US President Meets with Iraqi delegation for a Bilateral Energy Partnership

WASHINGTON, D.C. August 19, 2020 – Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette participated in the official visit of the Iraqi delegation to Washington, D.C.  including a bilateral energy ministerial meeting with the Iraqi Ministers of Oil and Electricity and a Roundtable with the Iraqi Prime Minister and the U.S. energy industry. Tomorrow, Secretary Brouilette will join President Donald J. Trump and the Iraqi delegation for a bilateral meeting at the White House. 

During the bilateral energy ministerial, Secretary Brouillette discussed with Iraqi Minister of Oil Ihsan Abdul Jabbar Ismail and Minister of Electricity Majid Mahdi Hantoush the growing Iraq-U.S. bilateral energy partnership. The Secretary emphasized the critical role U.S. private investment will continue to play in Iraq’s energy future and stressed the need for rapid progress towards energy independence from Iran. To that end, the Ministers agreed to reestablish the U.S.-Iraq Energy Joint Coordinating Committee (Energy JCC). After the bilateral meeting, the Secretary participated in a roundtable with the Iraq Prime Minister, other senior Iraqi officials, and American private sector senior executives about future opportunities for investment in Iraq.

Following the roundtable, the Secretary and the Iraqi Prime Minster observed the signing of energy agreements between the Ministers of Oil and Electricity and five separate U.S. firms, including Honeywell, Baker Hughes, GE, Stellar, and Chevron.

“As two of the top oil producers in the world, the United States and Iraq share an appreciation for how energy shapes our economies and can strengthen our respective security,” said Secretary Brouillette. “That is why I was thrilled to join Prime Minster Kadhimi, Minister Ismael, and Minister Hantoush today for an event featuring this prestigious Iraqi delegation and our great American energy companies. Together, we laid the groundwork for commercial partnerships worth up to $8 billion. These deals are key to Iraq’s energy future, and I am confident that the same companies that have empowered the United States to become energy independent will deploy their deep expertise to help Iraq achieve its full potential in the energy sector.”

DEALS SIGNED TODAY BETWEEN IRAQIS AND AMERICAN COMPANIES

The following commercial agreements worth as much as $8 billion were reached during a signing ceremony between U.S. energy companies and the Government of Iraq on August 19, 2020:

Honeywell and the Ministry of Oil agreed to advance the development of the Ar Ratawi gas project, which will further enable Iraq to capture, process, and utilize indigenous gas resources to meet domestic energy demand.
General Electric and the Ministry of Electricity committed to three agreements that will help increase reliable access to electricity in Iraq, including efforts related to GE’s existing generation maintenance program, addition of combined cycle units at the Dhi Qar and Samawah power plants, and collaboration on strengthening Iraq’s electricity grid and interconnection with neighboring countries.
Stellar Energy and the Ministry of Electricity concluded a front-end engineering and design agreement that will help advance deployment of turbine inlet air chilling technology on more than 30 turbines, which will increase power sector efficiency by as much as 30 percent.
Baker Hughes and the Ministry of Oil agreed to further collaboration on flare gas-to-power opportunities, and deployment of U.S. oil field services and equipment.
Chevron and the Iraqi Ministry of Oil outlined a framework for entering into exclusive negotiating on an exploration, development, and production contract in the Dhi Qar Province.