Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar Ismail signed a contract on Thursday to develop the Mansouriya gas field in Diyala with a capacity of 300 cubic meters, with Chinese company SINOPEC.
The Oil Ministry of Iraq has said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “the Minister of Oil stressed during the signing ceremony the importance of developing the Mansouriya gas field in Diyala Governorate, as it represents a qualitative addition to the energy sector in Iraq.”.
The minister said, “This contract represents an addition to the investment of free gas from the Mansouriya field, which is the second largest gas field in Iraq,” referring to “authorizing the Central Oil Company to enter as a partner with the Chinese company Sinopec at a rate of (51 percent)”.
The Minister has expressed that “hope that the next government will proceed with the final contract procedures in order for the Chinese company to start development work for the field, and Sinopec is one of the largest oil, gas and petrochemical companies.”.
The Chinese embassy officials have praised the bilateral relations between the Iraq and China along with their desire to expand the cooperation in the oil and energy sector.
Director-General of the Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Department Ali Maarij have praised the deal signed by the ministry in light of security and health challenges.
He has expressed hope for the cooperation of the authorities and its support for the contracts concluded by the oil ministry of Iraq.
Qaddouri Abdul Salim, the Director General of the Central Oil Company has confirmed that the company will be a partner of the Chinese company, and the contract which is signed by the ministry includes training workers to keep pace with development and modern technology in this field.
Abdul Salim went on saying, “The field’s area is (150) km2, and the gas reserve is estimated at (4.5) trillion standard cubic feet, and it is the second largest gas field after the Crutch field in Anbar Governorate, and the contract was included in 2010 in the third licensing round, and won a contract It was developed by a consortium that included the Turkish company (TPAO), Kuwait Energy, and the Korean Kokaz. The coalition of the three companies did not start working in the field due to the security conditions that prevailed in the field at the time.
He highlighted, “In 2021, the Ministry of Oil re-introduced the Mansouriya gas field in the sixth licensing round organized by the Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Department, and won a contract to be developed by the Chinese company (SINOPEC),” noting that “the contract stipulates that the Central Oil Company will be a government partner with a percentage of ( 51 percent), while the share of the Chinese company (SINOPEC) is (49 percent).
He added “the expected production capacity of the field is (300) million standard cubic feet per day to supply the electric power stations and that the most important objectives of the Mansouriya gas field development contract is to produce gas with a capacity of 300 cubic feet per day to supply the electric power plants and various industrial projects with their need of gas, In addition to providing job opportunities for the people of Diyala, upgrading the economic reality of the province, and supporting the plans of the National Oil Company to invest in gas.