Qatar Energy Company has shown interest in entering the new round of oil and gas licenses launched by Iraq recently, which includes several blocks with promising reserves.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said that Qatar is interested in participating in the two rounds of oil and gas licensing in Iraq, according to the data seen by the specialized energy platform.
During the past week, Iraq launched a “supplement” to the fifth licensing round that it launched in 2018. The annex consists of 13 oil and gas exploration fields and sites in the northern, central and southern governorates, and it is in the process of launching a sixth round.
Qatar Energy’s participation in Iraq
Today, Tuesday, May 23, the Iraqi Minister of Oil said, on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha: “Qatar Energy has expressed interest in participating in these tours, and this was confirmed by the discussions we had with Qatari Energy Minister Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi.”
“We are keen on Qatar Energy’s participation in the new licensing rounds,” he added, according to Argos Media.
The fifth round supplement consists mainly of blocks in the southern, eastern and northern provinces of the country, 4 of which were part of the original round, but did not receive any bids.
Interested companies, including Qatar Energy, must submit pre-qualification applications by June 15, but companies that qualified in previous rounds are automatically considered eligible.
The oil and gas sector in Iraq attracted the Qatar Energy Company, as it recently announced its entry into a partnership with the French company Total Energy in the $27 billion deal, which aims to develop 4 huge oil, gas and renewable energy projects in Basra Governorate.
New licensing round
The Iraqi Oil Minister indicated that his country announced through the forum the two new licensing rounds, the supplement to the fifth round, which includes 13 exploration blocks, in addition to the sixth licensing round, which includes exploration blocks available in western Iraq on the borders with Syria, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Abdul Ghani pointed out that the sixth round of investment licenses will be ready within two months, and includes border fields with Saudi Arabia and Syria, and includes oil fields and exploration blocks in the western region.
Last week, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said that the fifth licensing round supplement aims to “enhance the production and reserves of oil and gas in the country, and encourage investment in the hydrocarbon sector in cooperation with international companies.”
Iraq concluded the contracts for the fifth round in February, two years after they were awarded, as it signed 6 oil and gas contracts in total, which together are likely to produce 250,000 barrels per day of crude and one billion standard cubic feet per day of natural gas, according to what was seen by the energy platform. Niche.
Oil exports to Türkiye
On the other hand, the Iraqi Oil Minister confirmed that his country is waiting for the green light from Turkey to resume exporting northern Iraqi crude through the port of Ceyhan.
Hayan Abdul-Ghani hinted – during a dialogue session at the “Qatar Economic Forum” in Doha, alongside the Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and the Minister of State for Energy Affairs in Qatar, Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi – that the resumption of Iraqi oil exports to Turkey may resume flow after the end of the year. Turkish presidential elections.
“Turkey had earlier informed Iraq that it was assessing whether the pipeline was damaged as a result of the devastating earthquakes in February,” Abdulghani said.
He noted that the two sides had engaged in negotiations since the international arbitration ruling in March, which said that Turkey had violated the 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing the export of KRG oil without Baghdad’s approval between 2014 and 2018.
The Iraqi Oil Minister stated that his government had signed 4 contracts with international oil companies in Iraqi Kurdistan, to allow the export of oil from that part of Iraq, and to inform Turkey of that.
As part of the deal between Baghdad and Erbil, the state marketing company SOMO will market crude from the northern Kurdish region, which will also be subject to Baghdad’s official prices.
The Iraqi oil minister indicated that the $1.5 billion – which the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce ruled that Turkey would pay to Iraq for Ankara allowing the Iraqi Kurdistan government to export oil through the Turkish port of Ceyhan without Baghdad’s approval – is “negotiable.”
related topics..
Also read..
Leave a Reply