OPEC member Iraq is offering 14 oil and gas projects to international energy firms as part of its sixth round of concession licenses announced in mid-2023, the second man in the Iraqi Oil Ministry has said.

Yassir Khudair, the Ministry’s Undersecretary, said the projects include 11 for gas and three for crude oil, adding that they are expected to largely boost Iraq’s hydrocarbon deposits.

Khudair, who spoke at an oil projects conference in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday, said the new concessions cover most of the country’s governorates.

He noted that the 5th round, which was offered to foreign firms in February, is expected to increase Iraq’s oil output by 250,000 barrels per day and gas by one billion cubic feet per day.

“The fifth and sixth rounds include a total 30 projects…the sixth round offers 14 projects, including 11 for gas and 3 for crude oil,” he said in his comments, published by the National Iraqi News Agency.

Iraq, OPEC’s second largest oil producer, controls over 145 billion barrels of proven oil deposits and nearly four trillion cubic metres of natural gas, according to official estimates.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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