Page 5 - MEOG Week 08 2022

MEOG COMMENTARY MEOG

development of Akkas and the MoO is consid- is aimed at reducing reliance on Iranian volumes
ering ways to ensure the attractiveness of the to fuel the country’s undersupplied power sector,
terms on offer, including offering Block 2, north ending harmful and wasteful flaring and gener-
of Akkas, to the field’s developer. Russian and ating feedstock to drive the development of a
Chinese companies have shown interest, but the petrochemicals industry, in which Saudi firms
MoO’s preference is to bring in a Western IOC to figure to feature prominently.
develop the highly prospective Western Desert In November, Abdul Jabbar said that a “spe-
region.” cial memorandum” had been drafted for Saudi
Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) to take an “equal
Halfaya progress share” alongside the Ministry of Industry (MoI)
Also this week, the MoO announced that the and Shell for the establishment of the $11bn
project to capture gas associated with oil produc- Nebras petrochemical project which will pro-
tion at the Halfaya field in Maysan Governorate duce at least 1.8mn tonnes per year (tpy) of pol-
is now 51% complete. In a statement published yethylene and various other petrochemicals.
by the ministry’s website, Ali Jassim Hammoud,
director-general of INOC subsidiary Missan Oil LNG
Co. (MOC), said the project aims to capture and Keen to find a short-term alternative to Iranian
process around 300 mmcf (8.5 mcm) per day of flows, which have become increasingly suscep-
gas as well as condensates. tible to interruption amid record gas use in the
Noting that the field’s operator PetroChina Islamic Republic, Abdul Jabbar said that talks are
and lead contractor China Petroleum Engineer- being held with global LNG powerhouse Qatar
ing and Construction Corp. (CPECC) – both for cargoes during summer months when Iraqi
of which are subsidiaries of state-owned China generation requirements peak.
National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) – are carry- Last year, neighbouring Kuwait received the
ing out the project, Hammoud said it should be first cargo of Qatari LNG under a 15-year deal
completed in mid-2023. This would give a total to supply its new LNG Import (LNGI) terminal
timeframe from commencement of around 30 at Al-Zour, aimed at providing reliable supply
months for “all infrastructure and equipment while the country similarly works to develop its
installation work” to be completed. sizeable gas resource.
He added that the project would bring an end He said that Baghdad would only look to
to gas flaring at Halfaya and could be expanded import Qatari gas during June, July and August
to treat raw gas from the Al-Amarah, Noor fields as it works to achieve gas independence by 2025.
and the Missan oilfield cluster, which includes The minister did not elaborate on the technical-
Abu Ghraib, Buzurgan and Faqqa. ities of the planned import scheme, with Iraq
Harnessing Halfaya’s gas potential is only lacking regasification infrastructure of its own.
one part of PetroChina’s field development pro- The comments follow steps by the outgoing gov-
gramme under which it is currently working on a ernment to improve strategic energy relations
third phase expansion to add 100,000 bpd to the with its neighbours.
current production capacity of around 300,000 Meanwhile, with Iraq considering launching
bpd, in line with MoO’s intention of raising oil a bid round to entice more international partici-
output from 5mn bpd to 8mn bpd by 2027. pation in the development of free gas assets, fur-
While Iraq’s oil push is designed to increase ther announcements from the MoO should be
revenues, the move to develop its gas resources anticipated soon.™

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