Ministry of Oil: Signing major contracts with international companies to develop fields in Nasiriyah and Kirkuk.
The Ministry of Oil confirmed, on Monday, that the achievements of the current government are a clear message to investors that Iraq is an attractive environment for the oil industry, while pointing to the achievement of great leaps in the oil industry in four sectors, and revealed the signing of major contracts with international companies to develop fields in Nasiriyah and Kirkuk, and pointed to the rise in gas investment to 70 percent, as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil, Bassem Khudair, said in his speech during the opening of the Third Iraq International Exhibition for Oil and Gas, Oil Projects, Licensing Rounds and Renewable Energy, “Yesterday we concluded the International Energy Forum, and these achievements that the government is achieving are a clear message to all regional countries and investors that Iraq has been able to create an attractive investment environment for the oil industry.”
He added, “The Ministry of Oil, through its leadership represented by the Deputy Prime Minister, and the close follow-up by the government, headed by the Prime Minister, through holding meetings, has achieved significant strides in the oil industry during the current government’s term across the four sectors (extraction, refining, gas, and distribution).”
He continued, “The government’s achievements in terms of contracts are remarkable, as the company that left Iraq returned today to request the signing of major projects.” He noted that “Western and American companies are present in Iraq today.”
He also pointed out that “a few days ago, a contract was signed with Chevron for four blocks in the Nasiriyah and Balad fields, and some time ago, we also signed a large contract with the British global company Pepsi to invest in four fields in Kirkuk, in addition to the large project that the government has been waiting for and has signed, which is the Gi Gib project, the integrated gas development project in the Artawi field.”
He also explained that “this project includes four important projects for the first time in Iraq. The first project is to develop the field to 210,000 barrels, the second project is to invest in gas and supply the national grid from five fields (Majnoon, West Qurna 2, Artawi, Tuba and Sabbah) with a quantity of 600 million standard cubic feet in two phases. The third is the environmentally friendly project, the solar energy project with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts in four phases, each phase 250 megawatts.” He noted that “the first phase of the project will see the light at the end of this year with 250 megawatts to supply the national grid.”
He pointed out that “the fourth project is the major one the government and the Ministry of Oil have been waiting for, namely the project to use seawater for injection into oil engines and compensate for depleted pressure. This field was approved yesterday by the Ministerial Energy Council with the support and follow-up of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the Energy Council.”
He also stated that “the contracts signed in the Artawi field during the current year have reached a value of $10.9 billion so far. This is a very large figure in the oil industry and is the first time it has been recorded in the oil industry’s history.” He noted that “the oil industry is currently enjoying a recovery and attracting international companies.”
He explained that “the role of the Ministry of Oil was not limited to the extraction sector only, but we achieved major goals in the gas level, as our invested gas was at 45% and gas investment rose to 70% of the flared gas,” indicating that “there is a plan for the year 2028 to close the flared gas file, in addition to researching the development of the exploration area and gas fields to provide the gas required for energy, as we succeeded in the annexes of the fifth and sixth licensing rounds in referring 14 areas in various parts of Iraq.”
He also stressed that “the government’s goal is for all governorates to be oil-producing, with the aim of developing them, providing financial revenues, implementing social services, and attracting workers. We have achieved a major breakthrough in the liquidation process.”
He also noted that “the Ministry of Oil promised the government to develop the infrastructure and that there is development of the Iraqi human element at the level of engineers and college and institute graduates. There is interest in oil institutes and the establishment of oil institutes with centers that grant international certificates.” He noted that “we have a vision and strategy for managing the oil sector within international standards and we have great ambitions for all governorates to be oil-based to attract workers.”
He pointed out that “the government has a vision to develop the national effort in the oil sector, represented by national companies such as the Exploration Companies, the Oil Projects Company, the Iraqi Al-Asr Company, and the Engineering Equipment Company. Support will be provided to these companies, along with international companies, to achieve a level of performance and implementation in line with international standards.”
Burathanews.com