meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Morocco leads Maghreb energy transition

11 July 2023

More on Morocco’s power and water sector:

> Morocco seeks firms for 400MW pumped storage contract
> Morocco extends Casablanca water PPP deadline
> US firm plans 2MW Morocco hydrogen project
> China's Tinci plans $280m Morocco lithium-ion plant
> Xlinks to seek construction partners
> Morocco signs $6.4bn electric battery and storage deal
> Morocco tenders 900MW power plant contract

 

Morocco is among the list of Maghreb countries that have seen few deals awarded in the power generation sector over the past 12 to 24 months.

The last contract awards it recorded were in April 2022 for the 333MW first phase of the Noor 2 solar photovoltaic (PV) project.

The Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen) and Morocco’s Energy Transition & Sustainable Development Ministry awarded six packages of this tranche to three independent power producer (IPP) developers: Voltalia Maroc, Enel Green Power Morocco and the UAE-based Amea Power.

Xlinks scheme

The country, however, could emerge from the doldrums with key projects such as the $18bn Xlinks on the horizon, enabling it to hold on to its status as the regional leader in renewable energy.

The Morocco-UK power project entails building 10,500MW solar and wind farms in Morocco’s Guelmim-Oued Noun region and sending 3,600MW a day of energy exclusively to the UK via four 3,800-kilometre high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) cables.

MEED understands the first phase of the surveys for the project is complete, with geophysical and geotechnical surveys expected to finish this year and next year.

The HVDC pipeline will pass through Spain, Portugal and France, where permitting processes are being undertaken. Financing sources could include export credit agencies, multilateral development agencies and commercial or investment banks.

Morocco aims to source up to 52 per cent of its energy – up from the current 32 per cent – from renewable sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45.5 per cent by 2030 

Earlier this year, Xlinks completed an early development funding round that included a $30.7m investment from Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) and $6.23m from London-headquartered Octopus Energy Group.  

The UK-based startup is expected to seek interest from original equipment manufacturers and construction partners soon. This will be followed by seeking interest from financial advisers for the project.

Low-carbon molecules

Morocco aims to source up to 52 per cent of its energy – up from the current 32 per cent – from renewable sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45.5 per cent by 2030.

Thanks to the country’s strategic location and favourable legislative framework, this ambition is drawing investors focused on green hydrogen and derivatives production.

In April, a team led by China Energy International Construction Group signed a memorandum of cooperation to develop a green hydrogen project in a coastal area in southern Morocco.

The planned project involves constructing an integrated green hydrogen-based ammonia production facility. It will require a solar PV power generation plant with a capacity of 2GW and a wind power plant with a capacity of 4GW.

These plants will supply power to an electrolysis plant that can produce 320,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually, which will then be processed to produce 1.4 million tonnes of green ammonia annually.

Energy China International Construction Group has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Ajlan & Brothers Company and the local firm Gaia Energy Company for the project.

Amun project

It is the second high-profile green hydrogen project announced for the North African country since April 2022, when Serbia-headquartered renewables developer and investor CWP Global appointed US firm Bechtel to support developing large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia facilities in the country.

The Amun green hydrogen project, which CWP Global plans to develop in Morocco, is understood to require 15GW of renewable energy and has an estimated budget of between $18bn and $20bn.

Along with these projects – which could take several years to implement – several green hydrogen pilot projects are also under way in Morocco.

Africa-focused transitional energy group Chariot, the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and UK-based hydrogen electrolyser developer Oort Energy are planning several small projects using a polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyser system patented by Oort.

The three parties will run initial proof of concept projects while evaluating the feasibility of implementing large-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production.

One of the pilot projects is intended to be hosted at the research and development unit at state-owned fertiliser producer OCP Group’s facilities in Jorf Lasfar.

US-headquartered Verde Hydrogen also plans to develop and commission a 2MW green hydrogen electrolyser plant project in Morocco, which it expects to complete next year.

Electric vehicle components

Recent developments also point to Morocco potentially becoming a global hotspot for the electric vehicles supply chain.

In July this year, China’s Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology announced plans to build a lithium-ion battery materials plant in the country. The project capitalises on Morocco’s ample phosphorite ore resources.

The firm’s Singapore unit is expected to invest as much as $280m to set up a project company in the North African country to produce lithium-ion battery materials that can be exported to Europe.

In late May, the Moroccan government and Chinese-European company Gotion High-Tech also signed a preliminary agreement to establish a factory to produce electric car batteries and energy storage systems in the country.

The project is estimated to cost MD65bn ($6.3bn). The planned facility will have the potential to “create a comprehensive battery production solution” with a capacity of 100GW a year. 

Morocco’s minister-delegate in charge of investment, convergence and evaluation of public policies, Mohcine Jazouli, said the factory “will not only contribute to Morocco’s renewable energy and electric transport sector, but also solidify its reputation as an automotive industry powerhouse”.

Traditional energy

Meanwhile, along with its intense drive towards clean energy, Rabat is also making progress on traditional energy projects. The National Office of Electricity & Drinking Water (Onee) last awarded a thermal power plant deal in 2017. So it was a surprise when Onee recently tendered a five-year contract to build and operate an open-cycle 900MW thermal power plant in the country.

To be located along the M18 station point of the Maghreb-to-Europe gas pipeline, the proposed power generation plant will use dual-fuel gas turbines, with diesel fuel as a backup. Onee expects to receive bids for the contract by 5 September.

In addition, the procurement process is under way for a major seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant in Grand Casablanca, which has a design capacity of 548,000 cubic metres a day.

The build-operate-transfer contract is for 30 years, including a three-year construction period and 27 years of operation and management.

Making amends

To its credit, however, Morocco’s sustainable campaign has extended to other sectors that have traditionally used carbon-intensive processes and technologies.

The Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC) and OCP Group recently signed a €100m ($111m) green loan to build four solar plants to power OCP’s Morocco operations.

The four solar plants, with a combined capacity of 202MW, will be located in the mining towns of Benguerir and Khouribga, home to Morocco’s largest phosphate reserves.

As captive power plants, they will supply clean energy directly to OCP’s operations. The project is part of OCP’s $13bn green investment programme, which aims to increase its green fertiliser production and transition its operations to green energy by 2030.

More on Libya and Tunisia’s power and water sectors:

> Libya awards $1.3bn power plant contract
> Italy and Tunisia start $1bn Elmed prequalifications
> Acciona and Swicorp to develop 75MW wind project
> Suez signs $221m Tunisia wastewater PPP deal
> Tunisia tenders 1GW of solar IPP contracts

Libya and Tunisia

Earlier this year, the state-owned General Electricity Company of Libya (Gecol) awarded a joint venture of Qatar-based construction company Urbacon for Trading & Contracting and Egypt’s ElSewedy Electric an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 1,044MW gas-fired power plant in Libya.

The contract is valued at €1.19bn ($1.29bn). The project is expected to be completed in 26 months and comprises six gas turbines from Germany’s Siemens Energy. The emergency power plant project is located in Zliten.

The power plant is expected to help address the endemic electricity shortage in the country. However, it does little to reduce Libya’s carbon emissions. At under 10MW, the country has the lowest renewable energy installed capacity in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, against a total capacity of 11,000MW as of 2021, according to International Renewable Energy Agency data.

Tunisia, where renewable sources account for at least 8 per cent of its power generation capacity, has also made minor progress over the past few months.

A team of Spain’s Acciona and Saudi investment group Swicorp have partnered to develop a 75MW wind farm in Chenini in Tunisia’s Tataouine governorate.

The Spanish-Saudi team is understood to have agreed to the technical and financial terms of the project, as well as the land lease for installing 14 wind turbines in Djebel Dahar, located 80 kilometres from Djerba.

Each wind turbine will have a capacity of 6MW. The project will require an estimated investment of TD500m ($164m).

Tunisia’s wind potential is estimated at 8,000MW, according to its wind atlas and a study published in 2021 by the German international cooperation agency Giz.

In January this year, the African Development Bank Group approved a $27m and €10m ($10.67m) loan package to co-finance the construction of a 100MW solar power plant in Kairouan, Tunisia.

The approval covers $10m and another €10m from the bank, and a $17m concessional financing from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, a special multi-donor fund managed by the bank.

Additional financing will come from the IFC, the World Bank Group and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

The 100MW Kairouan project was part of the first round of solar schemes under Tunisia’s concession regime, launched through an international tender by the Ministry of Industry, SMEs & Cooperatives in 2018.

A consortium formed by Dubai-headquartered Amea Power and TBEA Xinjiang New Energy Company won the contract to develop the scheme in December 2019.

The project is located in El-Metbassta, in the Kairouan North region, about 150km south of the capital, Tunis.

More on Algeria’s power and water sectors:

> Sonatrach seeks solar PV consultants
> Cosider tenders desalination contract
> Sonelgaz tenders 2GW solar schemes
> Wetico wins Algeria water desalination contracts

Algeria

Despite a highly tentative approach to adopting low-carbon energy, there are some promising projects in Algeria.

In March, state-owned utility Sonelgaz invited companies to bid for the contract to build 15 solar plants in the country with a combined capacity of 2,000MW.

The solar projects will be built in 11 locations across the North African state.

The locations and capacities of the proposed solar power plants include:

  • Bechar (Abadla): 80MW
  • Bechar (Kenadsa): 120MW
  • Msila (Batmete): 220MW
  • Bordj Bou Arreridj (Ras al-Oued): 80MW
  • Batna (Merouana): 80MW
  • Laghouat: 200MW
  • Ghardaia (Guerrara): 80MW
  • Tiaret (Frenda): 80MW
  • El-Oued (Nakhla): 200MW
  • El-Oued (Taleb Larbi): 80MW
  • Touggort: 130MW
  • Mghaier: 220MW
  • Biskra (Leghrous): 200MW
  • Biskra (Tolga): 80MW
  • Biskra (Khenguet Sidi Nadji): 150MW

In December 2022, Algeria’s Energy Transition & Renewable Energies Ministry (Shaems) also launched a tender to deploy 1,000MW of solar capacity. However, the status of the tender is unclear as of mid-2023.

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10991889/main4537.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Contractor appointed for Oman power plants

    13 May 2026

     

    A consortium of China-headquartered Shandong Electric Power Construction No. 3 Company (Sepco 3) and South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility has been appointed as the main contractor on the Misfah and Duqm combined-cycle gas turbine power plants in Oman.

    The contracts cover the construction of two independent power producer (IPP) projects, with work scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026.

    State offtaker Nama Power & Water Procurement (Nama PWP) had previously signed power-purchase agreements (PPAs) for the development and operation of the plants.

    The developer’s contract was awarded to a consortium comprising Korea Western Power (Kowepo), Qatar’s Nebras Power, the UAE’s Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE) and Oman’s Bhawan Infrastructure Services.

    The Misfah IPP will be led by Nebras Power and located in Wilayat Bousher in Muscat Governorate, with a planned capacity of 1,600MW.

    The Duqm IPP will be led by Kowepo and located in Wilayat Duqm in Al-Wusta Governorate, with a capacity of 800MW.

    According to Nama PWP, the total investment for the two projects is estimated at approximately RO1bn ($2.6bn).

    MEED reported last October that Nama PWP had received three bids for the development and operation of the gas-fired IPPs.

    The other bids included a consortium comprising China’s Shenzhen Energy Group and Oman National Engineering & Investment Company, and a lone bid from Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power.

    Synergy Consulting is the financial adviser and lead adviser to Nama PWP for these projects.

    In November, Oman’s OQ Gas Networks received final investment approval to proceed with gas supply connections for the facilities.

    The Misfah IPP will receive 8.5 million cubic metres a day (cm/d) of natural gas. The Duqm IPP will be supplied with 4.5 million cm/d of natural gas.

    In March 2025, the same Sepco 3 and Doosan Enerbility consortium signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Saudi Electricity Company for the expansion of the Riyadh Power Plant 12 (PP12).

    Located about 150 kilometres northwest of Riyadh, the 1,863MW power plant is expected to be completed in 2028.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16816237/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Financial challenge tests Iraq’s resolve

    13 May 2026

     

    On 21 April, as a fragile ceasefire held between the US and Iran, the Trump administration halted a $500m shipment in cash headed for Iraq, as it sought to clamp down on Iranian-backed Shia militias in the country. 

    That cash, derived from Iraqi oil exports and routed via the US Federal Reserve to the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), is a vital cog in Iraq’s financial arteries, enabling it to cover foreign exchange demand.

    This was not the first time that Iraq’s financial system has felt the US’s warm breath on its neck.

    Back in February 2025, the US Treasury Department blacklisted five Iraqi banks from participating in dollar transactions, citing concerns about their role in illicit financial flows that benefited Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

    Iraq has also itself often circumscribed dollar use within its own financial system.

    In July 2023, the CBI banned 14 banks from conducting dollar transactions in a crackdown on dollar smuggling. In February 2024, it banned a further eight banks from dollar transactions as part of a crackdown on fraud and money laundering.

    Dollar pressure

    The recent halt in US dollar cash shipments has nevertheless added pressure to Iraq’s parallel currency market gap, says Lucila Bonilla, lead emerging market economist at Oxford Economics.  

    “The gap between the parallel exchange rate has widened noticeably against the official peg, to around 20%,” she says.

    “Dollar demand has risen as citizens and traders seek to hedge uncertainty – dollar deposits are up, and there are reports of a notable shift in the composition of cash holdings toward dollars.”

    Ratings agencies see the US move on Iraqi dollar use as a challenge, but one that might not prove too onerous.

    “Iraq can overcome a short-term war as it has $100bn of reserves and its debt profile is bearable,” says Gilbert Hobeika, a director at Fitch Ratings.

    “But a longer-term conflict will hurt Iraq as the economy is reliant on oil revenues and government involvement, while facing at the same time risk from the US stopping delivery of US dollars.”

    How persistent the pressure proves will depend largely on the duration of the Hormuz shock and how the relationship with the US evolves.

    “Forming a new government that is palatable to the US could ease the pressure, though Iraq’s protracted government formation process adds uncertainty to that timeline,” says Bonilla.

    The US-Iran war is putting even more pressure on banks.

    “There are uncertainties with regard to depositors,” says Hobeika. “The public sector banks have weak management and governance structures. Financial reporting is weak, and that puts pressure on asset quality and capitalisation.”

    If the conflict lasts a long time, the government will start withdrawing funds to pay salaries and contractors.

    “That will affect deposits at the public sector banks in the near term,” says Hobeika.

    State-heavy system

    Iraq’s banking system is dominated by a handful of state-owned banks with a market share of 75%-80%, and then 60-plus private banks competing for the remaining 20%-25% of the pie. 

    “Private banks have struggled to compete in a market with limited opportunities, small deposit bases and a narrow range of products, often focusing on very basic activities,” says Lea Hanna, an analyst at Moody’s.

    “In 2019, we had a wave of Islamic banks getting bans on dealing with US dollars – reducing what had been a primary source of business.”

    A few private banks have benefitted since then, namely those with majority ownership by foreign banks such as National Bank of Iraq, a subsidiary of Capital Bank of Jordan, and Bank of Baghdad, a subsidiary of Jordan Kuwait Bank.

    “Supported by their affiliates, these banks are relatively well run compared to domestic peers and have ample capital buffers,” says Hanna.

    “They have captured a large market share of US dollar transfers thanks to their strong US correspondent banking relationships that allow them easier access to US dollars. They have seen a surge in their profitability and an increase in their deposit base.”

    Financial reform

    The CBI has attempted to introduce reforms to the banking system, as part of a wider effort to enable it to channel funding to the private sector.

    In early 2025, it increased the minimum issued and paid-up capital requirement to ID400bn ($305m), along with a requirement to establish correspondent banking relationships for foreign-currency trading. The plan was to increase these in ID50bn increments every six months, to hasten sector consolidation.

    However, of Fitch’s rated banks, just two – state-owned Trade Bank of Iraq and Mansour Bank, a subsidiary of Qatar National Bank – met the full capital requirement.

    “While a lot of banks managed to increase their capital, a number of them didn’t and have been struggling to improve their systems and compliance with anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering regulations,” says Hobeika.

    “These systems take a long time to improve, and it costs the banks too. For that reason, they have agreed with the central bank to postpone implementation to 2027/28.”

    The expectation is that the number of private Iraqi banks will shrink from 60 to about half that number by 2028.

    “Iraq’s banking sector is undergoing a significant overhaul, with the Central Bank pushing through higher capital requirements, improved anti-money-laundering compliance, and a shift towards commercial banks managing their own international correspondent relationships. These moves are welcomed,” says Bonilla.

    But the harder work remains, argues Bonilla: state-owned banks still carry high levels of non-performing loans, weak governance and a history of politically directed lending, while private sector credit remains among the lowest in the region.

    “The stakes are high as the IMF estimates that a comprehensive reform of the financial sector, alongside broader governance and regulatory changes, could double Iraq’s non-oil growth potential over the medium term, adding around 4 percentage points to GDP,” says Bonilla.

    “For now, the reforms address the plumbing. The structural transformation of a banking system to serve the private sector is still largely ahead.”

    Clouded outlook

    So far, Iraq’s financial system seems to have averted a worst-case scenario of large-scale deposit withdrawals related to the Iran conflict.

    Any deposit withdrawals seem to be more related to the introduction of a digital custom system ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data) aimed at helping the government collect revenues, which saw a lot of traders trying to bypass the custom charges.

    “This drove some exporters or traders to source US dollars outside the banking system, in the parallel market, to avoid stricter requirements and up-front payment of customs duties. That has now eased,” says Hanna.

    Looking ahead, Fitch anticipates that most government financing is likely to come from the CBI through indirect purchases of government securities.

    The central bank’s total claims on the central government represented about 52% of the domestic debt stock and 25% of the total debt stock at end-2024, notes the agency.

    It envisages that a smaller portion will come from the government’s cash deposits, anticipated to fall to an average 12% by 2027.

    Fitch says the CBI’s balance sheet limits refinancing risks, while the FX reserves are large enough to absorb the expansion of that balance sheet without putting pressure on the exchange-rate peg with the US dollar.

    Surging foreign direct investment comes as a source of comfort, with annual inflows rising from around $2bn in 2022 to $5bn-$7bn from 2023 onwards. 

    Reform of the financial system will remain at the top of the new government’s in-tray.

    The regional environment is unconducive to this mammoth task, and it can only hope that an end to the conflict would support ongoing Iraqi efforts to build a financial system comparable to that of some of its Gulf neighbours.

    MEED’s June 2026 report on Iraq also includes:

    > OVERVIEW: Iraq enters era of resilience, reform and rising risks
    > OIL & GAS: Iraqi oil and gas sector in crisis
    > POWER & WATER: Focus shifts to delivery of Iraq utilities expansion
    > CONSTRUCTION: Momentum builds in Iraq’s post-war construction sector

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16799540/main.gif
    James Gavin
  • JinkoSolar signs 2GW deal for Abu Dhabi solar project

    13 May 2026

    China’s JinkoSolar has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) to supply 2GW of photovoltaic (PV) modules for the round-the-clock renewable energy project in Abu Dhabi.

    The agreement covers the supply of JinkoSolar’s Tiger Neo series modules for the project, which is being developed by Masdar in collaboration with Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec).

    The landmark $6bn project combines a 5.2GW solar PV plant with a 19 gigawatt-hour battery energy storage system (bess).

    It entered construction in October 2025 with India’s Larsen & Toubro and Power China working as contractors. It is known as the world’s first gigascale round-the-clock renewable energy project.

    Masdar had earlier selected JinkoSolar and JA Solar as preferred suppliers for solar PV modules, and CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology) as preferred supplier for the bess segment.

    The project is designed to provide baseload renewable power and address intermittency challenges associated with solar generation. The developers said the scheme will serve as a model for similar projects internationally.

    JinkoSolar said the Tiger Neo modules supplied for the project are based on N-type TOPCon technology and have been adapted to meet the technical requirements of the development.

    Senior executives from both companies attended the signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi, including Mohamed Jameel Al-Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, and Charlie Cao, CEO of JinkoSolar.

    Jinko has won several major contracts in recent years, including a contract to supply solar PV modules with a capacity of 3GW for Saudi Arabia’s Haden and Al-Khushaybi solar projects.

    It also recently announced the signing of a 2GW solar PV module supply agreement with China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) for Saudi Arabia’s Phase Six Khurais PV project.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16813268/main1816.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Dubai opens prequalification for Jebel Ali STP expansion

    13 May 2026

     

    Dubai Municipality has issued a request for qualifications for the Jebel Ali sewerage treatment plant (STP) expansion – phase 3 project.

    The DS150/3 project will be delivered under a public-private partnership (PPP) model on a design, build, finance, own, operate and transfer basis.

    The project involves the development of a new water resource recovery facility with an ultimate treatment capacity of up to 1 million cubic metres a day (cm/d).

    It is being procured through Dubai Municipality’s Sewerage and Recycled Water Projects Department and will be delivered through a two-stage operational approach over a 30-year concession period.

    The bid submission deadline is 18 June.

    UK-headquartered Deloitte is acting as financial adviser, Aecom as technical adviser and CMS as legal adviser.

    Dubai Municipality said the project will also include additional land uses and community-focused amenities as part of broader sustainability and urban integration objectives.

    Phase one and two expansion

    In April, the deadline was extended for contractors to submit bids for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covering the expansion of the Jebel Ali STP phases one and two.

    Located on a 670-hectare site in Jebel Ali, the original wastewater facility has a treatment capacity of about 675,000 cm/d following the completion of phase two in 2019, combining approximately 300,000 cm/d from phase one and 375,000 cm/d from phase two.

    The upgraded facility will be capable of treating an additional sewage flow of 100,000 cm/d, with the expansion estimated to cost $300m.

    The new bid submission deadline is 11 June.

    UK-headquartered KPMG and UAE-based Tribe Infrastructure are serving as financial advisers on the project.

    > Be recognised among the best in the industry at the MEED Projects Awards 2026 …

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16812872/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Iraq LNG project delayed until next year

    13 May 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Iraq’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, which has an estimated project value of $450m, is now expected to become operational in 2027 due to delays caused by the regional war and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

    Work on jetty reinforcement and fixed terminal infrastructure at the Port of Khor Al-Zubair has been delayed, according to a statement from US-based Excelerate Energy, which is contracted to develop the facility.

    In its statement, the company said: “We are revising our full-year guidance to reflect the delayed startup of our Iraq terminal due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”

    It added: “The Iraq project fundamentals remain unchanged. Looking ahead, we continue to have confidence in our sequenced earnings growth through 2028.”

    In October 2025, Excelerate signed a definitive commercial agreement with a subsidiary of Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity for the development of the country’s first LNG import terminal.

    The integrated project includes a five-year agreement for regasification services and LNG supply, with extension options, and a minimum contracted offtake of 250 million standard cubic feet a day (cf/d).

    Excelerate said: “Jetty reinforcement and construction of the fixed terminal infrastructure have been delayed temporarily due to the conflict in the Middle East and the terminal is no longer expected to commence operations in the third quarter of 2026 as previously disclosed.

    “Project startup is now expected in 2027. The long-term fundamentals supporting the project remain unchanged, driven by chronic power shortages and limited domestic gas processing capacity in Iraq.

    “Current conditions further reinforce the country’s need for reliable and scalable LNG import infrastructure and construction will resume as conditions allow.”

    Earlier this year, Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity said that the terminal was on track to come online on 1 June, ahead of expected gas shortages during the summer months.

    Then, in late April, the ministry said the project had been delayed by several months and was expected to come online in August at the earliest.

    Although Iraq is Opec’s second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, it is a net natural gas importer because its lack of infrastructure investment has meant that, until 2023, it flared roughly half of the estimated 3.12 billion cf/d of gas produced in association with crude oil.

    Iraq’s reliance on flaring associated gas instead of gathering and processing it has prevented the country from fully realising its potential as a gas producer and forced the Iraqi government to rely on costly gas and electricity imports from Iran.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16803348/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp