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Iraq breaks ground on first facility to stop gas flaring

Fire, Explosion, Utility Pole Reuters/Essam Al-Sudani
Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra. ArtawiGas25 project will reduce gas flaring at the Ratawi field by late 2025

A consortium comprising state-owned QatarEnergy has begun constructing the first processing facility for the associated gas from the Ratawi field in Iraq’s Basra region.

The facility, part of the gas growth integrated Project (GGIP), will be developed at an investment of $250 million and will process 50 million cubic feet per day (cfd) of gas previously flared.

The gas will be supplied to local power plants, meeting the needs of 200,000 households in the Basra region.

TotalEnergies, the field operator, holds a 45 percent stake in the project, while Basra Oil Company and QatarEnergy own 30 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

The $10 billion GGIP multi-energy project, signed in September 2021, aims to enhance the development of Iraq’s natural resources and improve the country’s electricity supply.

The GGIP includes a large-scale gas processing plant, with a first phase of 300 million cfd to recover gas flared on three oil fields and supply gas to 1.5 gigawatts of power generation capacity.

Ahead of the main gas processing facility’s launch, the ArtawiGas25 project will reduce gas flaring at the Ratawi field by late 2025.  Its modular design may be replicated across other Iraqi oilfields.

The project is expected to create up to 160 direct and indirect jobs for Iraqi nationals during construction and 30 jobs during operation.

“ArtawiGas25 will give the Iraqi people a tangible insight into the benefits of the GGIP, which will provide more energy with less emissions,” said Julien Pouget, senior vice president Middle East & North Africa, exploration & production at TotalEnergies.