Iraq has taken a major step forward in its $10 billion Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) at the Artawi field in Basra with the signing of three key engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts.

The signing ceremony, overseen by Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, included a joint operating agreement between the Oil Ministry, QatarEnergy and TotalEnergies, naming TotalEnergies as the lead operator for the project.

The three EPC contracts awarded by TotalEnergies are as under:

Seawater Treatment Facility:  South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction will build a 7.5 million barrels per day capacity seawater treatment plant to supply treated seawater for reinjection into southern oil fields to maintain reservoir pressure.

Central Oil and Gas Processing Facility: Turkey’s ENKA will construct a facility producing 210,000 barrels of oil per day, 163 million standard cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of gas and 240,000 bpd of injection water, incorporating zero-flaring technology.

Gas Processing Plant: China's China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) will construct the plant, which will capture and process up to 600 MMcf/d of associated gas, in two phases.

Prime Minister Sudani called for swift implementation of the agreements, stressing their importance for energy security. He noted that a solar power project under GGIP will deliver 1,000 megawatts (MW) to Iraq’s national grid starting early next year.

Led by a consortium of comprising TotalEnergies (45 percent), Basrah Oil Company (30 percent) and QatarEnergy (25 percent), GGIP involves recovery of flared gas from seven oil fields to supply power plants, redevelopment of oil production at the Ratawi field, construction of a seawater treatment plant to supply the wells, and the development and operation of a solar power plant, according to TotalEnergies website.

(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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