Chinese firm Sinopec wins contract to develop Iraqi gas field: Beijing

Mustafa Shilani 2021/04/20 22:51

A worker stands in a gas field in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. (Photo: AFP)

Iraq Iraq Oil & Gas China Baghdad Diyala OIl

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Ministry of Oil in Beijing said on Tuesday that the Chinese company Sinopec has just won a contract to develop Iraq's Mansouriya gas field, located in central Diyala province.

In a statement quoted by Reuters, the ministry explained that Sinopec scored the deal during a recent round of bidding held at Iraq's Ministry of Oil in Baghdad.

The gas obtained from the field, located in the town of al-Mansouriya, will reportedly be used to feed power stations in Diyala and the neighboring capital province of Baghdad.

The statement on to explain that the 25-year contract stipulates that Sinopec will hold a 49 percent stake of the project and that the remaining majority share will be controlled by Iraq's state-run Midland Oil Company.

Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul-Jabbar also said in the statement that Sinopec would help Iraq to capture and process natural gas from the field and increase production to 300 million cubic feet of gas per day as a target production level.

In recent years, China has ramped up efforts to boost its market share of lucrative petroleum contracts offered by Iraq.

Editing by John J. Catherine