The Halfaya oilfield in Amara, southeast of Baghdad
Letter from Iraq: Licences fail to lure IOCs
Oil majors play it safe amid unfavourable terms in latest oil and gas licensing bid rounds allowing Chinese low-ball moves
Iraq held its combined ‘fifth-plus’ and sixth licensing rounds in May. The offering had been since two years previously, when the Ministry of Oil announced the round with 30 blocks. The projects are distributed into 16 within the fifth-plus round, including eight exploratory oil blocks, and 14 blocks within the sixth round, including 11 blocks for non-associated gas exploration and three oil and gas blocks. The ministry was keen on the geographical distribution of these projects, and they included all the governorates of Iraq—from Nineveh and Anbar through to Salah al-Din, Najaf, Karbala, Babylon, Qadisiyah, Muthanna, Basra, Maysan, Wasit, Diyala and the capital, Baghdad—to contribute to ach
Also in this section
4 December 2024
Associated gas from legacy oil basins could offer a new lease of life to wobbling shale gas production and cement US powerhouse status
3 December 2024
Papua New Guinea’s LNG sector appears to be back on track, with other projects in the pipeline
2 December 2024
Crucial role of gas means country is laying the foundations to control physical and trading supply chains
30 November 2024
Decades of turmoil have left Iraq’s vast energy potential underutilised, but renewed investment and strategic reforms are transforming it into a key player in the region
