Iraq expects Rosneft CEO in Baghdad to discuss Kurdistan oil deals: Envoy

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraq expects Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin to visit Baghdad for talks on oil contracts with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, Russian TASS news agency cited Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Haidar Mansour Hadi as saying on Sunday.

Hadi did not offer details of when the meeting will take place in Iraq’s capital, and it was unclear whether representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would attend the talks.

On May 25, Russian state-owned petroleum giant Rosneft announced the signing of an agreement with the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resource to develop its oil and gas infrastructure, including the design of a new gas pipeline.

“This is a key project to the monetization of the exploration and production opportunities Rosneft has been evaluating since signing a Gas Cooperation Agreement with the [KRG],” a statement released by the Russian company said, referring to the pipeline plans.

The KRG and Rosneft have not yet disclosed potential gas export volumes or destinations.

The gas pipeline Rosneft is planning to build with the KRG has a capacity of up to 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year once it begins operating in 2020 and onward, the Arab Times previously reported.

The gas pipeline will be able to supply up to 10 bcm of gas to Turkey and nearly 10 bcm to Europe, the agency added.

It also mentioned that the KRG had previously offered the pipeline project to Gazprom, but the deal was never finalized, paving the way for Rosneft to expand its operation in the Kurdistan Region beyond oil.

Editing by Nadia Riva