Oil & Gas Iraqi gas field awarded to US oilfield services giant By Nadim Kawach April 10, 2025, 3:52 PM Atef Hassan/Reuters Workers adjust the valves of oil pipes at West Qurna oilfield in Iraq, where SLB, formerly Schlumberger, was contracted to drill oil wells Texas-based SLB wins rights Phase one of Akkas oil field Ukrainian deal discontinued Iraq has awarded the first phase of the much-delayed development of one of its largest gas fields to SLB, a Texas-based oilfield services company previously known as Schlumberger, according to local media. A year after it chose a little-known Ukrainian company for the project, the cabinet decided to hand over rights to develop the Akkas field in Anbar province to the US business during a meeting on Wednesday. Phase one of the project will be undertaken by SLB nearly a year after it was awarded to Ukrzemresurs, a Ukrainian company. “The cabinet agreed on an urgent plan to invest in Akkas field. Phase one of the field will be developed by Schlumberger while the rest of the project will be undertaken by Iraq’s Midland Oil Company,” the office of Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, the prime minister, said in a statement. The project award, if confirmed, is the latest in a series of awards by the Iraqi government to Western contractors. Iraq signed memoranda of understanding with two US companies to generate more than 27GW of electricity, including a giant solar power plant, the prime minister’s office said. The electricity ministry signed the MoUs with Massachusetts-based GE Vernova and Florida-based UGT Renewables in Baghdad on Wednesday during a visit by US business executives. Last month, BP was reinstated to develop four fields in the ageing but prolific Kirkuk formation in the north of the country. In 2023, TotalEnergies of France won a $27 billion contract to develop oil and gas fields in southern areas and to construct a solar power plant and a seawater desalination station. The Akkas field in the western Anbar, Iraq’s largest governorate that borders Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan, was initially awarded to state-owned Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas). But Kogas pulled out after the governorate was overrun by militants from the Islamic State group nearly a decade ago. The Akkas field was discovered in 1992 and contains about 5.6 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas deposits, according to official Iraqi estimates. It is the second largest non-associated gas field in the region after Qatar’s North Field, according to Iraqi officials. Iraq offers gas site concessions amid power generation issues Iraq signs power-generation deals with US companies Iraq starts banking sector restructuring plan Hayan Abdel Ghani, the oil minister, said after the Akkas project was awarded last year that it would add at least 100 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d) in phase 1 and 400 mcf/d when phase 2 is completed after four years. In a statement in June 2024, the ministry said Ukrzemresurs was the only company willing to develop the field under the existing contractual terms as other firms demanded changes. “Akkas is the Middle East’s second largest non-associated gas field and this makes it a strategic project for Iraq. Unfortunately, work has not started in the field because the project was awarded to a weak and fake Ukrainian company,” said Saadoun Allami, a member of the oil and gas committee. “It has been nearly a year since the project was awarded to that company. Yet the execution rate in the project is still zero,” Allami said. Register now: It’s easy and free AGBI registered members can access even more of our unique analysis and perspective on business and economics in the Middle East. Why sign uP Exclusive weekly email from our editor-in-chief Personalised weekly emails for your preferred industry sectors Read and download our insight packed white papers Access to our mobile app Prioritised access to live events Register for free Already registered? Sign in I’ll register later
