Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said Baghdad plans to offer 10 gas exploration areas to American companies during an upcoming visit to the United States.
This step comes as part of Baghdad’s efforts to attract American investments to its energy sector, after previous licensing rounds in which Chinese companies obtained the majority of the available fields.
Abdul Ghani said, “The fifth and sixth supplementary licensing rounds included 29 blocks and fields, and contracts were completed for 14 of them. There are about 10 gas blocks among the remaining ones that companies have not applied for, and we are in the process of offering them in a new licensing round.”
He added, “The Ministry of Oil plans to present these gas investment opportunities to specialized companies, and we have a visit to the United States soon for this purpose, as we plan to present them to global American companies.”
The minister also said that Iraq will launch a new gas investment project in the Faiha oil field in the south of the country by the end of this year with a capacity of 125 million cubic feet, and that the project constitutes a fundamental element in Iraq’s strategy to enhance its energy infrastructure.
The latest initiative comes on the heels of agreements aimed at increasing Iraq’s oil and gas production to supply power plants that currently rely heavily on Iranian gas imports.
The Iraqi News Agency quoted Abdul Ghani as saying, “The Ministry of Oil has taken the initiative to drill an exploratory well in the Al-Anz area with a capacity of one billion cubic feet, and also opened the Halfaya gas investment project with a capacity of 300 million cubic feet.”
In the middle of last month, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil said it had initialed contracts to develop 13 exploration blocks and oil and gas fields.
The ministry explained at the time that the exploration agreements could increase production by 750,000 barrels of crude and 850 million standard cubic feet of gas.
Oil officials said Iraq particularly wanted this round of licensing to boost production of natural gas, which it wants to use to power power plants that rely heavily on imported gas from Iran.
Traditional technical service contracts offer a fixed fee for the work performed and are likely to be less profitable for foreign investors than the terms of profit-sharing contracts.
In the bidding round held in May, which included 29 oil and gas projects, Chinese companies won 10 of the oil and gas exploration fields and blocks on offer.
