Chinese companies secure key contracts in Iraqi oil and gas fields
Shafaq News / The Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced, on Sunday, the success of several Chinese companies in the supplementary licensing round five and round six projects.
Asim Jihad, the ministry's spokesperson, stated that Zhenhua, a Chinese company, secured the investment rights for the Abu Khema field near the Iraqi-Syrian border in al-Muthanna governorate. This came after competing with the Geo Jade Chinese company.
The Abu Khema field, spanning 294 square kilometers in al-Muthanna, holds significant reserves of oil and associated gas.
Jihad also mentioned the success of Antonoil, another Chinese company, in securing the investment rights for the Abu Al-Zafria field (368 square kilometers) in Wasit governorate which contains two drilled wells with substantial oil reserves. This company was the sole bidder for this project.
Additionally, Jihad highlighted the victory of Chinese Sinopec in acquiring the rights for the Sumar area in al-Muthanna, as part of the supplementary licensing rounds five and six projects.
The Sumar area, extending over approximately 1,773 square kilometers, encompasses major reservoirs like the Omar, Zubair, Yamama, and Najma within the governorate.
Chinese companies secured contracts for exploration in five Iraqi oil and gas fields on Saturday, aiming primarily to increase gas production for domestic use. Additionally, a Kurdish-Iraqi company won two out of the total 29 projects, spread across central, southern, and western Iraq, presented in the three-day licensing round. This round also included, for the first time, an offshore exploration zone in the Gulf waters.
The expected gas production from this licensing round equals 200% of Iraq's current gas imports from Iran, which amounts to 1,700 million cubic meters per day. The anticipated daily production from this round is around 800 million cubic meters.
Iraq seeks to attract investments worth billions of dollars to develop its oil and gas sector while aiming to boost local petrochemical production and halt gas imports from neighboring Iran, which currently plays a crucial role in energy production.
More than 20 companies qualified for the licensing round, including European, Chinese, Arab, and Iraqi groups. However, notably absent were major American oil companies, even after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani met with representatives of American oil companies during an official visit to the United States last month.
