On February 21, the Iraqi government and Crescent Petroleum, a company based in the United Arab Emirates, agreed to develop two gas fields in the northeastern Diyala governorate of Iraq to supply local power plants.
The Gilabat-Qumar and Khashim gas fields are anticipated to produce seven million cubic meters within an 18-month period, according to the UAE’s private upstream oil and gas company.
Management at Crescent Petroleum also said that it plans to look into and build a third block in the Basra governorate to add more gas supplies.
Baghdad recently signed agreements with two Chinese companies for gas exploration, according to a source in the Iraqi oil ministry.
“These are very important deals that will boost Iraq’s plans to utilize its huge gas reserves not only to meet its domestic consumption but also to become a major gas exporter,” the source remarked.
As per an INA report, the Iraqi public oil serve Hayan Abdel-Ghan uncovered that the unrefined authorizing round would be declared soon.
Iraq has intensified efforts to improve relations with Gulf states in recent months. Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 19 to share sensitive intelligence and strengthen security cooperation. This was the first security agreement between the two countries since 1983.
According to reports from Iraqi state media, the MoU includes “all forms of security cooperation, exchange of points of views, and undertaking joint security activities.”
After decades of isolation following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the historic MoU comes at a time when Baghdad has begun to normalize ties with the Gulf states.
Iraq is getting ready to host bilateral discussions between Saudi Arabia and Iran to ensure regional stability, and the MoU was signed by Baghdad and Riyadh.
