IRAQ | Mainstream Electricity Sector

[haiderpass]

Government Concedes Power To Speed Projects

It is a story that could fit in the national newspapers of any country in the world: “central government projects delayed”.
Yet Iraq seems determined to do something about the delays to these development projects, reports AKnews, as the government is voluntarily giving up central control to local councils to oversee the projects’ completion, after several major projects have suffered severe setbacks.
While bureacracy and corruption are typically blamed, a recent slow down in economic growth might be playing a part.
We are yet to learn which projects will be affected.

[Persi]

India’s Lanco Wins $81m Anbar Power Contract

Posted on 22 June 2011.

Lanco Infratech Ltd. (LANCI) of India signed an $81.3 million contract to build a gas-fired, 250-MW power station in western Iraq.

Masaab Serri, an Electricity Ministry spokesman, told Bloomberg that the company is scheduled to build the plant within 16 months in Al-Qaim, in Anbar province in western Iraq, using natural gas from the nearby Akkas field, which the Iraqi government has recently awarded to Korea Gas Corp (KOGAS).

The country sought bids this year to build more than 60 generation plants to add more than 14,000 megawatts to the national grid. Iraq currently produces 7,000 megawatts and imports 1,000 megawatts while domestic demand totals about 14,000 megawatts, Iraqi Electricity Minister Raad Shallal said in April.

[sheytanElKebir]

Canadian firm Capgent has signed a $1.66 billion (Dh6 billion) deal with the Iraqi electricity ministry to build 10 fuel oil-fired power plants of 100 megawatts each to help battle electricity shortages in the country, a ministry spokesman said yesterday.
Musa'ab Al Mudaris said the power plants, which will be installed in Iraq's western Anbar and the central Salaheddin provinces, will be constructed within 12 months from start of work.
The new plants are part of 50 power stations that Baghdad has decided to install as an emergency plan to offset electricity shortages in the country, he said.
Capgent, or Canadian Alliance for Power Generation Equipment, is a builder of thermal and diesel plant power plants, based in Vancouver.
Iraq, which suffers from an acute power shortage, hopes to at least double its power generation capacity, which stands at only 6,500 MW, less than half of the country's actual electricity requirements.
More than eight years after the US-led invasion, Iraq's national grid provides only a few hours of power each day during summer when temperatures soar to 50 degrees Celsius.
The ministry earlier this year opened bids to build seven large power plants across the country that could boost its power generating capacity by 4,000 MW.
It also announced earlier this year that it would separately build 50 small power plants by the summer of 2012 to alleviate shortages.

[Persi]

German Company Lands $625m Iraq Power Contract

Posted on 06 July 2011.

AKnews reports that the German energy firm MBH has landed a $625 million contract to build five 100-MW power plants in Nineveh province.

The Iraqi electricity ministry announced the deal on Wednesday, saying that the project is expected to be completed in 21 months.

The establishment of the plants is part of the government’s plan to plug national grid shortages – a central gripe in the nationwide wave of public protests earlier this year – which leave some provinces with just eight hours of national power per day.

According to AKnews, the Electricity Ministry spokesman Mosaab al-Muhandis said that the company will be paid in full one year after the completion of the project, while AFP reports that payment will begin one year after commissioning and will be spread over two years.

[Persi]

Alstom Signs $94m Power Contract in Nineveh

05/September/2011

Iraqi’s Ministry of Electricity signed a contract on Saturday with French conglomerate Alstom to build a power generation plant in Nineveh province at a cost of approximately $94 million, according to AKnews.

The Ministry said the plant will begin generating by the end of 2012.

Reuters reportst that the deal requires Iraq to pay 10 percent of the cost to Alstom in advance, and 40 percent a year after the start of construction. There were no details on when the rest of the cost would be paid.

[Spin Cycle]

2012 seems like a big year for electrical power generation on paper. Lets see what happens...

[sheytanElKebir]

Originally Posted by Spin Cycle

2012 seems like a big year for electrical power generation on paper. Lets see what happens...

as long as demand is not controlled... no matter what you produce will get gobbled up leaving a massive deficit!


but no one wants to face reality. so lets continue with the charade!

[Persi]

Shahristani: Electricity Crisis Will End in 2013

Posted on 26 September 2011.

Energy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani has promised that Iraq’s electricity crisis will end in 2013.

AKnews reports that he said only a few more energy plants were necessary to end the electricity shortage.

“Iraq will have approximately 7,000 MW more after the completion of the Zubaydiah plant, the Khairat plant in Karbala, one in Mosul and another one in Dizlat,” Shahristani said.

Demand for electricity in Iraq is estimated at around 14,000 MW; according to government figures, the energy currently available to Iraq stands at around 9,000 MW.

According to a report issued by the International Energy Development Organization, Iraq would need to spend $12bn USD (14.1tr IQD) if it wants to produce enough electricity to meet the current needs.

“The projects of the Electricity Ministry to build gas stations are expensive,” said Nidaa Fakher, an official from the Iraqi branch of the organization. “However, these measures are still not enough.”

He added that Iraq would need 17,000 MW instead of the current peak demand of 14,000 MW, if the industrial sector was activated.

According to AKnews, the report criticized the Iraqi government for two reasons. First, Iraq lacks a central distribution center for electricity that would resolve the problem of the imbalanced distribution of electricity. Secondly, Iraq does not allow the private sector to implement investment projects to save energy.

According to the parliamentary committee assigned to investigate allegations of corruption against the Electricity Ministry, there is clear evidence of corruption in at least 17 contracts that were dealt with in the ministry.

“The committee recommends to question Electricity Minister Hussein al-Shahristani’“, said Uday Awwad, a member of the committee.

Shahristani took over the Electricity Ministry after his predecessor Raad Shallal was charged with allegations of corruption and had to resign. Mr Shallal was allegedly involved in corrupt contracts worth $1.7 billion USD (2 trillion IQD).

[Persi]

Hyundai, Metka Win Iraq Power Deals Worth $357m

Posted on 28 September 2011.

Iraqi government spokesman Dr Ali al-Dabbagh has announced that Iraq’s cabinet has approved projects to build two power stations in southern Iraq.

The 1,500 megawatt Rumaila power station will be built by South Korean Hyundai Engineering at a cost of $308 million, while the 1,250 megawatt plant in Basra will be built by Greek company Metka at a cost of $349 million.

Both plants are gas-fired, and are to be completed within two years.

Both plants will be funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), as part of the $5 billion aid package that Japan pledged to Iraq in 2003.

[Persi]

500-MW Power Station Approved in Thi Qar

Posted on 05 November 2011.

The Provincial Council of Thi Qar [Dhi Qar] has announced that the ministry of electricity has approved the award of a contract to build a 500-megawatt power station to a local company.

Aswat al-Iraq reports that the council expects the work to start this month, after verifying the company’s records and abilities.

The contract had previously been withdrawn after the resignation of ex-electricity minister Raad Shalal, as Deputy Premier for Energy Affairs Hussein Shahristani cancelled all contracts with Iraqi companies.

There are two power generation stations in Thi Qar. The first was built by a Russian company in 1978 and has a capacity of 800 megawatts, and the second is the gas powered station with 40 megawatt capacity.

[IraqiPlan_et]

Iraq in $1 bln power deals with Chinese, Korean companies
November 17 2011


Iraq has finalised a $1.08 billion contract with China's CMEC to build a 1,260-megawatt thermal power plant, a senior electricity ministry official said on Thursday.

"The signing will take place next week or the week after," Laith al-Mamury, the head of investments and contracts at the ministry, said at a ceremony in Baghdad.

At the ceremony, Iraq signed an $85 million contract with South Korea's LS Industrial Systems to install 35 power distribution substations.

Iraq is trying to ramp up electricity production as it rebuilds after years of war and international sanctions.

Intermittent power is one of Iraqis' chief complaints. Demand far exceeds supply.

China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corporation (CMEC) will build the thermal plant, with two power units each providing 630 MW, in Salahuddin province north of Baghdad.

Mamury also said the ministry had signed a $1.044 billion contract recently with STX Heavy Industries, a unit of South Korea's STX Group, to build diesel power stations with a total capacity of 900 MW in three provinces.

The units are scheduled to be completed in July 2012.

[IraqiPlan_et]

Iraq Approves $540m Electricity Deal with Alstom
17 November 2011


AFP reports that the Iraqi cabinet has approved a $540 million contract for French firm Alstom to build a 182.4 megawatt gas power plant in central Iraq.
Ggovernment spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that the plant, which should be up and running 18 months after the signature of the contract, is to be built in Mansuriya in the Diyala province, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of the capital.
The cabinet chose Alstom over the Iranian company company Mabna “because the offer was more attractive and less expensive,” he said.
Alstom has already been selected to refurbish a gas power plant in the central province of Najaf.

[Basrawii]

Shihristani is doing a great job to electricity now. He will do the same thing he did for the oil sector. Hard working man.

[fazl1991]

He is some what related to our family and I know his family.
As u said he is a really hard working man, God bless him and who ever works for a better Iraq. Its hard to keep presenting good thing to the community when you are from a minority of good people but it is possible.

[Basrawii]

I saw him before in Basra, again he did great job on the bidding rounds. I think Maliki did well by backing him up.

[Spin Cycle]

Originally Posted by Basrawii

I saw him before in Basra, again he did great job on the bidding rounds. I think Maliki did well by backing him up.

I agree, he's one of the better politicians (and the Kurds hate him, which makes him even better ).

But, one person can't control the outcome, we'll have to wait and see if his projects pan out.

[Sinjar]

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Iraq has signed contracts worth $396 million with South Korea's Hyundai Engineering to build two power plants as it tries to increase electricity supplies, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The plants will have a total capacity of 1,752 megawatts, Laith al-Mamury, head of investments and contracts at the electricity ministry, said.

"The ministry signed a contract with Hyundai Engineering to build five units, each with a capacity of 292 megawatts (and) with a value of $308 million in Rumaila," Mamury told Reuters.

The second deal, worth $88.5 million is for a plant with one 292 MW gas unit at Taza in Iraq's northern Kirkuk province, Mamury said.

The gas units were bought from Siemens in a contract signed in 2008.

Mamury said the Rumaila contract was expected to be completed in 21 months while the Taza deal would be finished within 18 months.

Iraq is trying to ramp up electricity production as it rebuilds after years of war and international sanctions. Intermittent power is a chief complaint of Iraqis and demand far exceeds supply.

Iraq finalised a $1.08 billion contract with China's CMEC last week to build a 1,260-megawatt thermal power plant.

[Sinjar]

LSIS to build power substations in Iraq


LS Industrial Systems Co. said Tuesday it had won two contracts worth $115 million from the Iraqi government to install electrical substations in the Middle Eastern country’s capital.

Under the deal, Korea’s top maker of electrical equipment will establish 35 medium-voltage substations in Baghdad within a year. It also plans to supply an additional four air-insulated switchgear substations, including transformers, for a separate order.

The contracts come as part of the Middle Eastern country’s $37 billion program to revamp infrastructure, which was devastated amid three decades of war, sanctions and looting.

Iraq’s electricity ministry aims to establish 100 substations over the next few years to set up a secure nationwide power grid.

LSIS shares closed up 5.79 percent on Tuesday at 60,300 won ($52.64).

“Based on the successful deals as a steppingstone, we plan to bid not only for the remaining 65 substations but also for future reconstruction projects in Iraq and other Arab countries,” the company said in a statement.

The Middle Eastern market is on the verge of a boom as demand surges for housing, power stations, electric cables and other infrastructure following popular uprisings early this year.

Korean builders have beefed up their operations across the region in recent years, focusing on power plant construction. But Iraq has remained a nascent market for them compared with such countries as the United Arab Emirates, Libya and Saudi Arabia.

LSIS is the first non-European company in 60 years to win an electricity project there. It is also working on a 33 billion won deal to build power substations in Syria.

Last May, Hanwha Engineering & Construction won a $7.25 billion order to build a new town in Iraq by 2021.

LS Cable Ltd., another LS Group subsidiary, secured a $200 million deal in 2009 with an Iraqi firm to set up telecommunications networks there.

“The Iraqi reconstruction market is projected to see explosive growth over the next three years,” Park Joong-je, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities Co., said in a report, adding that the country would become the largest construction market in the Middle East and North Africa next year, topping $203 billion.

By Shin Hyon-hee

[BigDreamer]

great to see all these contracts being signed.. but honestly, i think this stuff should have been signed 3-4 years ago ...

[Basrawii]

I think now that shihristani is in, he will do that change which should have been done few years ago. I think when the Americans are out the government will take its responsibilities more seriously.