Dana Gas Iraqi Kurdistan project nearly complete
Posted: 2 March 2008
Dana Gas reported that its project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to supply, process and transport natural gas to fuel urgently needed local electricity generation is progressing at a rapid pace, with over 70 per cent overall project completion to date.
The project, following service agreements signed in April 2007 with the Kurdistan Regional Government and carried out in partnership with Crescent Petroleum, has completed the engineering, procurement and manufacturing phases, and is now in the construction stage, using Iraqi contractors to maximise local content and economic benefit.
The entire project is on track for first gas supply of 150 million cubic feet of gas per day by middle of this year, rising to 300 million cubic feet by early 2009.
The gas will supply new power plants under construction in Erbil and Sulymaniya, to provide 1,250 MW of electricity generation, for the benefit of over 4 million Iraqi citizens in the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq.
The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, His Excellency Nechirvan Barzani, received Hamid Jafar, Executive Chairman of Dana Gas and Chairman of the Board of Crescent Petroleum, who briefed the Prime Minister on progress of the project, which involves a total investment of $650 million - the largest single private sector investment in Iraq since 2003.
"We are very pleased with the rapid progress of this important project which will benefit not only the people of the Kurdistan Region but contribute to affordable electricity for the whole of Iraq," said His Excellency Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq.
"Being from the region, Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum have demonstrated a unique ability to cooperate positively with local communities in a beneficial manner, while implementing this large and complex project in record time. We are confident that this important initiative by the KRG with Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum will set an excellent example to other parts of Iraq for the country’s economic development for the benefit of all Iraqis."
The project implementation includes upstream development and production, processing with state-of-the-art LPG plants, and transportation of natural gas through a new 180km pipeline, in order to provide urgently-needed gas supplies to cost-effectively fuel the new power stations under construction, providing savings to the Government budget of over $2 billion annually in fuel costs.
The project implementation will also provide work opportunities for over 2,000 Iraqi nationals of all ethnic groups, and provide comprehensive training in oil & gas operations for Iraq’s citizens.
The meeting between the KRG Prime Minister and Hamid Jafar also covered the progress of the Strategic Alliance Protocol signed by the parties, whereby the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, Dana Gas, and its partner Crescent Petroleum have agreed to jointly review the region’s natural gas resources in Northern Iraq with a view to the optimization, development and utilization of that important resource for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
The Protocol agreement includes the “Kurdistan Gas City” - a major new gas-utilization industrial complex to be built over an area of approximately 35 square kilometers, designed to promote private sector investment in a variety of gas-related industries to further benefit the country’s citizens through training, job creation in the tens of thousands, and the promotion of general economic activity. The initial feasibility study for the “Kurdistan Gas City” project has now been completed, with final site selection underway.
"We have been honoured to work on this project to provide a complete solution of state-of-the-art gas field development, processing and transportation that is urgently required on a fast-track basis for electrical power generation for Iraqi citizens," said Hamid Jafar, Executive Chairman of Dana Gas and Chairman of the Board of Crescent Petroleum.
"We are also excited by the Gas City project, to provide added value and economic benefit from natural gas resources, including productive job creation. We are committed to the immediate progress and development of Iraq’s oil & gas sector, as we belong to the region and are here for the long-term."
Posted by Richard Price, Editor, EnergyME.com
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