TotalEnergies commits a further $4bn for Iraq’s oil projects
French oil major TotalEnergies plans to lift its investment in Iraq by one-third as the country expands its energy sector.
The company will increase its investment from $12 billion to $16 billion, the prime minister’s media office reported, quoting chairman Patrick Pouyanné.
In his meeting with Pouyanné, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi said Iraq plans to expand associated gas utilisation to achieve self-sufficiency and boost oil production to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) over the next five years.
Four major projects are awaiting their outcomes, according to oil minister Basim Mohammed Khudhir.
These are developing the 210,000 bpd Artawi field; five gas fields with a capacity of 600 million standard cubic feet per day; a seawater investment and utilisation project for injection to compensate for depleted reservoir pressure; and a 1,000 megawatt solar energy investment, the state-owned Iraq News Agency reported.
Last week Iraq awarded a 25-year contract to a local company to more than double gas production at an oilfield badly damaged by Islamic State militants nearly a decade ago.
The Opec member, which controls the world’s fifth-largest recoverable oil deposits, has recently signed deals with several US companies to increase its oil and gas production.
It has set a target to end the long-standing practice of gas flaring by 2029 and become self-sufficient in natural gas. It also aims to phase out imports from nearby Iran after supplies fell sharply over the past two years.