Representatives from international oil companies (IOCs) and government officials will collaborate on how to build a successful and lucrative energy sector in Iraq at an upcoming conference in Istanbul.

Organised by The Energy Exchange, the third annual Iraq Future Energy will be held from September 17 to 20.

Day one of the conference will commence with a focus on the growing need for electricity in Iraq. At present, an estimated 8,000 Mega Watts (MW) of electricity is being produced, when in fact an estimated 14,000 MW is needed.

In 2011, Iraq announced its electricity master plan of spending $27 billion from 2012 to 2017. The latest update on the implementation progress of the short term plan to rehabilitate and expand the national grid by 2015 will be unveiled at this Electricity Summit.

Additionally, infrastructure challenges with regards to power generation as well as imports and exports with neighbouring countries will be discussed, along with feasible alternatives and solutions.

The main oil and gas conference begins on day two of Iraq Future Energy 2012 and will open detailing further E&P plans and upcoming bid round and its impact on the Iraqi oil, gas and power sub-sectors.

Furthermore the outcome of the fourth bid round for 12 exploration blocks in April 2012 along with the implications for pre-qualified IOCs and future projects will be discussed.

Jinanda Sheth, event director, The Energy Exchange, said: “Iraq has set a goal of reaching a target production capacity of almost 12 million barrels per day by 2017; however the lack of adequate infrastructure significantly inhibits growth.”

“Iraq Future Energy 2012 was designed to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive analysis of the building blocks required to establish a strong presence in the nation, whilst positioning themselves to capitalise on all current and future investment opportunities.”

Opec recently announced that Iraq’s crude output rose to above 3 million barrels a day in July 2012.  Gati Al-Jebouri, head of Lukoil in the Middle East, suggested last year that Iraq can reach a target of about 5 million barrels a day but cautioned that output depends on pipeline infrastructure.

Currently, 80 – 90 per cent of exported oil and gas goes through only two pipelines. The Oil and Gas summit at Iraq Future Energy will explore alternative export routes including international pipelines, Nabucco pipeline and Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.

Speakers and government officials at the conference will highlight all the strategies, materials and technology necessary to further develop production facilities, oil and gas networks for pipelines, railways, tankers and terminals ensuring rapid growth with attractive returns on investment.

The next day of the oil and gas conference will address the increasing developments in Iraq’s refining sector that include plans for rehabilitating existing facilities to enhance capacity whilst implementing the latest strategies, as well as developing new refineries to support the increasing oil production.

In addition, a group of world renowned international contractors will convene in a panel discussion to provide a comprehensive analysis on business related opportunities and concerns in establishing a sustainable energy industry.

The day will conclude with a roundtable discussion focusing on human resource competencies in developing and training existing workforce to attain the technical know-how to enhance the future of Iraq’s hydrocarbon industry. Also, these industry professional will emphasise the need to attract foreign investments and business by easing the visa, insurance and security processes.

The fourth and final day of Iraq Future Energy 2012 will consist of two masterclass sessions. Masterclass A will provide a detailed look at the new regulations on businesses in Iraq. Masterclass B on the other hand will focus on the latest financing structures and models for energy projects in Iraq. – TradeArabia News Service