seawater

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (UPI) — South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction said Monday that it received a $3 billion order to build a mega-sized seawater treatment plant in Iraq.

It is a Water Infrastructure Project, Iraq’s state initiative aimed at constructing a seawater treatment facility at Khor Al-Zubair Port about 310 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Hyundai E&C noted that the plant would supply up to 5 million barrels of water every day to major oil fields in southern Iraq, including West Qurna and Rumaila, to enhance crude oil output.

The Seoul-based contractor will break ground on the project this November, with the goal of completing construction by the end of 2029.

Iraq, which derives more than 90% of its national revenue from oil exports, is seeking to nearly double daily production to 8 million barrels from 4.2 billion by 2030, according to Hyundai E&C.

The contract was awarded by TotalEnergies, a French multinational energy company that invested in WIP with Qatar’s state-run Qatar Energy and Iraq’s government-backed Basrah Oil Co.

The agreement marks Hyundai E&C’s second-largest construction project in the Arab country after the $6 billion deal to establish an oil refinery in Karbala, which was finished in 2023.

“We will put forth effort to secure a competitive edge in bidding for future projects in Iraq, including refineries, power plants, and housing, which are expected to see continued demand,” Hyundai E&C said in a statement.

Hyundai E&C’s share price rose 1.01% on the Seoul bourse Monday.

SANTIAGO, Chile, May 23 (UPI) — Antofagasta, a city in northern Chile, has become the first in Latin America to meet 100% of its drinking water needs with desalinated seawater.

A $130 million investment expanded an existing desalination plant, originally built in 2003, to supply potable water to the city’s 500,000 residents, Public Works Minister Jessica López has announced.

Situated in one of the driest regions in the world, northern Chile faces growing freshwater scarcity. In response, major mining companies, partnering with the government, have turned to innovative and sustainable solutions to secure water for local communities and mining operations.

“Investment from mining companies in these types of projects is crucial. It ensures a permanent and stable water source for operations and benefits the community by freeing up freshwater for human consumption, farming and livestock. It also eases pressure on aquifers and rivers,” said Jorge Vargas, spokesperson for the non-governmental organization Red Ciudadana.

The North Desalination Plant increased its seawater treatment capacity to 1,436 liters per second this year from 602 liters per second in 2003.

Seventy percent of Chile’s 24 desalination plants serve the mining sector, which uses about 4% of the country’s total water. In Antofagasta, major copper producers like Codelco and BHP have reduced their reliance on continental freshwater sources. The model has been adopted in other mining cities in the region, including Tocopilla and Taltal.

Amid a nationwide water crisis, other regions are launching their own desalination projects. In Coquimbo, the government has opened bidding on a $350 million plant that could serve 600,000 people.

That project attracted interest from 43 companies across 12 countries, including firms from China, Europe, Israel, the United States and Chile.

Chile’s Ministry of Public Works projects that by the end of the decade, most major cities in northern Chile will be partially or fully supplied with desalinated seawater.