Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – As part of its strategic ambitions, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil confirmed on Thursday that the Artawi project marks an important step forward in the growth of the oil extraction industry in the country.
Deputy Minister of Oil for Upstream Affairs, Basim Khudair, said in a statement that the project is the largest in terms of infrastructure, as it comprises four projects carried out by France-based TotalEnergies, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.
In September, the Iraqi cabinet granted an exception to award the Artawi Central Processing Facility deal to ENKA, a leading Turkish global engineering and construction company operating in different sectors.
The Artawi oil field in southern Iraq, which has estimated reserves of 2.4 billion barrels of oil, is expected to experience a significant production boom that will multiply the field’s current production volume.
Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani said last December that the Artawi oilfield is one of the important fields for Iraq, as it produces three types of high-quality oil.
The oilfield was also included in the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), which is part of a $27 billion energy deal between the Iraqi government and TotalEnergies.
The Artawi oilfield’s current production volume is approximately 60,000 barrels per day. Efforts are underway to increase this output to approximately 210,000 barrels per day.
The Iraqi Oil Ministry is collaborating with TotalEnergies to make use of the associated gas from five oil fields in Basra, including the Artawi oilfield.
The project also includes setting up a gas processing plant with a capacity of 600 million cubic feet in two phases.
