US, Qatar seek to invest in Iraqi gas industry

US, Qatar seek to invest in Iraqi gas industry

Companies from the US and Qatar are negotiating with Iraq to invest in its untapped gas industry as Baghdad is pursing plans to develop its gas resources, the Undersecretary of the Iraqi Oil Ministry was quoted on Monday as saying.

Bassim Khudair said there are plans to offer more concession areas to foreign firms to develop gas deposits, estimated at nearly 4 trillion cubic metres.

He told the official Iraqi news agency that Iraq is planning to expand its oil and gas production capacity by awarding more projects to global firms.

“Companies from the US and Qatar have made technical and commercial offers…they have expressed a desire to invest in Iraq’s gas sector,” he said.

Khudair also said the Ministry is holding negotiations with Saudi oil giant Aramco about an agreement they signed in May to develop Akkas gas field, adding that Iraq aims to stop gas flaring completely by 2030.

Akkas, located in the Western Al-Anbar Governorate was discovered in 1992. It began production in 1993 and produces natural gas and condensates.

The total proven reserves of the Akkas field are around 5.6 trillion cubic feet (168 billion cubic metres) and production is slated to be around 400 million cubic feet/day.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing