Iraq, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, aims to increase its crude reserves to more than 160 billion barrels, Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani said on Saturday.
The minister’s comment was made at the start of the new licensing cycles for 29 oil and natural gas fields.
According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves which amounts to 96 years of production at the current rate.
These are among the largest crude reserves in the world.
“The ministry submitted 29 promising projects today,” Abdel Ghani said at the launch of the new three-day bidding process.
“We hope to announce an increase in Iraq’s proven oil reserves to more than 160 billion barrels,” he added.
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Iraq has completed five licensing rounds since 2008.
Abdel Ghani said the government will support and help the winning companies.
The new rounds include exploration fields and blocks in 12 provinces and one offshore block — the first to be explored in Iraqi territorial waters in the Gulf.
Iraq also hopes the blocks will lead to increased natural gas production to help reduce dependence on imports from Iran, a critical supplier for Iraq’s electricity generation.
Iraq, struggling to move past decades of war and past sanctions that led to underinvestment, has been left dependent on imports from its eastern neighbor for a third of its natural gas needs.
“Iraq expects to pump more than 3,459 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (98 million cubic meters) and over one million barrels of oil per day from these permit rounds,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s media office.
Iraq’s electricity minister said in 2022 that his country had reached an agreement with Iran to supply 50 million cubic meters of natural gas per day in summer and more than 10 million cubic meters per day in winter.
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Crude oil sales make up 90 percent of Iraq’s budget revenue.
Iraq is a founding member of the OPEC cartel, which in March reported Iraqi crude output at more than 3.9 million barrels per day.
Source: AFP