The Iraq Hafaya Natural Gas Processing Plant project, undertaken by a Chinese enterprise, has recently successfully completed its mechanical construction, marking the basic completion of the project. As an important part of jointly building the "the Belt and Road" and deepening China Iraq energy cooperation, the project will play an important role in Iraq's economic and social development, people's livelihood improvement and ecological environment protection.

"Milestones in Iran China Energy Cooperation"

During interviews in oil fields in Iraq, it is common to see blazing torches burning brightly. Due to the large investment, long cycle, and high technical difficulty of processing equipment, Iraq's natural gas processing capacity is very limited, and most of the associated gas generated during oil extraction can only be directly burned for treatment. According to statistics from the World Bank in March this year, Iraq wastes up to 17 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. While burning a large amount of associated gas in vain, Iraq imports billions of cubic meters of natural gas from neighboring countries every year for power generation, and also needs to import electricity to fill the local electricity gap. Untreated associated gas combustion can also cause pollution to the environment. Therefore, the Iraqi government has been calling for strengthened cooperation with all partners to enhance Iraq's natural gas processing capacity and improve its economy and people's livelihoods.

Scenery of Hafaya Natural Gas Processing Plant Project

The Hafaya Natural Gas Processing Plant project is a practical action taken by China National Petroleum Corporation in response to the needs of Iraqi people.

Hafaya Oilfield is one of the seven major oil fields in Iraq, currently producing 20 million tons of oil annually. This oilfield is also the largest operator project of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) overseas. Since its commissioning in 2012, it has provided important assistance for improving Iraq's oil production capacity, economic reconstruction, and people's livelihood. In 2019, China Petroleum invested over 1 billion US dollars to build the Hafaya Natural Gas Treatment Plant, which mainly collects and processes associated gas and condensate from the three central oil and gas treatment plants in the Hafaya Oilfield. This can effectively reduce the release and combustion of associated gas from the oil fields in the region, thereby protecting the environment. The processed dry gas can also be transported to downstream power plants for power generation, alleviating the shortage of electricity supply. It is estimated that after the Hafaya Natural Gas Processing Plant project is fully put into operation, it can reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by nearly 30000 tons per year, and the produced liquefied petroleum gas can achieve an annual power generation of 5 billion kilowatt hours, effectively alleviating local electricity difficulties.

"The Halfaya Natural Gas Treatment Plant Project is the first natural gas treatment plant in Iraq's oil fields and the first project to realize the comprehensive utilization of natural gas. The mechanical completion of the project is a milestone in Iran China energy cooperation." Ali Douai, governor of Missan Province, Iraq, said that the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation helped Iraq's economic development, improved the living standards of local people, and enhanced Iraq China friendship, "I hope that in the future, both sides can carry out more cooperation in the energy field and help more people live a happy life."

At the mechanical completion ceremony of the project held in September 2023, Ali Malij, Deputy Minister of Oil of Iraq, stated that "the Hafaya Natural Gas Processing Plant project will play an important role in Iraq's economic and social development, people's livelihood improvement, and ecological environment protection." He said that Iran China friendship has a long history and bilateral relations continue to develop. Under the framework of jointly building the "the Belt and Road", Iran and China have carried out close cooperation in energy, infrastructure, power and other fields. "China has become one of the most important partners in the process of Iraq's economic reconstruction. We look forward to more Chinese enterprises investing and developing in Iraq," said Marij.

"Let's have more possibilities for our future development"

The construction of the Hafaya natural gas processing plant project has provided thousands of job opportunities for the local population during its peak period, providing more job opportunities and development opportunities for the Iraqi people.

Najaf, the head of the engineering department of China Petroleum (Iraq) Hafaya Company, said that as a resident of Missan Province, he and the local people are full of expectations for eliminating the burning "torch". As an engineer, one of Najaf's responsibilities over the years has been to regularly track the progress of project construction. He presented an electronic document to the reporter, listing a dense collection of data. "The importance of this project goes beyond the regional scope. We maintain close communication with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, Missan Oil Company, and others, reporting progress to them on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis." Najaf said that the project is also of great significance for talent cultivation in Iraq, "Iraq has a particularly high demand for natural gas processing. As the first oil and gas linkage project in Iraq's history, the Hafaya Natural Gas Processing Plant project will cultivate more talents for the development of Iraq's natural gas industry."

Najaf recently visited Beijing and Xi'an. He said, "The Iraqi people have friendly feelings towards the Chinese people. Iraq is fully engaged in economic development, and China has strong engineering construction capabilities. We hope that cooperation between Iraq and China can become closer."

"Working with Chinese companies has given me the opportunity to change my destiny," said Ode Abdullah, a subcontractor for the Hafaya Natural Gas Processing Plant project. He, along with his family and fellow villagers, initially worked part-time in the project, paving roads and building flower beds. With the help of Chinese colleagues, they gradually mastered techniques such as foundation formwork, steel reinforcement binding, and concrete pouring, and formed their own construction team. Nowadays, the construction company established by Abdullah has over 300 employees and hundreds of mechanical equipment.

"My friends envy me for being able to work in Chinese companies," said Nashaat, an Iraqi engineer for the project. Chinese companies provide standardized training and learning programs, and when faced with difficulties, colleagues always help each other and impart experience without reservation. He said that the Hafaya Natural Gas Treatment Plant project not only involves the supply of electricity and gas, but also brings more economic and ecological benefits to the local area. The local people are very concerned about the progress of the project construction. "Since joining Chinese enterprises, I have learned more about the joint construction of the the Belt and Road. The Iran China cooperation project has not only improved our lives, but also, more importantly, made our future development more possible."

"It reflects the responsibility of Chinese enterprises to jointly build the" the Belt and Road "with high quality"

The Hafaya Natural Gas Processing Plant project is a key green environmental protection and livelihood project of the Iraqi government. In the first half of this year, Iraqi Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani, and Iraqi Minister of Electricity, Ziad Ali Fadir, visited the project specifically. Gani said, "Chinese enterprises actively overcome difficulties, steadily promote the construction of natural gas processing plants, and make outstanding contributions to solving local people's livelihood problems."

The project staff shall inspect the welding beads and valves before the pressure test of the process pipeline

Fang Jiazhong, general manager of PetroChina (Iraq) Halfaya Company, said that the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" adheres to the principles of high standards, benefiting people's livelihood and sustainability, "Halfaya Natural Gas Treatment Plant is a green environmental protection project. After the completion of the project, the associated gas of Halfaya Oilfield will be fully utilized, making a real contribution to the sustainable development of the local economy and society, reflecting the responsibility of Chinese enterprises to jointly build the" the Belt and Road "with high quality.".

Li Xiaoning, executive director of China Petroleum Engineering&Construction Co., Ltd., the general contractor of the project, said that the company has established the goal of building the project into a model project of cooperation between China and Iran on the "the Belt and Road". In the future, it will carry out trial operation and performance testing of the project's process system to ensure that the project is successfully put into production at one time.

Energy cooperation is a key area for the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". Zhang Daowei, Deputy General Manager of China National Petroleum Corporation, stated that China National Petroleum Corporation adheres to the concept of win-win cooperation and has implemented development projects in multiple oil fields in Iraq. In the future, China will strengthen cooperation with Iranian partners to build the "the Belt and Road" energy cooperation partnership and jointly promote sustainable development.Editor/XingWentao