Iraq Wants to Reopen Mansuriya Gas Field
The Iraqi authorities have authorized the preparation of a deal on the previously mothballed Mansuriya gas field. The government announced this on May 4.
Details of the preliminary contract participants:
- Midland Oil Company of the Ministry of Petroleum and a consortium consisting of the Chinese Jereh Group and Petro Iraq;
- The Ministry of Petroleum Energy Council approved the allocation of $506 million for Midland Oil Company’s 51% participation in the project over the first 3 years: 1 year – 73 million dollars, Year 2 – $187 million, Year 3 – $246 million;
- this sum will be administered by the Midland Oil Company under an agreement with the Treasury;
- the project will be included in licensing rounds for settlements with crude oil or gas condensate in accordance with existing licensing contracts.
For the curious, let us remind you that in April 2024, Iraq signed a contract with the little-known Ukrainian company Ukrzemresurs for the development of the Akkas gas field in Anbar province, mothballed for almost 10 years for security reasons. At the same time, it was previously planned to use equipment from the Mansuriya gas field, where development was also postponed.
The Mansouriya gas field was originally awarded in Iraq’s 3rd licensing round in 2010 to a consortium of TPAO with a 37.5% stake, Oil Exploration Company with a 25% stake, Kuwait Energy with a 22.5% stake, and Kogas with a 15% stake. This contract was terminated in 2020.
In April 2021, Sinopec won the tender to develop the field in a consortium with Midland Oil Company.
In January 2022, a new deal was signed with Sinopec, which received a 49% participation interest.
In mid-2023, the deal came into question due to the company’s requests for changes to the contract.
