Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, plans to invest $3 billion in Basra Gas Company over the next five years to boost gas production capacity, Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported on Monday.
Iraq has been looking to boost its gas production for local power generation and also to limit the volume of gas lost to flaring.
'We are seeking to reach 1,400 million cubic meters of gas through this investment,' Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said.
The minister explained that based on a government commitment to secure all payments of the Basra Gas Company gas, investment projects are crucial.
Other projects in Nasiriyah, Maysan, Mansouriya, and in Iraq’s largest gas field, Akkas are underway, along with ongoing technical discussions on investments of American and foreign companies in the Akkas field in the Anbar province, the Minister said.
Basra Gas Company is a joint venture between the Iraqi state, Shell and Mitsubishi. The Iraqi government holds the majority 51% stake in the 25-year venture, with the Anglo-Dutch major accounting for 44% interest and the Japanese company for a 5% share.
The country's consumption of natural gas, which averaged 19.9 billion cubic meters in 2019, outpaces the volumes produced in the country, which was only 10.8 billion cubic meters, according to the BP Statistical Review of Energy 2020.
By Busranur Begcecanli
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr