SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said on Monday development of Iraq’s Mansuriyah gas field on the coast near Iranian border is expected to cost $2.1 billion.
China’s Sinopec last month won a deal to develop the field in partnership with Iraq’s state-run Midland Oil Company.
Under the 25-year contract, Sinopec will hold a 49% stake and Midland Oil Company will hold 51%, the statement added.
The Mansuriyah gas field is located in Diyala province, 50 kilometers northeast of Baquba city.
Last year, Iraq cancelled a contract signed with a group led by the Turkish Petroleum Corp (TPAO) to develop the field, according to Reuters.
Iraq is planning to sign contracts with foreign energy companies to develop its gas fields and build gas facilities in southern Iraq and Anbar province, the ministry cited Jabbar as saying.
The Iraqi oil minister said in a press conference in Baghdad that he did not expect oil prices to drop below $65 a barrel and that lower oil prices should not be a concern after OPEC+ eases output cuts from May, Reuters reported.
He added that Iraq was in talks over the potential purchase of ExxonMobil’s stake in the southern West Qurna 1 oilfield.
Reuters cited Abdul Jabbar as saying that there were discussions at oil ministry about the “Basra Oil Company taking ownership of West Qurna 1 and leading the project, as happened with Majnoon”.
He referred to the huge Majnoon oilfield in the south of the country.
Iraq last month approved a 2021 investment budget of about $1.15 billion to develop Majnoon and raise its output to 450,000 barrels per day (bpd), from its current 130,000 bpd, within three years, Reuters said.
