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Iraq signs agreement with US company to develop oil field in Basra

January 17, 2025 at 3:12 pm

This picture shows the Nahr Bin Omar oil field and facility in Iraq’s southern port city of Basra on June 14, 2024. [Hussein FALEH / AFP / Getty Images]

The Director-General of Basra Oil Company, Basem Abdul Kareem, announced on Thursday that Iraq and the US oil services company, Halliburton, are nearing the finalisation of an agreement to develop the Nahr Bin Omar oil field.

Abdul Kareem added that Iraq’s Ministry of Oil and Halliburton are expected to sign a confidential agreement soon.

Following the signing, Iraq will provide detailed data to the American company about the Nahr Bin Omar oil field and its facilities, paving the way for development operations to commence.

The Nahr Bin Omar oil field, managed by Basra Oil Company, currently produces over 40,000 barrels of oil per day, alongside 25 million cubic feet of natural gas.

However, Iraq continues to burn associated gas extracted from its oil fields due to a lack of facilities needed to process this gas into usable fuel for domestic consumption or export.

Despite its wealth of oil and gas resources, Iraq heavily relies on importing electricity and gas from Iran, which accounts for between one-third and 40 per cent of Baghdad’s total energy supply.

Tehran, however, has repeatedly cut off these supplies to pressure Iraq into settling overdue payments.

Meanwhile, Baghdad faces challenges in making these payments due to US sanctions imposed on Iran, further complicating Iraq’s economic and energy situation.

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