QatarEnergy Takes 50% Stake in TotalEnergies Solar Project in Iraq

DUBAI (Reuters) – QatarEnergy, one of the world’s top suppliers of liquefied natural gas, said on Monday it had agreed to take a 50% stake in TotalEnergies’ 1.25-gigawatt solar project in Iraq.

The French energy giant will retain the remaining 50% stake in the project, which is part of Iraq’s $27 billion Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), QatarEnergy said in a statement, without disclosing the size of the deal.

The GGIP initiative aims to improve Iraq’s electricity supply, including by recovering flared gas at three oilfields and using the gas to supply power plants, helping to reduce Iraq’s import bill. It also includes renewable energy projects.

Iraq currently imports between a third and 40% of its supply of electricity and gas from Iran, but continues to suffer from widespread power cuts, especially in the hot summer months when demand for power for cooling surges.

The solar project, which will be developed in phases to come online between 2025 and 2027, will generate up to 1.25 GW at peak using 2 million bifacial solar panels, QatarEnergy said.

It will be able provide electricity to about 350,000 homes in the oil-rich Basra region in southern Iraq, the company added.

QatarEnergy last year joined a consortium to implement the GGIP project with a 25% stake, while TotalEnergies and Iraq’s Basra Oil Company held the remaining 45% and 30% stakes, respectively.

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Helen Popper)