The Iraqi government approves the establishment of an oil pipeline (Basra-Haditha) with a capacity of 2.25 million, 31 DEC

The Iraqi government approves the establishment of an oil pipeline (Basra-Haditha) with a capacity of 2.25 million

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi government approved, on Monday, the establishment of a Basra-Haditha oil pipeline with a capacity of 2.25 million, while taking urgent measures in response to the demands of the people of Al-Sadiq district, north of Basra Governorate, in addition to discussing the general conditions in the country and examining a number of important files and priorities of the government program, in addition to discussing the topics included on the agenda and taking the necessary decisions regarding them.

This came during a regular session of the Council of Ministers, held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, according to a statement received by Shafaq News Agency.

The following are the most important points of the session:

In response to the demands of the people of Al-Sadiq district, north of Basra Governorate, Al-Sudani directed the urgent disbursement of funds to implement rapid service projects in the district, allocate lands for building schools, proceed with the construction of a hospital, and complete the construction of main and secondary roads linking the district to the governorate. His Excellency also directed the ministries to quickly implement previous decisions taken by the Council of Ministers regarding Al-Sadiq district and areas north of the governorate .

As part of the follow-up of the Ministry of Electricity’s projects, the Council of Ministers approved the authorization of the Minister of Finance, or her authorized representative, to sign the financing loan agreement to implement the combined cycle projects for the benefit of the Ministry of Electricity, for the Kirkuk gas station, with the guarantee of the US Export-Import Bank , based on the Federal General Budget Law for the three years, the article related to the principles of cooperation on energy in Iraq, and approval of the financing terms established by the Ministry of Finance  .

In the field of oil projects, the Council of Ministers approved the recommendation of the Ministerial Energy Council regarding the establishment of the oil pipeline (Basra-Haditha), with a capacity of   2.25 million barrels, as follows :

1- Approval of the contract concluded between Basra Oil Company and the Oil Projects Company, in the amount of (5.97225) trillion dinars, according to the financial authority, and funded within the Iraqi-Chinese agreement .

2- Approval of the recommendation of the Central Committee for Review and Approval of the Referral in the Ministry of Oil, which includes the referral of the order to equip the crude oil pipeline (Basra – Haditha), at the reduced amount (1.6205) trillion dinars, which is less than the estimated cost by 5.5%, the pipeline is of category (56) knots, with a length of (685) km, a thickness of 22 mm, and with raw materials of solid origin, provided that it is accepted by the Ministry of Oil before manufacturing, and with a preparation period of (720) days, with the project being included in the operating budget of the Oil Projects Company, before the referral .

3- Excluding the aforementioned contract and referral from the Government Contracts Implementation Instructions No. 2 of 2014 and the controls attached thereto .

In the same vein, the Council of Ministers followed up on the Karbala refinery operation file, and approved the following :

1- Exempting the Ministry of Oil/Middle Refineries Company – Karbala Refinery, from the contracting methods stipulated in the instructions for implementing government contracts (2 of 2014), to contract with Rawad Al-Qimmah Company for a period of one year, renewable once, at an estimated cost of (180) million dollars per year, including responsibility for operation, laboratories, maintenance and safety, in addition to qualifying the operating staff to receive the refinery gradually during the contract period, until it is fully received, noting that the contract of the South Korean contractor was for an amount of (219) million dollars, per year, and did not include responsibility for safety and laboratories .

2- Forming a management from the Middle Refineries Company, which will follow up on the operation of the Karbala Refinery, headed by the General Manager of the Middle Refineries Company, and eight of the advanced staff in the Middle Refineries Company and the Karbala Refinery, and granting financial and contractual powers as an exception to the contracting methods for implementing government contracts (2 of 2014) and the controls attached to it, including the advertising procedures, the standard document, and the contracting determinants and amounts stipulated in the instructions (1 of 2023), to facilitate the implementation of the Federal Budget Law, and this exception will be for a period of two years to facilitate the operating procedures and the procedures for purchasing chemical and spare materials, services and requirements specific to the Karbala Refinery, and up to (15) million dollars, and anything in excess of that will be subject to obtaining the approval of the Central Review Committee and the approval of the referral in the Ministry of Oil .   

The Council of Ministers continued to consider its agenda, and in follow-up on the mechanisms for dealing with iron, scrap, and colored and war metal waste, it approved the following in this regard:

1- The Ministries of Defense and Interior and other security agencies shall hand over to the Military Industrialization Authority, free of charge, all used and out-of-service equipment and weapons, as well as all types of empty ammunition containers and metal waste of a military nature.

2-     Handing over the brass material to the Military Industrialization Authority without charge to other ministries, security agencies, and entities not affiliated with the Ministry.

3- All ministries and entities not affiliated with a ministry, with the exception of ministries and security entities, shall sell copper, aluminum and lead to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals and the Military Industrialization Authority for a price, or exchange them for the products available to each of them.

4- The sale of iron scrap (of a civilian nature) by ministries and entities not affiliated with a ministry (except for ministries and security and military entities) to companies of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals at a price.

5- The Ministries of Defense and Interior and other security and military agencies sell iron scrap (of a civilian nature) to the Military Industrialization Authority for a price or exchange it for the products available to them.

6- Paragraph (13) of Cabinet Resolution No. (24413 of 2024) regarding lifting restrictions on the transport of exclusively civilian iron scrap between governorates and within one governorate shall remain in effect.

7- Obligating all scrap owners to obtain certificates of freedom from radioactive materials, issued by the competent authorities.

8- The Joint Operations Command shall issue a movement order within 72 hours to the operations commands and all other concerned parties for the purpose of facilitating the transportation mission.

9- No text that conflicts with the content of this draft resolution shall be implemented, and Cabinet Resolutions No. (42 of 2017), No. (23299, No. 23506 of 2023), No. (24454, No. 24521 of 2024) shall be cancelled.

Within the framework of the government’s priority for administrative reform, the Council of Ministers approved amending Paragraph 2 of its Resolution No. 24896 of 2024, regarding the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), as follows:

The Ministry of Finance contracted with PWC , based on the World Bank’s request, to disburse the amount of the external auditor’s contract, before November 30, 2024, from the annual allocation of the project for the year 2024, amounting to (910) million dinars, with the possibility of disbursing the amount in Iraqi dinars equivalent to (23.4) million dinars, and including it in the estimates of the federal general budget for the year 2025, if the Ministry of Finance is unable to disburse the amount during the year 2024.

The Council of Ministers approved an increase in the fees for examining and marking gold jewelry to 350,000 dinars per kilogram, instead of 200,000 dinars. It also approved an increase in the fees for marking gold bullion to 125,000 dinars per kilogram, instead of 25,000 dinars, with the Ministerial Council for the Economy to take subsequent measures, in accordance with the mechanism stipulated in Legislative Resolution (200 of 1997).

The Council of Ministers approved the issuance of a special system for the (Medal of Freedom), based on the provisions of the Constitution and the Political Prisoners Institution Law (4 of 2006 as amended), taking into consideration the observations of the Legal Department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, and the observations presented during the meeting session, which were approved by the Prime Minister.

In the context of completing projects and their related matters, the Council discussed the mechanism for compensating contractors, and it was decided that the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau would continue its audit procedures regarding the issue of the compensation mechanism, and count the compensation amounts that were disbursed in violation of the Law on Compensating Victims of War Operations, Military Errors and Terrorist Operations (20 of 2009), previously amended, for the work completed for the projects subject to discussion of Cabinet Resolution (24241   of 2024), with the companies to which compensation was disbursed presenting their requests for compensation for their properties to the committees formed pursuant to the aforementioned law.

The Council of Ministers approved the inclusion of the project to rehabilitate the shrine of Sayyid Muhammad bin Imam Ali al-Hadi (peace be upon them), as an exception to the inclusion requirements, with an annual allocation of 1 billion dinars, transferred from the Ministry of Planning’s projects – infrastructure, and at a total cost determined between the Ministry of Planning and the Shiite Endowment Office, and the Ministry of Finance will indicate this within the 2024 budget projects.

The Council also followed up on the file of resolving projects that were implemented using the direct implementation method in Salah al-Din Governorate, and approved the recommendations of the Diwani Order Committee No. 24 of 2024 regarding resolving projects implemented using this method, while taking the necessary procedures to settle the accounts of the projects under investigation, provided that the projects are funded within the governorate’s allocations for regional development. It was also decided to emphasize the continuation of the Integrity Commission’s procedures and coordination between the Ministry of Planning, Salah al-Din Governorate, and the beneficiary parties, to discuss the possibility of completing the implementation of projects by the beneficiary parties.

The Council of Ministers followed up on the implementation and completion of infrastructure and the implementation of stalled projects, and approved the following decisions:

1-     Re-listing the project (100-bed hospital in Al-Shanafiyah/Diwaniyah Governorate) at the new cost after deleting the project at the old cost.

2-     Increasing the cost of the K3 pumping station rehabilitation project in Haditha, and creating a component (complementary works to complete the project), within the Ministry of Oil projects.

3-     Increase the total cost and reserve amount for the project (construction of the Federal Financial Supervision Bureau building/Second Region Audit Department).

4-     Increase the estimated cost of the project (construction of the concrete Aziziyah (Brinj) Bridge in Aziziyah District).

5-     Increase the total cost and reserve amount for the project (establishing a 200-bed hospital in Abu Al-Khaseeb district).