Tuesday, September 02, 2003 Iraqi News
More of what you don't read in the papers. Gee, what a surprise!- Contract for electricity signed
The first commercial contract in Iraq since the fall of the previous regime, to provide electricity to the country, was signed Thursday in Baghdad between Karadeniz Energy Group, the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and Iraqi energy commission.
The deal specifies that the Karadeniz Energy Group, a Turkish company, will supply electricity to Iraq for 24 months at $ 3 million a month for 50 megawatts of power, up to $4.5 million a month for 75 megawatts of power.
The purchase adds extra power critical to the country while its electrical infrastructure is being repaired. Electrical power substations were a key target of sabotage during the war. Additionally, looting after the war left many structures in disrepair.
"Even before the war the system was not able to produce enough electricity to meet demand," said Stephen Browning, deputy director for infrastructure, CPA.
According to Maj. Roosevelt Samuel, 101st Airborne Division assistant division engineer, Iraq is operating at a greater-than 35-percent electricity deficit. Parts of the country experience power outages of up to 12-hours a day. The purchase of the extra wattage brings the country closer to the goal of 252 megawatts a day, which will allow predictable three-hours on, three- hours off schedule for electricity throughout Iraq.
"There is a greater than 35 percent energy deficit throughout Iraq," Samuel said. "This long-standing deficit is largely due to the condition of the existing electrical infrastructure, and also partly due to looting that occurred after the war." - Former Iraqi militants graduate border guard training
Two hundred and eleven Iraqis will soon relieve soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment (Rakkasans) guarding the Syria/Iraq border after graduation from Initial Border Guard Training August 26.
IBGT is an eight-day course. It covers the basic skills needed to be a border guard, including patrolling, handling of detainees, physical fitness and basic marksmanship, said Maj. Colinh Fortier, operations officer, 3rd Bn.
"The guards� job is to maintain the integrity of the border," Fortier said. "One of their main jobs is to check for smuggling of any kind."
This is the second IBGT class to graduate, the first finished Aug. 7. Both graduation ceremonies were held in the city of Rabiah, less than a mile from the border.
Soldiers from B Co., 3rd Bn., led by 2nd Lt. Luke Servido and Sgt. 1st Class Johanings Mier, trained both courses,. Ninety-one Iraqis graduated the first class, which was held specifically for the border guard leaders, from platoon sergeant to battalion commander. One hundred and twenty graduated the second class, Fortier said.
Rakkasan soldiers will continue manning the border until Sept. 6, when the third class is expected to be completed, Fortier said.
"After this class, we�ll be able to hand over duties to the Iraqis" he said. - Damaged oil refinery spouts new life
A major oil refinery in Northern Iraq, looted and stripped after the war, is scheduled to resume operations and produce 200,000 liters of diesel fuel daily by Sept. 1.
In the first week of August, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery teamed with 1st Bn., 187th Infantry Regiment to supervise reconstruction efforts of the Kisik Oil Refinery. Seventy locals were hired to begin cleaning the facility while employees of Bayji Oil Company began fixing the refinery�s equipment.
A daily rate of 200,000 liters is 10 percent of the refinery�s absolute capacity, said project manager Sarhan Abbas through an interpreter. It produced at about 70 percent before the war, Abbas said.
"We will gradually produce more fuel as resources increase, we will eventually try to make 80 percent, but 100 percent is very high," Abbas said. "We cannot do that."
Abbas said he hopes to be producing at 70 percent on or around Oct. 1.
Currently, diesel fuel is the target product.
"Diesel is what�s really a shortage in the country, so that�s the main priority," said Maj. Tim Sullivan, 3rd Bde. field support officer. "Kerosene is used mainly in the winter, so it�s not as important right now."
From Centcom, the news source for the Liberation of Iraq. -- posted by Chuck at Tuesday, September 02, 2003 | E-mail | Permalink | Main |
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