TotalEnergies signs $27 billion energy deal with Iraq
The tower housing the headquarters of the oil company TotalEnergies in Courbevoie, France. Photo: Depositphotos
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – TotalEnergies signed on Monday the long-awaited $27 billion energy deal expected to increase oil production and Iraq’s capacity to produce energy through oil, gas and renewable energy projects, according to Reuters.
The deal was signed in 2021 to build four oil, gas, and renewable energy projects with an initial investment of $10 billion in southern Iraq over 25 years, but several setbacks amid disputes between Iraqi politicians over the terms hindered the deal.
The Iraqi Oil Minister explained that the deal with TotalEnergies includes four major projects.
“The first of these projects is the use of seawater to support oil extraction operations,” Abdul-Ghani stated.
The deal was finally closed in April when Iraq agreed to take a smaller than initially demanded stake of 30 percent in the project, Reuters reported.
TotalEnergies took a 45 percent stake, and QatarEnergy holds the remaining 25 percent, Reuters revealed.
TotalEnergies CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, signed the agreement with Iraqi Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdel-Ghani, at a ceremony held in Baghdad, where Pouyanne described the event as a ‘historic day’.
The second project is the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), which aims to improve Iraq’s electricity supply by recovering flared gas at three oilfields and using the gas to supply power plants, helping to reduce the country’s import bill, according to Reuters.
The third project is to develop the Artawi oilfield to increase its production capacity to more than 210,000 barrels per day.
Abdul-Ghani indicated that the Artawi oilfield already produces one of the best fuels in the region.
The fourth project is to develop a 1-gigawatt solar power plant to supply southern Iraq with electricity.
Saudi company, ACWA Power, has been invited by TotalEnergies to participate in the solar power plant project.