Oct 7 2012

Iraq to invest $500 billion in energy sector

By Shaymaa Adel

Azzaman, October 7, 2012

Iraq’s development plan calls for investing $500 billion in the energy sector, according to Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Shahristani.

Shahristani, who oversees the country’s energy sector, did not mention the duration of time during which the massive sum is to be invested, but said developing the sector would create nearly 250,000 new jobs in Iraq.

“Iraq seeks investing $500 billion in the sector of energy and other related industries in cooperation with the private sector,” Shahristani was quoted as telling a delegation of British industrialists and entrepreneurs in Baghdad.

Most of the money will go into developing the country’s massive oil and gas riches and the upgrading its national grid, he said.

Shahristani said Iraq was in urgent need of more than 20 power stations to put an end to the outages.

“The total generating capacity of the new plants as well of those currently in operation should propel power output to 22,000 megawatts,” He said.

He did not say how Iraq was going to pour $500 billion into  the energy sector, but the country is striking oil and gas development deals with foreign firms on the basis that foreigners will spend billions of dollars and recoup their expenditures from sales.

The investment is to bring Iraq “returns that will amount to $6 trillion,” he said.

This post has already been read 1550 times!