Iraq is negotiating with international companies to invest in four gas fields, which include Majnoon, West Qurna 2, Luhais and Artawi, said Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani.

The minister expected to sign the investment contracts soon, state-owned Iraqi News Agency reported.

In September 2022, France’s Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne said that the company would provide $2 billion to build a processing plant for gas produced at the southern fields of West Qurna 2, Majnoon, Artawi, Tuba and Luhais.

Ghani inaugurated the first phase of the Hammar Musharraf gas compressor station in the Zubair oil field in the Basra governorate. The project will add new quantities of raw gas, including 30 cubic metres of dry gas, 150 tonnes of liquid gas, and 600 barrels of condensate.

In addition, Basra Gas Company will add five new compressors in the second phase to raise the production capacity to 147 million standard cubic meters per day, the minister said.

Basra Gas Company is a joint venture between the Iraqi Government, UK’s Shell and Japan’s Mitsubishi.

(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)