GE Signs US$520 Million Multiyear Deal in Iraq to Operate Mass Energy Group Holding’s 3-Gigawatt Basmaya Power Plant

GE signed a multiyear agreement in Iraq with Mass Energy Group Holding. The US$520 million contract also includes operation and maintenance services as well as GE’s advanced digital industrial solutions for the 3-gigawatt gas-fired Basmaya Power Plant, only 40 kilometers east of Baghdad. This contract represents a continuing effort between Mass Energy Group Holding, the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MOE) and GE to bring much-needed power to the people of Iraq.

“The Basmaya Power Plant is a milestone project that marks the first-of-its-kind independent power producer agreement between Mass Energy Group Holding and Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity,” said Ahmad Ismail, chairman of Mass Energy Group Holding. “In addition to meeting the surging demand for power from the Iraqi people, the plant will support the country’s focus on building its infrastructure and strengthening local industries. The power plant will feed the national grid, benefiting all sections of the community. GE has been our long-term partner, and by operating the plant, GE is bringing its advanced technology solutions to help us to deliver the highest levels of efficiency, reliability and productivity.”

The multiyear service agreement builds on GE’s long-term relationship with Mass Energy Group Holding, which includes prior contracts to provide Basmaya with eight units of its advanced 9FA gas turbines and four units of its C7 steam turbines. The project is being developed in two phases, with each phase delivering 1,500 megawatts (MW) of power, which together is enough power to meet the needs of over 600,000 households.

“This agreement highlights GE’s long-term commitment to Iraq and is a testament to the trust our customers have in our ability to execute,” said Joe Anis, president and CEO of GE’s Power Services business in the Middle East and Africa. “The introduction of Predix* and the Digital Twin, as part of the multiyear agreement for the Basmaya Power Plant, marks a new shift in the industry by maximizing the distinctive value that digital technologies offer to enhance the power plant’s operational efficiency.”

In addition to extending the entire breadth of operations, maintenance and services support to the power plant, the deal also marks the first time that GE will bring its advanced digital industrial solutions for the power sector to Iraq. Powered by Predix, GE’s advanced cloud-based operating system built exclusively for industry, GE’s Asset Performance Management (APM) software application will draw data to monitor, analyze, enhance and predict equipment health. APM’s anomaly detection capability helps predict outages before they happen, improving power plant reliability, optimizing just-in-time maintenance and reducing plant downtime.

With three offices in Iraq—in Baghdad, Erbil and the southern oil and gas hub of Basra—GE continues to deliver its latest technology and expertise to local customers. Over 130 GE turbines are in operation in the country apart from ongoing agreements to support power generation plants across Iraq. GE has supplied the Iraqi MOE with 56 more gas turbines for various projects, which generate about 7,600 MW to support the expansion of the country’s energy infrastructure and help drive future economic growth. Earlier this year, GE also signed the “Power Up Plan” agreement with the MOE to bring a set of solutions, including upgrades and maintenance projects, to strengthen productivity and efficiency levels across various power plants in Iraq.