Chinese companies win 95% of all Iraqi energy projects
6 September 2024
Commentary
Wil Crisp
Oil & gas reporter
Companies headquartered in China have won 95% of all major project contracts awarded in Iraq’s oil, gas, chemicals and power sectors so far this year, as they increase their dominance in the market.
A total of $12.1bn in energy project contracts were won by Chinese companies during the first eight months of 2024, according to data gathered by regional project tracker MEED Projects.
The only major award so far this year that was not won by a company or partnership that was 100% Chinese, was the contract to rehabilitate the Baiji 2 gas-fired power station, which is estimated to be worth $1.3bn by MEED Projects.
This contract was awarded to a consortium of Beijing-headquartered China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) and German technology conglomerate Siemens.
Commenting on the figures, one industry source said: “China has been a dominant force in Iraq’s energy sector for a long time and this is only increasing as time passes.
“The huge presence that China has in the country’s energy sector is a source of concern for Iraq’s leadership, which doesn’t want to cede control of so many important infrastructure projects to companies from any single country.”
“The problem is, other countries are reluctant to take on the risks of doing business in Iraq and at the same offer the competitive prices that Chinese contractors can offer.”
The biggest energy project contract won by a Chinese contractor so far this year is the agreement for the development of the Al-Faw Investment Refinery project.
The client on the project, state-owned Southern Refineries Company, signed a contract with CSCEC in May this year.
The refinery will have a capacity of 300,000 barrels a day and will produce oil derivatives for both domestic and international markets.
The project will be carried out in two stages. The first phase will involve refining operations, while the second will involve constructing a petrochemicals complex with a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year.
The wider project also includes the construction of a 2,000MW power plant and the establishment of the Al-Faw Academy for Refinery Technology, to train 5,000 Iraqi workers that will eventually work at the facility.
Hualu, a subsidiary of China National Chemical Engineering Company (CNCEC), signed a preliminary principles agreement for the project in December 2021.
At the time, Iraq’s Oil Ministry said that the project would have an investment value of $7bn-$8bn.
MEED Projects has estimated that the contract value of the deal signed with CSCEC in May for the refinery project is about $4bn.
Other energy project contracts won by Chinese companies during the first eight months of this year included the contract for the Artawi 1,000MW photovoltaic solar power plant in Basra.
This contract, estimated to be worth $1bn, was awarded to China Energy Engineering International Group.
Chengdu-based DongFang Electric Corporation was awarded the main contract for a project to convert the Baghdad South power plant into a combined-cycle gas turbine power plant.
The project is estimated to be worth $85m and will increase the capacity of the power plant by 125MW-625MW.
Also this year, a subsidiary of PetroChina, the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, signed an agreement to develop Iraq’s Nahr Bin Umar onshore gas field.
The subsidiary, PetroChina Halfaya, was awarded the build-own-operate-transfer contract, which is estimated to be worth about $400m.
Iraq’s Oil Ministry said that the field will have an initial output capacity of 150 million cubic feet a day.
The project is expected to be completed within 36 months and will include the construction of gas-gathering facilities, storage tanks and pipeline networks to supply gas to power stations.
Strong performance
Chinese contractors also performed well in Iraq’s energy sector in terms of the value of contract awards in 2023.
Last year, Chinese contractors won $2.3bn in Iraqi energy sector contracts, almost half of the $4.8bn that was awarded.
Looking at the data for 2023 and the first eight months of 2024 together, Chinese companies won $14.5bn in contracts, 82% of the $17.6bn in energy project contracts awarded over the period.
The second closest competitors were companies from Germany, which won just over $1bn in contracts, 6% of all awards.
Iraqi companies were third, winning $816m in contracts, according to the data compiled by MEED Projects.
Contracts were also won by companies from Italy, the Netherlands and Turkiye.
Iraq is currently in the midst of a push to try and increase the volume of work being carried out by US companies in the country’s energy sector.
Earlier this month, Iraq announced that it was planning to offer about 10 gas exploration blocks to international companies in a new licensing round that will be launched during a visit to the US by Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani.
Abdel-Ghani said that he will be specifically targeting US companies in the upcoming round.
Earlier this year, the US international oil and gas company ExxonMobil completed its exit from Iraq’s West Qurna-1 oil field, handing over operatorship to PetroChina.
Exxon’s plan to exit the West Qurna-1 oil field was first announced in April 2021, when Iraq’s Oil Ministry said the US-based oil company was considering selling its 32.7% stake.
Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.
Exclusive from Meed
-
-
-
-
-
Firms submit Jeddah distribution centre bids4 May 2026
All of this is only 1% of what MEED.com has to offer
Subscribe now and unlock all the 153,671 articles on MEED.com
- All the latest news, data, and market intelligence across MENA at your fingerprints
- First-hand updates and inside information on projects, clients and competitors that matter to you
- 20 years' archive of information, data, and news for you to access at your convenience
- Strategize to succeed and minimise risks with timely analysis of current and future market trends
Related Articles
-
Parsons wins role on Elon Musk-backed Dubai Loop project
4 May 2026
US-based Parsons Corporation has been appointed to deliver programme management services for the Dubai Loop transportation system.
The contract was awarded by Elon Musk-backed firm The Boring Company, which signed a construction agreement with Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) in February.
Parsons’ scope of work includes independent design verification, stakeholder management, permitting and no-objection certificate (NOC) support, and multidisciplinary design reviews for the project’s first phase.
The first phase comprises a 6.4-kilometre route with four stations, linking the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Dubai Mall.
Stations will be located at DIFC 2, ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai Mall Zabeel Parking and Burj Khalifa.
The first phase is expected to cost about AED565m ($154m) and to be delivered within one year after design work and other preparations are completed. Tunnelling is expected to begin in the second half of this year.
Next phase
The second phase will connect Dubai World Trade Centre and DIFC with Business Bay.
The tunnels will extend up to 22km and include 19 stations.
The total cost across both phases is expected to be around AED2bn ($545m), with completion scheduled within three years.
The pilot route is expected to serve around 13,000 passengers a day, while the full route is projected to have a capacity of about 30,000 passengers a day.
The RTA and The Boring Company signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai in February last year to explore the development of the Dubai Loop transportation system.
The Dubai Loop is expected to be similar to The Boring Company’s Las Vegas Convention Centre (LVCC) Loop project. The LVCC Loop is a 2.7km underground tunnel system that connects different convention centre halls, reducing walking time across the site to about two minutes.
The LVCC Loop has been in operation since 2021. It uses Tesla Model 3 cars to carry passengers between five stations. The Boring Company began construction in November 2019 at an estimated cost of $49m.
.gif)
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16672074/main.jpg -
Humain tenders infrastructure for 6GW data centre campus
4 May 2026
Saudi artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company Humain, owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has issued a tender inviting firms to develop infrastructure for its planned 6GW hyperscale AI data centre campus in Riyadh.
The project will be delivered on an early contractor involvement (ECI) basis. Under the ECI process, selected contractors are required to submit methodologies and design proposals, after which one team will be selected to deliver the construction works.
Firms have until 8 May to submit proposals.
The development will be built on a 24-square-kilometre site in the Al-Saad area in east Riyadh. It will be delivered in two phases across six plots, each with a capacity of 1GW.
The scope of infrastructure work covers:
- Construction of 380kV/132kV/33kV electrical distribution network, two substations with a capacity of 500MVA and 200MVA, bulk supply point (2,000MVA)
- Water network and fire protection systems
- Sewage treatment plant and wastewater network
- Stormwater systems
- Roads
- Underground cable and fibre optic networks
- Landscaping works
The client is being supported by Canadian engineering firm Hatch, France’s Egis and US-based firm JLL.
Humain was launched in May last year to operate and invest across the AI value chain.
Humain is building full-stack AI capabilities across four core areas: next-generation data centres, hyper-performance infrastructure and cloud platforms, and advanced AI models, including Allam.
Also in May 2025, Humain signed preliminary deals with US chipmakers AMD and Nvidia to build multibillion-dollar advanced digital infrastructure in the kingdom.
AMD said it will invest up to $10bn to deploy 500MW of AI compute capacity in Saudi Arabia over the next five years.
In October, PIF and Saudi Aramco signed a non-binding term sheet setting out key terms under which Aramco would acquire a minority stake in Humain, with PIF retaining majority ownership.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16671267/main.jpg -
Abu Dhabi selects consortium for 2.5GW Taweelah C IPP
4 May 2026
Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access
A consortium of Al-Jomaih Energy & Water Company (Saudi Arabia) and Sembcorp Industries (Singapore) has been selected to develop the Taweelah C independent power producer (IPP) project in Abu Dhabi.
The consortium will sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) in mid-May, a source told MEED.
The combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant will have a capacity of 2.5GW. It will be located at the Al-Taweelah power and desalination complex, about 50 kilometres northeast of Abu Dhabi city.
It is understood that China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) will be the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
Last September, MEED reported that state offtaker Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) had received three bids for the facility.
The bidders included:
- Al-Jomaih Energy & Water Company / Sembcorp Industries
- Sumitomo Corporation (Japan) / Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation / Korean Midland Power
- Korea Western Power Company / Etihad Water & Electricity (UAE) / Kyuden International (Japan)
At the time, Mohamed Al-Marzooqi, chief asset development and management officer at Ewec, said the bids would make Taweelah C “one of the lowest tariff CCGT projects in the region”.
The carbon-capture-ready facility had been scheduled to begin commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2028.
This was based on the initial timeline for a PPA to be signed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Taweelah C is part of Ewec’s wider programme to support the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative and the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Strategic Target 2035.
Ewec plans to raise solar power capacity to 18GW and wind capacity to 2.6GW by 2035, while reducing the carbon intensity of its power generation by more than half compared to 2019.
Ewec is also expanding its low-carbon water desalination capacity, with the Taweelah reverse osmosis (RO) plant already operating as the world’s largest RO facility and additional projects, such as the Mirfa 2 RO and Shuweihat 4 RO, under way.
By 2030, it expects 95% of Abu Dhabi’s installed water capacity to come from RO technology.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16670622/main0858.jpg -
Dubai launches Blue Line metro tunnelling works
4 May 2026
Dubai has announced the launch of tunnelling works for the Dubai Metro Blue Line extension project.
In a post on X, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced the start of operations of the tunnel boring machine (TBM), which the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has named ‘Al-Wugeisha’.
The TBM is 163 metres long, weighs more than 2,000 tonnes and will operate around the clock. The post added that its average excavation rate ranges from 13 to 17 metres a day.
The Blue Line will connect the existing Red and Green lines. It will be 30 kilometres (km) long, with 15.5km underground and 14.5km above ground.
The line will have 14 stations, seven of which will be elevated. There will be five underground stations, including one interchange station, and two elevated transfer stations connected to the existing Centrepoint and Creek stations.
In December 2024, the RTA awarded a AED20.5bn ($5.5bn) main contract for the construction of the project to a consortium comprising Turkiye’s Limak Holding and Mapa Group, along with the Hong Kong office of China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC).
The consortium is responsible for all civil works, electromechanical works, rolling stock and rail systems. After completing the project, it will assist with maintenance and operations for an initial three-year period.
According to an official statement, the Blue Line will have a capacity of 46,000 passengers an hour in both directions.
The project is scheduled for completion in September 2029.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16670584/main.jpeg -
Firms submit Jeddah distribution centre bids
4 May 2026
Contractors submitted bids on 26 April for an estimated SR140m ($37m) contract to build a distribution centre in Jeddah.
Saudi Logistics Services Company (SAL) launched the tender on 11 March, as previously reported by MEED. The project will cover an area of about 37,000 square metres. Egyptian firm Cosmos-E Engineers & Consultants has been appointed as the project consultant.
This tender follows the start of construction by Egyptian contractor Rowad Modern Engineering, a subsidiary of Elsewedy Electric Group, on the expansion of SAL’s facilities at King Khalid International airport in Riyadh. The scope of work includes rehabilitating and upgrading existing infrastructure, as well as constructing new supporting facilities and services.
SAL also launched the tendering process in September last year for its SR4.2bn ($1bn) logistics zone in northern Riyadh, MEED previously reported. UAE-based Global Engineering Consultants is the consultant for that development.
The logistics hub aims to meet demand for customised warehouses near King Khalid International airport and the Riyadh Metro. The project aligns with Vision 2030 and the National Transport & Logistics Strategy, which aims to strengthen the kingdom’s logistics sector and enhance Saudi Arabia’s position as a global logistics hub.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16670338/main.gif