Development projects awarded to local and foreign companies will more than triple Iraq’s gas production in 2050, the official Alsabah newspaper said on Tuesday.

Iraq, OPEC’s second largest oil producer, managed to boost gas output from around 5 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2013 to over 15 bcm in 2022, it said, citing official data.

Gas production will continue to rise in the next years to reach nearly 55 bcm in 2050 after large projects awarded to local and foreign firms are completed, it added.

The surge in output in the next years will allow Iraq to end gas-flaring and ensure sufficient supplies for its power facilities, according to the report.

Iraq, which controls more than 3 trillion cubic metres of proven gas reserves, has awarded several oil and gas development contracts to France’s TotalEnergies and other foreign companies over the past years.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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