Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises and managing director of the Crescent Group, offers his perspective on the Iraqi market and underlines the importance of a local…
READ MOREIraq's Energy Industry
in figures
Oil reserves145 billion barrels
Oil Production4.1 million bopd
Gas reserves3.5 tcm
Gas production9.4 bcm
Iraq: Emerging from Uncertainty
Iraq’s oil and gas industry has remained stable during the country’s ongoing challenges and conflicts. The country remains the fourth-largest producer of hydrocarbons and the second-largest producer in OPEC. Iraq’s impressive reserves are the third largest in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Iran. The national oil and gas industry is overseen by the Ministry of Oil. The government is involved in E&P activities through the following state-owned entities: North Oil Company, Midland Oil Company, Dhi Qar Oil Company, Basrah Oil Company and Missan Oil Company.
The majority of the country’s hydrocarbons are found in the country’s eastern edge near its border with Iran. The super-fields in the southeast near Kuwait form the greatest concentration of such finds worldwide and contain more than 70-80% of the country’s reserves. About 20% of its reserves are found in the northern region. Production comes predominantly from the nation’s NOCs. The country is looking to up production from its maturing assets, which will require fresh-water injection. Given that fresh water is a rare commodity in Iraq, opportunities exist in building related infrastructure. Iraq’s impressive gas potential has also been largely overlooked, with Iraq relying on gas imports to meet demand. Work continues to bring down gas flaring and develop related transport infrastructure.
Iraq has significant refining capacity, but assets have largely become antiquated and function at around 50% capacity. The aged facilities produce more heavy fuel oil than refined products, which does not match the nation’s demand requirements. The state has discussed imposing measures to move investment focus from its oil and gas production towards developing its downstream capacities to spur direct economic growth for the country.
Another requirement for upping production on Iraq’s oil and gas fields is a rise in power generation capacity. The hydrocarbons industry traditionally takes up 10% of total energy demand in the country, which is expected to rise as output increases. Despite an almost entirely resistant hydrocarbons industry, political turmoil has taken a toll on investment in its power generation sector. Efforts to curb consumption have been made by the government, but further investment is needed to meet the country’s industrial targets.
The Iraqi government has signed a deal for the supply of up to 50 mcm per day of gas from Iran.
READ MOREThe National Iranian Oil Company has awarded contracts to local players for projects aiming to boost output by up to 400,000 bopd.
READ MORESeveral OPEC+ members have extended voluntary oil production cuts of 2.2 million bpd into Q2 2024.
READ MORESaudi Aramco has received orders from the government to set its maximum sustainable capacity to 12 million bpd.
READ MOREEnergy giant TotalEnergies has signed a contract with Vallourec for supply of casing and tubing for its Gas Growth Integrated Project in Iraq, the contractor announced…
READ MOREBoth OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have forecast a rise in global oil consumption in 2024, Reuters reported on Thursday.
The IEA has raised its…
READ MORELaith Allawi, director for strategic projects at Saracen Ventures, discusses the ways in which Iraq might attract private investment. Saracen Ventures, which is closely…
READ MOREGenel Energy’s Tony Hayward has stepped down from his position as CEO, in favour of acting as chairman for the London-listed exploration and production company. The…
READ MOREAiman Bohendi, general manager of Eastern National Oilfield Services, talks to TOGY about how locals can compete with global players and meet the challenges of the…
READ MOREGraham Binns, CEO of the UK’s Aegis Defence Services, which advises companies on the many aspects of security-related matters, discusses the role security firms play…
READ MORELarge-scale downward revisions to oil production announced by Brazil and Iraq this week could lead to a spike in commodity prices within years, analysts…
READ MOREGunmen shot and killed a top official from Iraq’s state-run North Oil Company in the city of Kirkuk on Sunday.
Saad Al Karbalaie, the company’s director of…
READ MOREGazprom Neft has almost doubled oil production at the Badra oilfield in Iraq, the company announced on Wednesday.
The Russian international and its partners have…
READ MOREMohammed Khudairi, managing partner of the US-Iraqi Khudairi Group, speaks to TOGY about the differences between working in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and federal…
READ MOREOliver Westmacott, president and chief operating officer of Canada-headquartered security services provider GardaWorld, talks to TOGY about the lesser-known practical…
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