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TotalEnergies is set to help Iraq build the water, gas and power
facilities, including a 1-GW solar power plant, urgently needed to
get the southern city of Basra through a crisis.
In Basra, the French company will invest in equipment to recover
associated natural gas flared at three oil fields, a gas gathering
network, and treatment units to supply the gas to local power
stations, according to a 6 September
statement. It will also provide expertise to the operators of
the Ratawi oil field.
The agreement also sees the company providing a seawater treatment
unit for water injection at several fossil fuel extraction fields
in the Basra area.
The seawater is needed so that water is not diverted from the
population amid a water shortage. On 13 August, aid groups working
in the region
warned that drought and record low rainfall was depriving 12
million people in Syria and Iraq of access to water, food, and
electricity.
In Iraq, drought threatens wheat production, fisheries, power
production from hydroelectric dams, and drinking water
supplies.
Higher temperatures caused by climate change have increased the
severity of drought, the groups said. "In the longer term, beyond
emergency food and water, they need to invest in sustainable
solutions to the water crisis," said anti-poverty nonprofit CARE's
regional director Nirvana Shawky, adding that donor governments
needed to act swiftly to save lives in the region.
At the same time, Iraq is experiencing electricity shortages due to
increased demand from the population. TotalEnergies' planned
recovery installations will allow the country to add 1.5 GW of
gas-fired power generation capacity in the first phase of the deal
and an additional 1.5 GW in the second phase.
Solar generation
The French major will also develop 1 GW of solar generation
capacity to supply the Basra regional grid. TotalEnergies CEO
Patrick Pouyanné said its ambition was to be part of Iraq's
sustainable future, including through water management and solar
development.
Building more renewable generation in Iraq is an economic
strategy jointly called for in an article last week by Iraqi
Finance Minister Ali Allawi and the Executive Director of the
International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol.
The doubling of Iraq's poverty rates last year, largely as a
result of the decline in oil demand and revenues during the
COVID-19 pandemic, serve as a warning in Iraq, they said.
An Iraqi government February white paper on economic reform
outlined a vision of reduced reliance on hydrocarbon exports, as
well as addressing the country's budget deficit, which lawmakers
estimated to be $19.79 billion in March.
Iraq's oil ministry in 2020 set a target of eliminating flaring
of natural gas, which it flares of more than any other except
Russia.
Geopolitics
Iraq is currently increasing its oil exports alongside plans to
develop more renewable energy generation and grow domestic use of
gas to ward off power shortages.
Iraq is also under pressure from the US to stop importing
electricity and gas for power generation from Iran, a country on
which the US placed sanctions in 2019.
In line with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change's principle of "common-but-differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities", which asserts developed countries
have more responsibility to pay for adaptation and mitigation, some
have asked whether developed countries should pay to decarbonize
Iraq.
OPEC member states like Iraq mulled the question of financial
support for adaptation and mitigation actions at a First
Ministerial Roundtable on Energy, Climate, and Sustainable
Development on 6 September, according to OPEC.
Posted 08 September 2021 by Cristina Brooks, Senior Journalist, Climate and Sustainability
