The Mass Group holding Ltd. is one of the leading global companies in the field of energy, and is characterized by precision of work, and provide equipment and modern mechanisms and efficient national and international experiences , and the company can work in the most difficult circumstances; which called Iraq and Jordan for establishing a tender of the implementation of the project of Jordan-Iraq pipeline to international Mass Group Holding Ltd..
The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al – Abadi, completed before attending the recent Arab summit in Jordan the approval of the establishment of the project which has been delayed, because of the security situation in Iraq.
A length of pipe is about 1,700 kilometers, with an estimated capacity of one million barrels per day, a very optimistic goal , according to the International Monetary Fund and the International Energy Agency, and the remaining amounts will be transported from Aqaba by ships to Egypt and another section to the countries that have contracts with Iraq , it is hoped that the oil production will reach 9 million barrels per day in future.
This project reflects the historical relationship between Iraq and Jordan, and the strategic depth that leads to the economic integration, and is a distinctive leap in economic cooperation as well as in the political sphere of the two countries, and the project represents a new turning point in the relations and rapprochement and economic cooperation between them.
The Undersecretary of the Iraqi Oil Ministry, Zia Jaafar assured the approval of Iraqi cabinet to set up the project of Jordan-Iraq oil pipeline , and laid a tender on the Global Mass Group Holding, at a total cost of $ 5.6 billion, and the final contract of the agreement will be signed during the next two months noting that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Iraqi government will not bear the burden of any cost, and that is borne by the investor of the project which is the “global Mass company”; that the investor recovers its costs through wage to be paid to him by the Iraqi government, and the duration of the planned investment is 25 years.
Mass Group Holding Ltd.:
Global Mass Group Holding ltd. Is one of international leading companies in the field of energy, characterized by absolute precision of work, and devices that do not make mistakes in the measurement and imported expertise and ; with Iraqi genuine ones and strict controls, and operate in the most difficult circumstances, the Group submitted its bids for the construction of the project and financing it , which runs from the Iraqi city of Basra to the Jordanian port of Aqaba, and the company’s success in establishing many projects and implement it was the main role of giving the tender to the giant company to add a new distinctive success of its projects, including successes in the field of energy to the Middle East in general and Iraq ‘s Kurdistan and Baghdad in particular, Which confirms that the historical record of Mass holding Group is honorable and the model for the Iraq’s bright face .
Mass Holdings Inc. For energy is part of the Mass Group Holding, a company is working in four key areas in the Middle East, namely: electricity generation , and the cement industry, and iron and steel and real estate. In the energy sector, the company currently has approximately 4,000 megawatts of power generation in Kurdistan / Iraq, in addition to 3,000 MW under development in Baghdad. In the area of cement, the annual production capacity of the company is around 8 million tons in Kurdistan and Sudan. In iron and steel, the annual production capacity of the company is amounting to approximately 1.25 million tons.
Among the successes achieved by the Mass company is the implementation of the project of the Basmajh plant power investment , which works with a capacity of (1040) MW on which the Electricity Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahdawi said , in the presence of the chairman and Vice Chairman of the National Investment Commission: “We are proud for the opening of the first Investment power station , carried out in record time, and in the difficult circumstances , to contribute significantly to the provide the Iraqi national electricity system , referring to the praise of Prime Minister and officials to the Mass Holding company, because it is the only company which completed the work in record time and high integrity . And among record of success of Mass Holdings for Energy in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the power purchase agreement resulting from the wind power plant with the capacity of 100 MW with the Jordanian National Electricity Company, and the duration of the agreement is 20 years and the investment value is estimated between 220-230 million US dollars.
Mass Holding Group owns the competitive abilities, especially in the energy sector, so that its name has become the pride of the national industry.
Jafar added : “The World Mass Group Holding ” , which will implement the project , will bear the burden of cost and operations of extension amounting to about $ 5.6 billion, it will be built according to the system of construction, operation and transfer of ownership , B.O.T(Build, Operate ,Transfer ) and the investment will continue for 25 years, then ownership of investment will return to the two countries .
And the payment will be carried out to the government of Jordan (transit) for the passage of Iraqi oil in Jordanian territory, the value will be determined later, and the pipeline will be for the oil only, as for the gas pipeline will be discussed later, the Iraqi government will send a delegation to re – read the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Jordan and Iraq in April 2013 to conduct some minor modifications.
Ismail Saleh is a figure enjoys with international confidence…
Ahmed Ismail is Chairman of the Mass Group Holding for Energy and he “is among the most important world Iraqi businessmen in general, and Kurdistan regime in particular , what is known about this type of businessmen who are enjoyed by high credibility and good reputation that made him worthy of trust by IFC. The man is self-taught businessman in Iraq in general and Kurdistan in particular, he is not one of the businessmen group who emerged in the post 2003 Iraq. But has a long history in the business sector. a self – made man from the earliest days, and enjoys high confidence on the level of global and international institutions, regional and local ones, who is not seeking to positions, but who have achieved success on more than one level of high self – effort and self – confidence, and he is not among those who are rich by chance, nor businessmen who are created by crises.
The Mass Group Holding ltd is a prominent hedline in the building of Iraq and the world economy, characterized by mastering of work and respect for time, integrity and sincerity, and achieved contribution in many areas and infrastructure development which are huge in the industries on the global , Arab and local level.
And enjoys the confidence of the international financial institutions, as Group ( International Mass Group holding) acquired the confidence of the International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank Group , which announced to provide funding worth $ 375 million to the World Mass Group holding for Energy in Sulaymaniyah, the finance including the investment loans in owner’s equity with amount of $ 250 million from the special account of the Foundation, and $ 125 million from Audi Bank, this comes because the group and chairman of its board enjoy high credibility in dealing.
Ismail praises Jordan as an investment destination in the field of energy and joint efforts of the work and the supportive legal, regulatory environment that we enjoy in Jordan, “We are proud to work with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in achieving its strategy and diversify its energy sources.”
The economic implications of the oil pipeline:
The most positive effects of the project is the development of infrastructure in the two countries and support economic integration, through the development of petroleum resources as a strategic objective, in addition to the cooperation between the two countries allows to develop skills and the development of human resources that the Mass company will manage.
It is noteworthy that there is a great interest from international financing institutions in this strategic project, which supports regional cooperation between Iraq and Jordan and the countries of the region.
The first signing of the project between the Kingdom and Iraq was on 9 April 2013, within the framework agreement to extend the pipeline to transport Iraqi crude oil from Basra to export ports in the port of Aqaba, but the work is not done for the security conditions in Iraq, and today the work is resumed and the Iraqi and Jordanian sides are hoping to achieve economic benefits from this project, and strengthening Arab economic cooperation.
This the project provides about 3,000 jobs for Jordanians between the engineer and the worker, which is a vital project for Jordan and of great benefit in the long run, as it can transform Jordan into a practical distributed source of the distribution of oil and for the gas distribution in the future as it is now Turkey.
According to economists, the project provides a new outlet for Iraq for the export of oil, through the Jordanian port of Aqaba, and reduces the risk of permanent threats from the Iranian side to close the Strait of Hormuz.
It is an investment project where large oil stores will be established in Aqaba, and a large power station and there to become an electrical link between the Arab countries and it is the electric carrier project. ”
Jordan will receive the material revenues from the project as the line is passing over its lands and export to other countries , which protect it from exposure to large losses as happened after the Egyptian gas interruption, estimates the losses of government electricity company in Jordan at about $ 7 billion, because of the shift to the production of electricity by using heavy fuel and the disruption of Egyptian gas supplies .
The Jordan, Iraq and Egypt signed in Amman in 2014 a memorandum of understanding in the areas of oil and natural gas and the mechanisms of its transfer between the three countries, including the pipeline to export Iraqi oil through Jordan starts from Basra through the territory of the Kingdom and from it abroad through the port of Aqaba. Here, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is becoming a center for the transfer of energy to the world.
Shatha Khalil
Unit of Economic Studies
Translated by: Mudhaffar al-Kusairi
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies