Iraq to sign contract with TotalEnergies to extract gas from oilfields in Basra
A sign with the logo of French oil and gas company TotalEnergies is pictured at a petrol station in Nantes, France. Photo: Reuters
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, announced on Wednesday that a contract will be signed with TotalEnergies within two weeks to utilize 600 cubic meters of gas from five oil fields in Basra, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
The Oil Ministry mentioned in a statement that Abdul-Ghani participated in the Iraq Forum 2023, speaking in a session entitled ‘The Energy Sector in Iraq: Main Challenges and Future Strategies.’
Abdul-Ghani stated that a contract will be signed with TotalEnergies within two weeks to extract 600 cubic meters of gas from five oil fields in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, the statement illustrated.
The Iraqi Oil Minister also elaborated that oil exports from the Kurdistan region of Iraq will be resumed after contracts are signed with the importing companies, and the export pipeline is inspected by the Turkish state-owned crude oil and natural gas pipelines and trading company (BOTAS).
“We are working to develop the infrastructure for export outlets. The Prime Minister describes international companies as partners, and instructed to provide an appropriate investment environment,” Abdul-Ghani added.
On March 25, Turkey stopped shipping Kurdistan’s oil to the port of Ceyhan, after an international arbitration decision obligated Ankara to pay compensation to Baghdad for violating the 1973 pipeline agreement, by allowing Kurdistan’s oil to be exported without the approval of the federal government in Baghdad.
The oil pipeline, which extends from Kirkuk in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, is the only export route for the crude oil produced by oil fields in northern Iraq.
Sources revealed last month that Baghdad reached an agreement to hold a 30 percent stake in TotalEnergies long-delayed 27 billion USD project in Iraq, Reuters reported.
The deal was signed in 2021 for TotalEnergies to build four oil, gas, and renewable energy projects with an initial investment of 10 billion USD in southern Iraq over 25 years.
But several setbacks amid disputes between Iraqi politicians over the terms hindered the deal.