Oil Ministry unveils plans for maximizing national gas production

 
Baghdad-INA
 
 
The Ministry of Oil clarified the mechanism for announcing its projects and contracts competitive bids from companies interested in investment, emphasizing its future plans centered on the development of gas fields to maximize national production.
 
 
Asim Jihad, the ministry's spokesperson, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that “the announcements for projects related to oil field development or exploration are made through licensing rounds, encompassing various sites, oil fields or gas fields so the interested companies then submit proposals for investing in these fields”.
 
“Following the submission phase, qualified companies with expertise and capabilities in developing these sites, whether discovered and undeveloped or producing fields, are shortlisted,”
 
 Jihad stated that “the latest contract announcement was part of the fifth licensing round, which included several fields and locations in central and southern Iraq. The ministry subsequently declared an additional round, known as the fifth (supplementary) licensing round, featuring additional sites”.
 
Jihad highlighted that the ministry has also announced the sixth licensing round, incorporating hydrocarbon structures, both oil and gas, with a predominant focus on gas. Specific timelines have been set for companies interested in participating in the projects revealed during the fifth (supplementary) and sixth licensing rounds for field development.
 
He emphasized that the competition in these licensing rounds is transparent, with the presented fields, whether oil or gas structures, openly displayed for bidding companies to compete for development rights. Jihad affirmed that the ministry's upcoming plans concentrate on gas fields to enhance national production in the vital gas sector, underscoring its significance and priority in the Iraqi oil industry.