Page 12 - MEOG Week 44 2021

MEOG PROJECTS & COMPANIES MEOG

With development costs estimated at $3bn, side.
production was anticipated reaching 400mn Abdul Jabbar said that the “Iraqi negotiating
cubic feet (11.3mn cubic metres) per day, but committee [has] intensified its serious discus-
progress by KOGAS and Turkish partner TPAO sions with the Saudi company ACWA Power
has been limited. This has largely been caused to build water desalination plants, clean energy,
by its location in the north-western Anbar gov- and solar energy plants to bring them into the
ernorate, a long-time stronghold of IS until its local energy market” and noted the recent suc-
expulsion in late 2017. cess Baghdad has enjoyed in attracting more
Speaking to Petroleum Economist in Octo- than $30bn worth of investments from France’s
ber, Muhammed Abed Al-Aboudi is Director TotalEnergies, Masdar of the UAE and Norway’s
General of the MoO’s Reservoirs & Fields Devel- Scatec covering projects to decarbonise the
opment Directorate said: “Talks are being held country’s energy sector.
with IOCs to replace KOGAS and its partners for On the petrochemicals front, Abdul Jabbar
the development of Akkas and the MoO is con- said that “intensive discussions” have been ongo-
sidering ways to ensure the attractiveness of the ing with SABIC since April 2020 with a “special
terms on offer, including offering Block 2, north memorandum” having now been drafted for the
of Akkas, to the field’s developer. Russian and Saudi firm to take an “equal share” alongside the
Chinese companies have shown interest, but the Ministry of Industry (MoI) and Royal Dutch
MoO’s preference is to bring in a Western IOC to Shell for the establishment of the $11bn Nebras
develop the highly prospective Western Desert project.
region.” Shell signed a memorandum of understand-
Meanwhile, Abdul Jabbar said that “the King- ing (MoU) with the Iraqi government in 2012
dom of Saudi Arabia believes that the sustainable that saw it take a 49% stake with the MoO and
development plans in the two countries are in MoI taking a combined 51%.
line in recent years with the [Vision] 2030 Devel- SABIC has been considering an investment
opment Plan and its institutional frameworks in in the project since late 2017 with Iraq saying a
the two countries and the Arab region, as two oil few months later that talks were at an advanced
countries that top the list of crude oil exporters stage between the government, Shell and the
to global markets”. Saudi firm.
The Saudi delegation is understood to com- The design plans for Nebras entail a project
prise Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. that could produce at least 1.8mn tonnes per year
(SABIC) in which Aramco holds a 70% stake and (tpy) of polyethylene and various other petro-
utility major ACWA Power while Iraq’s Minis- chemicals. The latest memorandum for Nebras
try of Electricity (MoE) and National Investment is to be presented to the Council of Ministers
Commission have joined the MoO on the Iraqi during upcoming sessions.™

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