Iraq to sign Akkas gas field deal with KOGAS and KazMunaiGaz
Iraq to sign Akkas gas field deal with KOGAS and KazMunaiGaz this week
Iraq's oil ministry will this week sign an initial deal with South Korea's KOGAS and Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGas to develop the western Akkas gas field, an oil ministry official said on Monday. 'After initialling the contract we will send it to the cabinet for final approval,' Sabah Abdul Kadhim, the head of the legal section of Iraq's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate. The deal will be signed Thursday.
Akkas has estimated reserves of 5.6 trillion cubic feet. The companies won a deal to develop the western Akkas gas field, near the Syrian border, last October in Iraq's third energy auction since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The initial signing, originally scheduled for Nov. 14, was postponed due to a row between the central government and provincial authorities over possible gas exports. Authorities in western Anbar province, the Sunni heartland and a former al Qaeda stronghold, said they would not allow foreign companies to work there.
Abdul Kadhim said the differences have been resolved. 'The oil ministry met with Anbar local officials to submit clarifications for the deal and all misunderstandings were resolved. Now Anbar provincial authorities are happy and promised to show support and cooperation for the companies that will develop the Akkas gas field,' he said. 'Development of the Akkas field will have positive economic benefits not only in Anbar province but also the country.'
Iraq, holder of the world's 10th largest gas reserves, has said the priority for the gas will be domestic consumption, mainly for power generation, but has left open the possibility of allowing exports once domestic needs are satisfied. The national electricity grid only supplies a few hours of power each day. 'Gas produced from the three fields will boost domestic need and supply power stations, while the surplus would be exported when we reach a stable production levels,' Abdul Kadhim said.
Iraq has already signed deals for two other gas fields auctioned last October -- Siba, located in the relatively peaceful southern oil hub of Basra, and Mansuriyah, in volatile Diyala province near the Iranian border. Turkey's state-owned TPAO and Kuwait Energy won Siba. The Mansuriyah contract was won by TPAO, Kuwait Energy and KOGAS. 'The cabinet will ratify all three gas deals and send them back to the oil ministry for final signing very soon,' Abdul Kadhim said.
Source: Reuters
Iraq to sign Akkas gas field deal with KOGAS and KazMunaiGaz this week
Iraq's oil ministry will this week sign an initial deal with South Korea's KOGAS and Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGas to develop the western Akkas gas field, an oil ministry official said on Monday. 'After initialling the contract we will send it to the cabinet for final approval,' Sabah Abdul Kadhim, the head of the legal section of Iraq's Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Directorate. The deal will be signed Thursday.
Akkas has estimated reserves of 5.6 trillion cubic feet. The companies won a deal to develop the western Akkas gas field, near the Syrian border, last October in Iraq's third energy auction since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The initial signing, originally scheduled for Nov. 14, was postponed due to a row between the central government and provincial authorities over possible gas exports. Authorities in western Anbar province, the Sunni heartland and a former al Qaeda stronghold, said they would not allow foreign companies to work there.
Abdul Kadhim said the differences have been resolved. 'The oil ministry met with Anbar local officials to submit clarifications for the deal and all misunderstandings were resolved. Now Anbar provincial authorities are happy and promised to show support and cooperation for the companies that will develop the Akkas gas field,' he said. 'Development of the Akkas field will have positive economic benefits not only in Anbar province but also the country.'
Iraq, holder of the world's 10th largest gas reserves, has said the priority for the gas will be domestic consumption, mainly for power generation, but has left open the possibility of allowing exports once domestic needs are satisfied. The national electricity grid only supplies a few hours of power each day. 'Gas produced from the three fields will boost domestic need and supply power stations, while the surplus would be exported when we reach a stable production levels,' Abdul Kadhim said.
Iraq has already signed deals for two other gas fields auctioned last October -- Siba, located in the relatively peaceful southern oil hub of Basra, and Mansuriyah, in volatile Diyala province near the Iranian border. Turkey's state-owned TPAO and Kuwait Energy won Siba. The Mansuriyah contract was won by TPAO, Kuwait Energy and KOGAS. 'The cabinet will ratify all three gas deals and send them back to the oil ministry for final signing very soon,' Abdul Kadhim said.
Source: Reuters
Iraq to sign Akkas gas field deal with KOGAS and KazMunaiGaz this week
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