BAGHDAD: French energy giant TotalEnergies has signed a $27-billion contract to invest in oil, gas and solar energy production in Iraq, the country’s oil minister said on Sunday.
The announcement of the deal, supposed in part to reduce Iraq's reliance on fossil fuels, came as minister Ihsan Ismail signed the contract at a Baghdad ceremony with TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanne.
TotalEnergies has not directly confirmed to AFP the value of the contract.
“This is the largest investment in Iraq by a Western company,” Ismail said. “Implementing these projects is the challenge we face now.”
Iraq has immense reserves of oil and gas.
But despite being the No.2 producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, it is experiencing an acute energy crisis and chronic blackouts that fuel social discontent.
Officials justify the lack of investment and the dilapidated state of its energy network by citing falling oil prices, which represent more than 90 percent of state revenue.
The country is highly dependent on neighboring Iran, which supplies it with a third of its gas and electricity needs.
However, Baghdad currently owes Tehran $6 billion for energy already supplied.
The contract inked on Sunday with TotalEnergies covers four projects, an Iraqi Oil Ministry source said ahead of the signing ceremony.
One of these aims to pipe seawater from the Gulf to southern Iraqi oilfields. Water is used to extract oil from subterranean deposits.
Two projects focus on extracting and exploiting gas in southern Iraq, which is rich in fossil fuel deposits.
The fourth project will see the installation of a solar farm in Artawi, near the southern port of Basra.
The Iraqi source said that ultimately, the solar panels should produce “1,000 MW” of electricity, the equivalent of the energy produced by a nuclear reactor.
“Iraq will not pay anything,” the source added.
France’s former Total, which has renamed itself TotalEnergies to symbolize a diversification into cleaner sources of power, is one of the world’s top five energy companies.
While still focused on oil and gas, the company has indicated that this year it will devote 20 percent of its growth investments to electricity and renewable energies.
France’s TotalEnergies signs $27bn oil, gas, solar deal in Iraq
https://arab.news/835uf
France’s TotalEnergies signs $27bn oil, gas, solar deal in Iraq
IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva commends GCC economic success
DUBAI: The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has commended the Gulf’s economic success and said she admires its efforts.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit on Tuesday, Georgieva said discussions with ministers of finance and central bank governors in the region were showing maturity, which helped them move their economies forward.
“If you want to compete in the world we are today, you have to come up with a sense of purpose and unity and the Gulf has demonstrated capacity to do so,” she added.
Georgieva said she admired what the Gulf Cooperation Council had done with investing in human capital and recognizing the importance of dialogue and cooperation: “Because you have invested in human capital before AI took over, you have such a strong comparative advantage today when this new technology is coming to life.”
She also urged Gulf countries to learn from Europe’s mistakes.
“In the Gulf I am enthusiastic about what I see, there is more interest in harmonization of regulations, more collective decision making and focus on interregional trade,” she said. “Potential for that is huge and the Gulf is thinking about how to make the GCC a more impactful institution. Don't copy European institutions, they are too complicated.”
Georgieva added that, despite political challenges and obstacles, the world still needed trading.
“Trade is like water, you put an obstacle and it moves around it,” she said. “The world is trading because the majority of small and medium sized countries can’t produce anything at home and they need an integrated global economy.
“We live in a world of exhaustive shocks, we live in a world of uncertainty, this is not going to change.”
Georgieva also urged governments to get their economies in the best possible order and to cooperate with their neighbors to build economic bridges and connections.
