French energy company TotalEnergies has revived its deal with the Iraqi Government to develop a 1GW solar PV project in the Basra region, part of a larger US$10 billion accord to also establish new gas generation and seawater treatment facilities.
The deal was originally announced in September 2021 as TotalEnergies’ second PV contract in Iraq, but the subsequent years have seen negotiations held up by political barriers and regime change. According to reporting from the Financial Times, Iraq’s oil ministry took issue with the renewable energy components of the deal.
In this latest development, QatarEnergy has entered as a new third party with a 25% stake in the solar, gas and seawater treatment deals. TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy have history together, having joint ownership of an 800MW solar PV plant in Qatar through their respective subsidiaries.
Total said that it will enlist Saudi energy provider ACWA Power to assist in developing the solar project.
In a public statement, Total said that the revival of the deal was “a strong and positive signal for foreign investment in the country”, which has a goal to source 20% of its power generation from solar PV by 2030.
2021 also saw Iraq sign a deal with state-owned Chinese energy company PowerChina for 2GW worth of PV projects which are yet to reach operations.