Sharjah-based Crescent Petroleum has signed three 20-year agreements with Iraq’s Ministry of Oil to develop three oil and gas fields in Iraq
Under the agreements, Crescent Petroleum will appraise, develop and produce oil and gas from two blocs in Diyala governorate in eastern-central Iraq, and one in Basra governorate in southern Iraq, the country's main oil-producing region. Crescent Petroleum envisages initially producing 250mn standard cubic feet a day (MMscfd) from the Diyala fields, with first gas expected within 18 months to supply local power plants. Crescent Petroleum will build a processing plant on site, as well as pipelines and infrastructure to supply gas.
The third exploration block in Basra will be explored and developed to add further supplies of oil and gas, Crescent Petroleum said.
“Our new planned investments and operations will create thousands of new jobs and support the local and national economy,” said Abdulla Al Qadi, executive director of exploration and production at Crescent Petroleum. "Gas and oil supplies from these operations will help improve services and local economic development for the people of Iraq.”
Iraq is OPEC’s second largest producer, with vast untapped reserves. The country aims to raise production to 7mn bpd by 2027, compared to current levels of around 4.6mn bpd. However infrastructure bottlenecks, poor governance, relatively unfavourable investment conditions and political infighting have hampered progress.
