Source: Al-Sabah - 25/02/2010
Iraq to join the big league of oil exporters amid continued questions about the fate of the gas projects
Iraqi licensing rounds have been completed with the giant oil companies to develop oil fields is expected to raise the total contracts signed by the Iraqi government officially launched during the past two weeks, to 12 million barrels per day to join Iraq back to the big league of oil exporters in the world.
The most prominent of those contracts that he signed a consortium led by Shell, with the Iraqi government and a 20-year-old to provide technical assistance to develop the Majnoon oil, which is one of the largest oil fields in the world.
As Exxon Mobil Corp. signed an agreement with the Iraqi government for the redevelopment and expansion of West Qurna-1, the estimated reserves of about 8.5 billion barrels of oil. The Iraqi government has signed another contract with a consortium led by Eni of Italy to develop the field of Zubayr, Iraq aims to develop its oil sector which suffers from poor performance, and increase production capacity to 12 million barrels per day, a huge increase from the current production level of around 2.5 million barrels per day.
According to Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said his country would be at the forefront of the world producer and exporter of crude oil in the world, pointing out that there is great potential to Iraq to add new capacity of 50 fields, including the last block need the global market.
Shahristani and stresses that 'the total output of foreign companies are expected to exceed 11 million barrels per day over the coming years, these contracts contain clauses providing 85 percent of jobs for engineers, technicians and Iraqi employment, as well as providing financial returns to Iraq up to $ 200 billion annually intervention to the general budget of the State.
In light of these positive developments that have occurred in the Iraqi oil industry, the question now about the fate of the gas projects had been delayed for years and will commence when the Iraqi government approval, as in the oil sector.
Ichida, "said Hisashi Japanese gas industry expert who works in Dubai, said the gas industry in Iraq is as important as the oil industry, and called on the Iraqi government to continue to work on a gas Basra, a proposed joint venture, which includes the South Gas Company is an Iraqi company, with Royal Dac Dutch-British Shell, Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan.
And will be activated this new partnership through the registration of the proposed company to be called the gas company Basra.
It is noted that discussions on natural gas between the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and Shell began a few years ago, in September 2008, the parties signed «the principles of the Convention» to develop what is referred to as the joint venture for gas south.
Discussions are continuing on the Conventions on the final project, which represents the next step, the partners hope (South Gas Company and its subsidiaries of Shell and Mitsubishi) in the signing of these agreements in the near future.
And South Gas Company will be the largest contributor to have 51% of the shares of the joint venture, and Shell has 44% of those shares, and the proportion of Mitsubishi Corporation owns the remaining 5%.
Experts estimate Iraq's gas reserves of 112 trillion cubic feet. Confirms that the Japanese expert Ichida, this reserve puts Iraq in the ranks of the top 10 producing countries in the world, in a time of growing global demand for electric power generation and water desalination.
According to experts working in the gas industry in Dubai, Iraq is capable of producing more than 6000 million standard cubic feet of associated gas, enough to cover domestic consumption and export, but production is currently no more than 1000 million standard cubic feet, including approximately 700 million cubic feet burned daily in the fields of Basra.
These experts say that more than 70 percent of Iraqi gas is a gas accompanying the process of oil extraction, making the estimates and reports from the House of Representatives, determines the loss of Iraq with 100 billion Iraqi dinars per day (80 million dollars) from the burning of this gas.
Iraq is facing a real problem at the present time due to burning of Iraqi gas, which causes the accumulation of 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of exhaust emissions of 3 million units.
While Iraq is still cooking gas imports from Iran and is capable of generating electricity from gas to its reliance on traditional alternatives such as diesel, and there is a real opportunity in Iraq to help in these efforts by taking advantage of this gas as well as economic.
But the new gas projects in the event of approval and reaching final agreements in question qualifies Iraq to export LNG to world markets, or to integrate with the Arab gas pipeline or gas pipeline markets.
And noticed some foreign experts that there is a slowdown in government decision-making on the appropriate gas agreements and action in international tenders to be interpreted by some as a transitional stage before the legislative elections in Iraq scheduled to be held in Iraq on 7 March next year.
The officials of the Iraqi Oil Ministry said Shell is the first global company to take the decision to work in the gas industry in Iraq, where the company opened a Dutch-British giant's first office in Basra, in October 2008 and has sent work teams and engineers to work directly. Cooperating / Shell / with the Iraqi government since 2005, to prepare a study to limit the ability of gas production and the possibility of exploitation and refining, and ways to benefit from it. And able to sign an initial contract with the government to market gas in the southern province of Basra.
Officials reject the Iraqi Oil Ministry to talk about the timetable for the signing of the contracts of gas projects, perhaps for the possibility of changes in government after the legislative elections.
Experts believe that it is useful to introduce natural gas in the energy infrastructure in Iraq to help local economic development is also possible to export gas in excess of the local needs of liquefied natural gas resulting in new income for the Iraqi economy.
And the joint venture once it is established to collect and process the raw gas in Basra, and sale of natural gas processor and related products, such as: intensive petroleum gas and liquefied, to local and foreign markets.
The resort joint venture in the future to build a facility to produce liquefied natural gas for export, which would be of more benefit to the Iraqi economy, which will enter Iraq in the ranks of countries exporting to the article as Algeria, Qatar, Egypt and Oman, where it formed similar partnerships between national companies and international companies.
And confirms an official at the Iraqi Oil Ministry refused to be named, said the question of signing the final contract through the first round of licenses for the development of gas field / Akkas / in Anbar province northwest of Baghdad, will be on the agenda of the ministry immediately after the elections, and believes that the field of about seven trillion feet feet of gas, or about 6% of the total estimated gas presence in Iraq of $ 112 trillion cubic feet.
Iraq to join the big league of oil exporters amid continued questions about the fate of the gas projects
Iraqi licensing rounds have been completed with the giant oil companies to develop oil fields is expected to raise the total contracts signed by the Iraqi government officially launched during the past two weeks, to 12 million barrels per day to join Iraq back to the big league of oil exporters in the world.
The most prominent of those contracts that he signed a consortium led by Shell, with the Iraqi government and a 20-year-old to provide technical assistance to develop the Majnoon oil, which is one of the largest oil fields in the world.
As Exxon Mobil Corp. signed an agreement with the Iraqi government for the redevelopment and expansion of West Qurna-1, the estimated reserves of about 8.5 billion barrels of oil. The Iraqi government has signed another contract with a consortium led by Eni of Italy to develop the field of Zubayr, Iraq aims to develop its oil sector which suffers from poor performance, and increase production capacity to 12 million barrels per day, a huge increase from the current production level of around 2.5 million barrels per day.
According to Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said his country would be at the forefront of the world producer and exporter of crude oil in the world, pointing out that there is great potential to Iraq to add new capacity of 50 fields, including the last block need the global market.
Shahristani and stresses that 'the total output of foreign companies are expected to exceed 11 million barrels per day over the coming years, these contracts contain clauses providing 85 percent of jobs for engineers, technicians and Iraqi employment, as well as providing financial returns to Iraq up to $ 200 billion annually intervention to the general budget of the State.
In light of these positive developments that have occurred in the Iraqi oil industry, the question now about the fate of the gas projects had been delayed for years and will commence when the Iraqi government approval, as in the oil sector.
Ichida, "said Hisashi Japanese gas industry expert who works in Dubai, said the gas industry in Iraq is as important as the oil industry, and called on the Iraqi government to continue to work on a gas Basra, a proposed joint venture, which includes the South Gas Company is an Iraqi company, with Royal Dac Dutch-British Shell, Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan.
And will be activated this new partnership through the registration of the proposed company to be called the gas company Basra.
It is noted that discussions on natural gas between the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and Shell began a few years ago, in September 2008, the parties signed «the principles of the Convention» to develop what is referred to as the joint venture for gas south.
Discussions are continuing on the Conventions on the final project, which represents the next step, the partners hope (South Gas Company and its subsidiaries of Shell and Mitsubishi) in the signing of these agreements in the near future.
And South Gas Company will be the largest contributor to have 51% of the shares of the joint venture, and Shell has 44% of those shares, and the proportion of Mitsubishi Corporation owns the remaining 5%.
Experts estimate Iraq's gas reserves of 112 trillion cubic feet. Confirms that the Japanese expert Ichida, this reserve puts Iraq in the ranks of the top 10 producing countries in the world, in a time of growing global demand for electric power generation and water desalination.
According to experts working in the gas industry in Dubai, Iraq is capable of producing more than 6000 million standard cubic feet of associated gas, enough to cover domestic consumption and export, but production is currently no more than 1000 million standard cubic feet, including approximately 700 million cubic feet burned daily in the fields of Basra.
These experts say that more than 70 percent of Iraqi gas is a gas accompanying the process of oil extraction, making the estimates and reports from the House of Representatives, determines the loss of Iraq with 100 billion Iraqi dinars per day (80 million dollars) from the burning of this gas.
Iraq is facing a real problem at the present time due to burning of Iraqi gas, which causes the accumulation of 20 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of exhaust emissions of 3 million units.
While Iraq is still cooking gas imports from Iran and is capable of generating electricity from gas to its reliance on traditional alternatives such as diesel, and there is a real opportunity in Iraq to help in these efforts by taking advantage of this gas as well as economic.
But the new gas projects in the event of approval and reaching final agreements in question qualifies Iraq to export LNG to world markets, or to integrate with the Arab gas pipeline or gas pipeline markets.
And noticed some foreign experts that there is a slowdown in government decision-making on the appropriate gas agreements and action in international tenders to be interpreted by some as a transitional stage before the legislative elections in Iraq scheduled to be held in Iraq on 7 March next year.
The officials of the Iraqi Oil Ministry said Shell is the first global company to take the decision to work in the gas industry in Iraq, where the company opened a Dutch-British giant's first office in Basra, in October 2008 and has sent work teams and engineers to work directly. Cooperating / Shell / with the Iraqi government since 2005, to prepare a study to limit the ability of gas production and the possibility of exploitation and refining, and ways to benefit from it. And able to sign an initial contract with the government to market gas in the southern province of Basra.
Officials reject the Iraqi Oil Ministry to talk about the timetable for the signing of the contracts of gas projects, perhaps for the possibility of changes in government after the legislative elections.
Experts believe that it is useful to introduce natural gas in the energy infrastructure in Iraq to help local economic development is also possible to export gas in excess of the local needs of liquefied natural gas resulting in new income for the Iraqi economy.
And the joint venture once it is established to collect and process the raw gas in Basra, and sale of natural gas processor and related products, such as: intensive petroleum gas and liquefied, to local and foreign markets.
The resort joint venture in the future to build a facility to produce liquefied natural gas for export, which would be of more benefit to the Iraqi economy, which will enter Iraq in the ranks of countries exporting to the article as Algeria, Qatar, Egypt and Oman, where it formed similar partnerships between national companies and international companies.
And confirms an official at the Iraqi Oil Ministry refused to be named, said the question of signing the final contract through the first round of licenses for the development of gas field / Akkas / in Anbar province northwest of Baghdad, will be on the agenda of the ministry immediately after the elections, and believes that the field of about seven trillion feet feet of gas, or about 6% of the total estimated gas presence in Iraq of $ 112 trillion cubic feet.