Shafaq News / The American magazine “Forbes” highlighted the doors open to American companies in the Iraqi energy sector, considering that the United States government, in order to neutralize Iran, is working with these companies to accelerate efforts in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, who described it as “pro-business sector,” in order to achieve Iraq’s independence from Iran in the field of energy by 2030.
The magazine indicated in a report translated by Safaq News Agency that the American companies “KBR, Transatlantic Petroleum, Honeywell/UOP, Baker Hughes, Emerson, Arc Energy and GE” are working with the Baghdad-based company “RASEP” in the field of infrastructure and energy development, in order to develop what could be one of the largest oil and gas fields in the world, specifically in the Ben Omar River in southern Iraq.
The report pointed out that the project includes an escort facility for the export of liquefied natural gas near Basra, which can become operational during the current decade, while France-based Technip Energies will develop the plan and feasibility study for the LNG terminal, adding that other aspects of the project are gas collection, compression and central processing and the laying of more than 400 kilometers of pipelines.
The report quoted RASEP Director Ahmed Imad Al-Mohsen, as saying that exports of liquefied oil gas and condensates alone can generate $100 million to enter the Iraqi treasury annually.
After the report pointed out that the Iraqi government agreed to establish the first liquefied natural gas import terminal in the southern port of Al Faw, which can be converted into an export terminal, Al-Mohsed said that Iraq is a welcome market for US energy and technology companies.
According to Al-Mohsen, US investments contribute to the stability of Iraq’s economy, the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs, the strengthening of Iraqi finances, reconstruction and dealing with emission reduction goals, adding that this helps “strengthen US government initiatives towards climate change.”
The report quoted KBR’s head of sustainable technology solutions, Jay Ibrahim, asserting the importance of timing that.
The report pointed out that KBR has been working in Iraq since the seventies of the last century, and has recently employed more than 500 people, including 150 Iraqis to work on the development of the energy and electricity sector.
The report also stated that during the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani to Washington last April, KBR signed a contract worth $12 million to deal with the engineering side of the Ben Omar project, after which it will manage the project, engineering, procurement and reconstruction.
According to Ibrahim, Iraqi ministers are working in a way that the government shows that it is working with the private sector in a new way, which is “exciting and new and has never done before.”
The U.S. report said the ultimate goal is to produce natural gas, build electrical infrastructure, provide excess energy to allies and stop relying on Iran for energy.
The report quoted Al-Mohsen as saying that Iraq spends “about $5 billion a year on importing Iranian gas.”
According to former US Undersecretary of Defense Robert Welke, Iran’s reserves in 2021 when President Donald Trump left office was only $5 billion, adding that Iran currently exports 1 million barrels of oil per day, explaining that the Iranians “have returned to the Shah’s levels, which were present in the 1970s.”
The report added that Iran is currently exporting oil to 17 countries, including China, Oman and Bangladesh, noting that it consumes most of its natural gas production except for what it exports to Iraq.
He added that Iran has the largest gas reserves in the world after Russia, shares gas fields in the Gulf with Qatar, and exported 18.04 billion cubic meters of gas via pipelines in 2022.
The report quoted the Washington Institute as saying that Iran’s oil exports, more than tripled during the Biden administration “due to the easing of U.S. sanctions and increased Chinese demand for crude oil subject to substantial rebates.”
After the report noted that the Trump administration was able to prevent Iran from producing at the levels it currently is, Welke was quoted as saying that “Iran is back. And their cabinets are full, and they are able to cause problems all over the planet, especially in their region.”
While the report noted that given the ease of transporting Iranian power to neighboring countries, it is becoming relatively cheap, Wilke was quoted as saying that “so it is its price, and the cost of that is significant.”
According to Wilke, the development of Iraq’s energy sector is part of a larger effort to ensure U.S. national security and stability in the Middle East, explaining that “in terms of U.S. national security, looking at Iran only as Iran is not the right way to look at it,” adding that “you have to look at it as part of a trilogy involving Moscow and Beijing, and therefore weakening the Iranians, weakens the Chinese and weakens the Russians.”
Welke explained that weakening these governments requires beyond making Iraq independent in the energy field, which includes making the United States more in control of energy so that countries do not have to rely on Russian gas or Iranian oil, noting that during the Trump era the United States was able to secure cheap gas and oil for “our friends” while imposing sanctions and banning Iranian oil sales mainly.
“In theory, anything that allows countries on the outskirts of Iraq to be stronger, is a counterweight to Iranian pressure, and the Iranians will have nothing to provide for a country that has enough energy,” the report quoted Wilke as saying.
Welke spoke of “strategic calculations” for the Trump administration, namely how to establish a special “deterrence loop” about Iran, and that the “Ibrahim Accords” were the focus of that strategy.
“We were working on the Saudis when Trump left office, bringing the Saudis closer to the anti-Iran ring involving Israel with U.S. backed,” Welke was quoted as saying, adding that anything Saudi Arabia could do to challenge Iranian influence “would make sense from a military-strategic perspective.”
He noted that if Trump wins the upcoming election, he “will be a renewed push for the full inclusion of the Saudis to this alliance.”
While the report said Iraq’s oil production increased according to the International Energy Agency, it noted that Iraq struggled to lock up and process the gas, leaving its electric system at risk.
“The main pain point in the country is the lack of electricity as during the summer, there is a deficit of about 12 hours a day of electricity supply,” the report quoted Al-Mohsen as saying.
While noting that the associated gas burning poses a huge risk to the environment and government revenues, Mohsen said that one of the “top priorities on the prime minister’s agenda” is to limit the gas burning.
The report continued that “RASEP” became the first Iraqi company to lead a gas development project in the country, pointing out that the government is currently working on building electricity transmission lines to connect it to Kuwaiti, Jordanian and Turkish electricity networks.
The report mentioned the results of Sudan’s visit to Washington and the joint statement that indicated the United States’ support for Iraqi energy efforts, including the completion of the connection of the electrical network with neighboring countries including Jordan and other Gulf countries, and on helping Iraq reopen the pipeline and Turkey.
“The US government supports such initiatives that promote energy independence in Iraq, which will sever all ties and all natural gas and energy imports from Iran,” Al-Mohsen was quoted as saying, noting that Washington has “long pressed for the severing of relations with Iran.”
According to the mohenceful, the funds payable from the Iraqi side to the Iranian side are in US dollars, which is a source of funding for the Iranian government.
He pointed out that US companies have so far been focused on rebuilding the Iraqi government, and that most of those companies have dealt with the Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Electricity, but the private sector in Iraq has not been fully strengthened.
“We have open doors to invest in energy projects, and we are the first Iraqi company to carry out a gas development project,” the report quoted Al-Mohsen as saying. In the past, this was intended for the government side, and covered by the government,” he said, noting that international companies would participate in the upcoming licensing rounds to develop the oil and gas fields.
Translation of Shafaq News Agency
https://shafaq.com/ar/تقارير-وتحليلات/ل-قصا-يران-رهان-مريكي-على-بواب-الطاقة-المفتوحة-في-العراق
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