GE Vernova has disclosed several strategic initiatives with the Republic of Iraq aimed at enhancing power generation and availability throughout the country. The announcements were made during Iraqi Prime Minister H.E. Mohammed Shia’a Al-Sudani’s visit to Washington, D.C. and his meeting with President Joe Biden
The initiatives, signed on 17 April in Washington D.C. in the presence of H.E. Al-Sudani, involved H.E. Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Swad, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil; H.E. Dr. Muhammad Ali Tamim, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning; and Roger Martella, Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Government Affairs at GE Vernova. The signings were attended by Ambassador Alina L. Romanowski, the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq, and Mr. Steve Lutes, the President of the US-Iraqi Business Council, and Vice President, Middle East Affairs at U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
USA-Iraq relations
These collaborations reflect the shared vision of the Government of the Republic of Iraq and GE Vernova to strengthen and modernise power infrastructure, facilitate the transition to a lower carbon energy future, and promote economic development. The initiatives announced are in line with the Principles of Cooperation signed between Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity (MoE) and GE Vernova in 2023. They include:
1. A letter of intent with the MoE to explore injecting an additional 3 gigawatts (GW) of energy into the grid generated by highly efficient combined cycle power plants. Additionally, both parties reiterated their commitment to converting two sites, Samawa and Nasiriya, from simple to combined cycle, as well as expanding capacity at the Al Mansouria gas power plant.
2. Five-year services and upgrade agreements with the MoE to improve the availability and efficiency of over 70 turbines and generators at 18 power plants, with a total capacity of up to 7.5 GW.
3. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iraq’s Ministry of Oil to explore the accelerated use of flared gas to increase power generation in select oil fields, aiming to reduce pollution and health hazards associated with flaring while generating additional power.
H.E. Zeyad Ali Fadhil, the Iraqi Minister of Electricity, stated, “These initiatives mark a milestone in our continued efforts to strengthen national power infrastructure.” He emphasised the collaboration with GE Vernova to meet electricity demand through advanced gas power generation technologies and the accelerated use of flared gas.
As part of the initiatives, GE Vernova plans to establish a Monitoring and Diagnostics (M&D) Centre, utilising the company’s electrification software capabilities to monitor core power assets across 18 sites powered by GE Vernova’s 9E gas turbines. The Centre is expected to help mitigate operational risks, reduce unplanned outage costs, and foster Iraqi talent development through knowledge transfer and local engineer training.
“These initiatives mark a milestone in our continued efforts to strengthen national power infrastructure,” said Fadhil. “As electricity demand in Iraq grows, we continue to work with leading companies like GE Vernova, to ensure that the power needs of residents and industrial users are met in a timely manner through advanced gas power generation technologies, on-time servicing and maintenance of energy infrastructure, and an accelerated use of flared gas, in collaboration with the Ministry of Oil.
"As an example, in preparation for the peak summer demand season in 2024, the MoE and GE Vernova’s teams completed the MXL2 upgrade on two of GE Vernova’s 13E2 gas turbines at Al Mansouria power plant, with a total capacity of up to 266 megawatts. Additionally, our teams continue to work on maintenance and upgrade projects covering up to 3.8 GW of capacity.”
