Page 11 - MEOG Week 25

MEOG P ro J e C ts & C om Panies MEOG

Moves to capture

flared gas can help Iraq

with sanctions waivers

iraQ IRAQ is one of the few countries granted waiv- Joe Anis, CEO of Middle East, North Africa and
ers by the US which allow it to import electricity South Asia at GE Gas Power told the virtual Iraq
from Iran. The rationale for this is that the coun- finance forum. The company is also interested in
try has limited alternative supplies of power and any renewable projects that Iraq could under-
during the hot summer months when air con- take, he said.
ditioning demand is high and temperatures can “I think it’s a huge opportunity and I think it is
soar to 50 degrees Celsius power outages occur, something we are keen to continue our engage-
which inevitably leads to protests. ment and discussions and dialogue with stake-
On May 7 the US extended Iraq’s sanctions holders in the government,” said Anis. “But it is
waiver to import Iranian electricity for 120 days, certainly a way to ensure additional power gen-
as the US administration seeks to boost the new eration that can be provided with a resource that
Iraqi prime minister and provide some stability is readily available.”
to the politically fractured nation. The US is, Iraq plans to capture and treat some 1.2bn
however, keen to wean Iraq off imports of Iranian cubic feet (34mn cubic metres )per day that is
electricity and gas imports and Iraq is bound to currently mostly flared and also produce dry
come under pressure to cut them. gas from other fields, hamed Younis, deputy oil
It is therefore good news that GE is said to minister, told S&P Global Platts on June 9. This
be ready to engage in talks with Iraq to help the could add 635 MW by September; Iraq currently
country generate power from associated gas that produces 16.77 GW of electricity, according to
is currently being flared and also to participate in the electricity ministry’s website
any renewable energy plans. It would also restart a 755-MW solar tender
Capturing 30% to 40% of current flared gas which was first launched in 2019, an electricity
can generate as much as 3.3 GW of electricity, ministry spokesman said on June 18.™

Week 25 24•June•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11