamic State insurgency, revolutionizing the country’s energy sector could be the key to long-term security.

Click here to read the full story (subscription required).

The post Iraq’s Future Isn’t Oil, It’s Sustainable Electricity first appeared on Iraq Business News.