Iraqi oil is heading to approve a “giant” exploration project in the Western Desert
Baghdad – On Thursday, the Ministry of Oil announced its intention to approve a “giant” exploration project in the Western Desert.
The ministry said in a statement that Nass received a copy of it (September 30, 2021), “The head of the National Oil Company, Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail, stressed the importance of expediting the implementation of seismic survey projects for exploratory patches with hydrocarbon, gas and oil compositions.”
Ismail said, during an inspection visit to the Oil Exploration Company, according to the statement, that “the company is studying the approval of a giant exploration project in the region or the Western Desert, which is one of the promising investment opportunities for natural gas (free gas) and the company attaches great neglect to it as a result of previous studies and surveys.”
Ismail indicated that he “instructed the concerned authorities in the Oil Exploration Company to prepare an evaluation study and inventory all information on the exploration blocks in the mentioned area with the aim of unifying and approving them, monitoring the appropriate financial budget for them, and announcing the launch of the largest exploration project for free gas.”
He added, “The western region is gaining great importance in the field of exploration and surveys, and that the National Oil Company will harness all its technical capabilities to invest gas by drilling exploratory wells after obtaining the approval and support of the government to implement these projects, which will be one of the most important pillars of the national economy and sustainable development, by adding energies New Iraq’s gas production capabilities.
Ismail pointed out that “Iraq is on the verge of implementing major projects in the associated gas investment sector and developing (free) natural gas fields and clean energy projects, in line with the world’s trends in this direction,” stressing “the necessity of converting all uses of liquid fuels to gaseous fuels, which fall within Transition to clean energy.
He explained, “The Western Desert is one of the targeted and great solutions that can give great independence in the matter of using natural gas to produce electric power and as a main source for the petrochemical and other refining industries.”
And he indicated, “The National Oil Company’s interest is also in seismic survey operations in Najaf province, which aims at exploratory drilling operations for promising patches in the province and the proportion and quantity of hydrocarbon reserves in it, whether oil or gas.”
For his part, Director General of the Oil Exploration Agency Agency Basem Muhammad Khudair said that “the vision and plans of the ministry and the National Oil Company emphasize the importance of conducting and completing seismic surveys in the western region and starting exploratory drilling to determine the hydrocarbon presence of gas, and the Western Desert Gas Project will be a separate project for exploration activity, as A working paper and a full study of the project will be submitted to the Council of Ministers to obtain fundamental approvals for the implementation of the project for the purpose of initiating two- or three-dimensional seismic surveys and starting exploratory drilling operations, explaining that “the seismic surveys or exploratory drilling operations in the governorates will support the national economy, and will provide job opportunities for the people of the provinces.” In which projects will be implemented, as well as upgrading the level of services and infrastructure,” according to the statement.
The statement concluded, “It is mentioned that the Oil Exploration Company is one of the important arms of the activity of the National Oil Company and implements its work in many provinces through its seismic teams,” explaining that “the company’s president listened to an explanation of the company’s activity in the exploration sector in the provinces of Iraq, especially in the provinces of Anbar and Nineveh.” and Najaf with a three-dimensional display of the mentioned sites.