Saudi Aramco is set to develop a major onshore gas field in Iraq, stepping up its investments in hydrocarbon projects outside the kingdom.
Iraq is in discussions with Saudi companies, including Aramco, to invest in its oil and gas sector but a final agreement has not yet been reached, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said on Thursday.
The Saudi state-owned giant will develop the Akkas gas field in Iraq that could produce 400 million cubic feet per day of gas, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said on Thursday.
“Aramco is studying the co-operation mechanisms in this regard,” the statement said.
“The Ministry will announce the terms and the mechanisms in the event a final agreement is reached. The Ministry hopes to reach a deal,” the statement added.
The Akkas field lies in Iraq’s Anbar province near the Syrian border and was awarded to South Korea’s state-owned Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) in 2010.
Kogas the following year signed a deal to develop the gas field but later withdrew when the field was captured by ISIS.
The Akkas gas field is touted to be a substantial one with more than 5 trillion cubic feet of reserves, sources said.
Further details on the development plans and the capital expenditure are yet to be revealed.
Meanwhile, Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF has announced the creation of a new unit to invest in industries across Iraq, with capital of $3 billion and headquarters in Saudi Arabia, media reports have claimed.
International energy giants are increasingly scaling up their presence in Iraq, with French giant TotalEnergies and partner QatarEnergy set to kick-start multibillion-dollar oil, gas and renewables investments in Iraq later this year.
