Iraq, TotalEnergies discuss cooperation in energy sector
The tower housing the headquarters of the oil company TotalEnergies in Courbevoie, France. Photo: Depositphotos
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, discussed on Wednesday the prospects of joint cooperation in the oil and energy sectors with a delegation from TotalEnergies.
The meeting addressed TotalEnergies’ plans and programs to carry out the projects recently agreed upon with national oil companies, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
In August, Iraq’s Basra Oil Company (BOC) announced that TotalEnergies entered into a contractual commitment to carry out four large energy projects as part of a deal concluded with the Iraqi government last July.
TotalEnergies long-awaited $27 billion energy deal is 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 deal was finally closed in April when Iraq agreed to take a smaller than initially demanded stake of 30 percent in the project.
TotalEnergies took a 45 percent stake, and QatarEnergy holds the remaining 25 percent.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne signed the agreement with the Iraqi Minister of Oil at a ceremony held in Baghdad, where Pouyanne described the event as a ‘historic day.’
The first of the four projects is the use of seawater to support oil extraction operations.
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 to supply power plants, helping to reduce the country’s import bill.
The third project is to develop the Artawi oilfield to increase its production capacity to more than 210,000 barrels per day.
The fourth project is to develop a 1-gigawatt solar power plant to supply southern Iraq with electricity.