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Iraq Plans Energy Contracts Worth Billions with Saudi Arabia

Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar during an interview with Reuters in Basra (Reuters)
Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar during an interview with Reuters in Basra (Reuters)
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Iraq Plans Energy Contracts Worth Billions with Saudi Arabia

Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar during an interview with Reuters in Basra (Reuters)
Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar during an interview with Reuters in Basra (Reuters)

The Iraqi government plans to sign energy contracts worth tens of billions of dollars with Saudi Arabia, the state newspaper al-Sabaah cited Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar as saying.

Baghdad is discussing a partnership with Saudi Aramco to explore and develop natural gas fields in Iraq's western desert, it said.

It added that the Iraqi government is also in talks with Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power to build water desalination plants and solar energy stations in Iraq. The two countries are also discussing joint petrochemical projects.

The talks focused on establishing long-term relationships that allow Iraq to benefit from Acwa Power's flexibility in implementing low costs and high-efficiency projects.

He explained that the Ministry of Oil and the Saudi SABIC Company have been in "intensive and positive" talks since April, which led to a special memorandum that will be presented to the Iraqi government.

The government is expected to discuss the Saudi company's participation in an investment in the Nibras petrochemical project in Basra under an agreement between the Energy Ministry and Royal Dutch Shell to establish a petrochemical complex with a capacity of 1,800 tons annually.

The minister hoped there would be a clear law regulating and protecting Saudi, Emirati, and foreign companies operating in the country.

The Iraqi National Oil Company signed agreements with major international energy companies, including the French Total, the UAE's Masdar, and the Norwegian Scatec.

The contracts will provide revenues and added profits to the Iraqi market and offer thousands of job opportunities.

The minister noted that it is natural for Saudi companies to be interested in a country such huge as Iraq.

Saudi Arabia sees that the sustainable development plans in the two countries fall in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its institutional frameworks.

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Business

Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."