China wins bid to develop Iraq's Mansuriya gas field

Chinese company Sinopec has won a deal to develop Iraq’s Mansuriya gas field near the Iranian border, the Gulf state’s Ministry of Oil announced yesterday.

Last year Iraq cancelled a contract signed with an alliance led by Turkish Petroleum Corp (TPAO) to develop the field and invited international energy companies to submit tenders to develop it.

“Sinopec won the contract in a bidding round held at the Ministry of Oil headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday,” the ministry was quoted in a statement by Reuters as saying.

Oil Minister, Ihsan Abdul Jabbar, said earlier that the field’s production was estimated at a total 4.5 trillion cubic meters. He added that his country was planning to sign contracts with foreign energy companies to develop its gas fields and build gas facilities in southern Iraq and in the Anbar province.

OPINION: Having unemployed oil engineers in oil-rich Iraq is unacceptable