The signing took place under the patronage and presence of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, and the UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail bin Muhammad Al Mazrouei.
The first phase of the project is expected to include the production and generation of one thousand megawatts out of a total capacity of two thousand megawatts.
In order to find out the details of the agreements concluded between the Iraqi and Emirati sides, Assem Jihad, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, “With the aim of strengthening bilateral relations between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, a contract was signed to generate solar electricity at a rate of 1 Kiga as part of an agreement of principles between the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and the UAE’s Masdar Company to generate 2 Kiga.”
Assem Jihad continued, “Today, the first phase of the agreement was signed, and the second phase of it will soon be signed, and this contract may develop to higher ‘productivity’ rates, as confirmed by the UAE Minister of Energy, who expressed the UAE’s full readiness to provide Iraq with what it needs of renewable energy.” .
This contract falls within the framework of the strategy of the Iraqi government and the Ministry of Oil, to shift towards renewable or clean energy, says the Iraqi official, who adds, “Through two axes, first by investing associated gas, and stopping gas flaring by converting it to useful energy, and we had important contracts in this context. With solid international companies, such as the contract we recently signed with the French company Total, to generate approximately 600 million standard cubic feet per day, and with other reputable companies.
He explained that the other axis is working to increase the production capacity of renewable energy, and the rates that we plan to reach are about 10 kilos, and through the agreement with the UAE, 2 kilos will begin to be secured.
And the spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry added, “This experiment is being undertaken by Iraq for the first time, and it will contribute to covering an important part of its electrical energy needs, in an important and pivotal step in Iraq’s transformation of renewable energy, and its regional leadership in this context.”
promising partnership
The Iraqi official explains the importance of the Iraqi-UAE agreements, saying: “Masdar is at the forefront of the world’s leading companies in the field of clean energy, and entering into a partnership with them to invest and generate electricity from solar energy, is certainly an important step with its positive returns on Iraq, and it means expanding Masdar’s business and investments Iraqi”.
Jihad affirms that “Iraq is keen to benefit from the experiences of various countries in the region and the world, including the sisterly UAE, of course, which today reaffirmed its standing by Iraq and its willingness to meet Iraq’s various needs, and cooperate with it in various fields and sectors, and this is a common desire between us to develop our relations in various fields.” The tracks, where we have coordination and consensus, for example, with the UAE at the level of OPEC, which reflected positively on the OPEC agreements, and contributed to the stability of global oil market prices.”
And the Iraqi official continues: “The link, compatibility and coordination of Iraq and the UAE, and with various brotherly and friendly countries, is very important to achieve common goals, which contributed to restoring the oil market’s wheel to its proper track, and saving it from stagnation and decline, thanks to these consensuses, and there are other promising projects, and various areas of integration. We especially welcome the entry of Emirati companies to invest in Iraq, in various sectors and fields.”
In the meantime, the Iraqi side represented the head of the National Investment Commission, Suha Daoud Najjar, Maha Hamoudi, Director General of the Investments and Contracts Department at the Ministry of Electricity, and from the Emirati side, the Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar Muhammad Jamil Al Ramahi.
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