Iraq to exploit its gas reserves
Saturday, January 23rd 2010 3:19 PM
Baghdad, Jan. 23 (AKnews) - Iraq wants to exploit its vast natural gas reserves, a resource that has had to play second fiddle to the country's oil wealth, and has signed a strategic energy agreement with the European Union to develop the gas fields.
But just as Iraq's drive to develop its major oil fields and quadruple production through a chain of multibillion-dollar contracts with international oil companies could be set back by an upsurge of violence surrounding national elections slated for March 7, so too could Baghdad's ambitions for its gas reserves.
The Europeans are desperate to break their dependence on Russia for their gas supplies, which Moscow has a habit of turning off during the winter.
Having Iraqi gas flow through the planned 2,000-mile Nabucco pipeline that would funnel gas westward from Central Asia and the Middle East through Turkey, Iraq's northern neighbor, to Austria, would forge a strong energy link between Europe and Iraq.
"Iraq represents a vital link for the EU's security of supply," EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs declared during the signing ceremony in Baghdad on Monday.
Iraq has an estimated 111 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with much, much more yet to be tapped, according to industry analysts. But as with the country's oil fields, these have never been fully explored or exploited.
Only 20 percent of Iraq's oil fields, which contain the equivalent of 115 billion barrels of oil, have been developed.
An even smaller percentage of Iraq's gas reserves have been developed. But the infrastructure is so neglected that large amounts of gas produced in the oil fields are flared off rather than being stored or utilized through domestic consumption.
The Baghdad government has yet to disclose its plans for developing Iraq's gas reserves.
But it would presumably entail securing agreements with international energy companies to do that, as has been done with a dozen or so of the country's major oil fields over recent months.
Last summer Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki offered to supply Nabucco, the EU's flagship project for the development of the so-called Southern Corridor energy route bypassing Russia, with 15 billion cubic meters of gas a year from 2015.
ma/gs AKnews
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/106598/
Saturday, January 23rd 2010 3:19 PM
Baghdad, Jan. 23 (AKnews) - Iraq wants to exploit its vast natural gas reserves, a resource that has had to play second fiddle to the country's oil wealth, and has signed a strategic energy agreement with the European Union to develop the gas fields.
But just as Iraq's drive to develop its major oil fields and quadruple production through a chain of multibillion-dollar contracts with international oil companies could be set back by an upsurge of violence surrounding national elections slated for March 7, so too could Baghdad's ambitions for its gas reserves.
The Europeans are desperate to break their dependence on Russia for their gas supplies, which Moscow has a habit of turning off during the winter.
Having Iraqi gas flow through the planned 2,000-mile Nabucco pipeline that would funnel gas westward from Central Asia and the Middle East through Turkey, Iraq's northern neighbor, to Austria, would forge a strong energy link between Europe and Iraq.
"Iraq represents a vital link for the EU's security of supply," EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs declared during the signing ceremony in Baghdad on Monday.
Iraq has an estimated 111 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with much, much more yet to be tapped, according to industry analysts. But as with the country's oil fields, these have never been fully explored or exploited.
Only 20 percent of Iraq's oil fields, which contain the equivalent of 115 billion barrels of oil, have been developed.
An even smaller percentage of Iraq's gas reserves have been developed. But the infrastructure is so neglected that large amounts of gas produced in the oil fields are flared off rather than being stored or utilized through domestic consumption.
The Baghdad government has yet to disclose its plans for developing Iraq's gas reserves.
But it would presumably entail securing agreements with international energy companies to do that, as has been done with a dozen or so of the country's major oil fields over recent months.
Last summer Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki offered to supply Nabucco, the EU's flagship project for the development of the so-called Southern Corridor energy route bypassing Russia, with 15 billion cubic meters of gas a year from 2015.
ma/gs AKnews
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/106598/