A senior official from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil has announced plans to terminate the contract with Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) for the development of the Akkas gas field. Instead, Iraq is poised to enter into a new contract with a Ukrainian company to advance the gas field’s operations.
Bassem Khudair, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil for Extraction Affairs, revealed that the ministry will unveil the new contract with the Ukrainian company in the coming days. The objective of this move is to enhance the development of the gas field, ultimately achieving a production capacity of 400 million cubic feet per day.
Khudair elaborated on the history of the project, highlighting that a contract was initially signed with KOGAS, a South Korean public natural gas company, in 2011 for the development of the Akkas gas field. However, production faced significant delays for more than a decade.
The decision to terminate the contract with KOGAS was made by the Iraqi cabinet in March of the current year, as part of an effort to expedite a strategic investment project for Iraq.
The Akkas gas field, located west of Ramadi, was discovered in 1992 and commenced production a year later. It boasts 5.6 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves, positioning it as the second-largest gas field in Iraq after the Siba conventional gas field in southern Basra.
Iraq’s Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, recently expressed the government’s aspiration to transform Iraq into a gas-exporting nation. During his participation in the Middle East Global Summit, Al-Sudani highlighted the completion of significant gas sector projects that will enable Iraq to become a gas exporter in the future.