Energy Minister: Electrical interconnection project between ‎Saudi Arabia and Iraq enhances energy security ‎

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, said that the Saudi-Iraqi direct electrical interconnection project, which extends from the city of Arar in the north of the Kingdom, to Yusufiyah, west of Baghdad, with an initial capacity of 1000 megawatts, will support, in addition to the Iraqi Gulf electrical interconnection project, upon completion and operation. , the Iraqi electrical network, and enhance its ability to meet the electricity needs of the brotherly Iraqi people in the coming years, and it will also enhance the security and stability of the interconnected electrical networks.

The Minister of Energy, during the start-up ceremony for the electrical interconnection between the Gulf Interconnection Authority and the Republic of Iraq on Thursday, expressed his appreciation for the progress of work on the Saudi-Iraqi direct electrical interconnection project, which is supervised by a joint work team from the Kingdom and Iraq.

He continued: “The start of the implementation of the electrical interconnection project, between the electrical interconnection network of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the southern network of the Republic of Iraq, whose implementation contract was signed between the Gulf Electrical Interconnection Authority and the Ministry of Electricity in Iraq, on the sidelines of the “Jeddah Summit for Security and Development.” In July of last year, it represents one of the projects aimed at strengthening cooperation between the GCC countries and brotherly Iraq in the economic and social fields.

The Minister of Energy raised the highest verses of thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz; Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and to the leaders of the GCC countries, and to the brotherly Iraqi leadership, for their continuous support and continued support for the Gulf electrical interconnection project.

He added, “The electrical interconnection network was established for the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, based on the results of the study that was prepared during the period from 1984 to 1986 AD, with funding from the Saudi Fund for Industrial Development, which was implemented by the Research Institute at King Fahd University.” Petroleum and Minerals, and the Institute of Scientific Research in Kuwait, with some international consultants, and under the supervision of a technical working group from the Member States, and the subsequent detailed studies that confirmed the benefits that countries can reap from electrical interconnection, indicating that as a result of these studies, the adoption of Implementation of the first phase of the project at the Muscat Summit in 1997 AD, and today, all Gulf countries see the benefits accrued from this project since its launch in 2009 AD.

The Minister of Energy indicated that electrical interconnection is a trend adopted by many countries, due to what it achieves in enhancing the security and stability of interconnected networks, maximizing economic benefits from them, and increasing their capabilities to integrate renewable energy sources into them, and for what it contributes to creating a regional and international market for energy exchange. Electrical and export

On Thursday, Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Province, inaugurated the start of the implementation of the electrical connection between the Gulf Interconnection Authority and the Republic of Iraq, in the presence of the Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and the Iraqi Energy Minister, Ziyad Ali Fadel Al-Ruzeej, and a number of officials. The energy ministers of the GCC, the Gulf ambassadors to the Kingdom and a number of GCC and Iraqi officials.