Iraq Key Projects and Business Highlights
The first half 2013 saw positive changes in Iraq with all the companies increasing the production of crude oil and natural gas, and with most of the international oil companies (IOCs) such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Petronas, Shell, Total proceeding to successful diplomatic moves either in signing farm-in agreements in the Kurdistan province, either in renegotiating with Bagdad the Technical Services Contracts (TSC) awarded from the first licenses rounds in pretty challenging conditions, either both.
In proposing conventional production sharing agreements, the Kurdistan Province of Iraq attracted many companies disappointed by the profitability of the Technical Services Contracts (TSC) even in the largest oil and gas fields such as Rumaila, Qurna or Majnoon.
Overall all the companies remained very active in all oil and gas provinces of Iraq so that the volume of production on the first half 2013 has regularly exceeded 3.1 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil, increasing the production by 7% over the average of 2.965 million b/d in 2012.
In parallel to the investments in the oil and gas and petrochemical sector, the Iraq Government must continue to improve the infrastructure to export the oil and gas with pipeline network systems and terminals.
The other priorities are to develop the power generation capacities and the petrochemical sector including the fertilizer facilities to boost the agriculture.
In this context, the Iraq Government must maintain its production of crude oil above 3 million b/d in order to finance its development in 2014 and the following years.
To do so, it compromises with the companies to encourage their investments even with revised plateau production targets.
As a result, many engineering services contracts have been awarded on the first half of 2013 to companies such as Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo), Technip or SNC Lavalin, and should continue all along the year.
Daewoo Engineering wins Akkas Gas processing plant
The South Korean Gas Corporation (KOGAS) and the local Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) have awarded to Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo) also from South-Korea, the engineering, procurement and procurement (EPC) contract for the gas central processing facility (CPF) of the Akkas gas field in the western of Iraq.
SCOP awards Technip Karbala Refinery PMC contract
The Iraq national oil company (NOC) State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP) selected the French engineering company Technip to provide project management consultancy (PMC) services on the Karbala Refinery project in the center of Iraq.
The Karbala Refinery project is part of the Iraq Government to invest between $24 and $27 billion capital expenditure in building up refining capacities in Iraq in order to meet the surging demand for transportation fuels.
Shell and Petronas to double Majnoon production
The super major Shell and its partners, the national oil companies Petronas from Malaysia and South Oil Company (SOC) from Iraq, are planning to invest up to $1 billion capital expenditure to double the production at the Majnoon oil field in the south of Iraq.
SNC Lavalin won FEED contract for phase-1 to Aqaba
On December 2012, the Iraq Ministry of Oil (MoO) presented in London, UK, Road Show, its Strategic Crude Oil Export Pipeline Infrastructure Project across Jordan, Syria and Turkey.
