Al-Zidi to Total and Conoco: We want to invest in gas and stop importing it completely
Al-Zidi to Total and Conoco: We want to invest in gas and stop importing it completely
2026-10-12
Shafaq News – Baghdad
On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi discussed with delegations from the French company Total Energies and the American company ConocoPhillips the mechanisms for investing in oil and associated gas in the Ibn Omar field in Basra Governorate, and setting time limits for increasing production in the field and the rest of the oil fields.
The Prime Minister’s Media Office stated in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that Al-Zaidi received the CEO of Total Energies, Patrick Pouyanné, and the CEO of ConocoPhillips, Andy O’Brien, and their accompanying delegations.
The statement added that the meeting addressed work related to increasing oil and associated gas production, as well as discussing plans for developing production in other fields.
Al-Zaydi stressed the importance of investing in associated gas, noting that Iraq has great capabilities in this sector, and the government’s vision and plans aimed at making full use of the gas and stopping its importation completely within the next few years.
For their part, the two companies’ executive directors expressed their willingness to make further efforts to adhere to the specified timelines for increasing production rates.
The “Ibn Omar” field in Basra represents one of the most promising oil and gas reservoirs in southern Iraq, and the Baghdad government seeks to develop it with the participation of the French-American alliance as a pivotal step to stop the flaring of associated gas and achieve energy self-sufficiency.
The French company TotalEnergies is already leading the massive “Integrated Gas Growth Project” in the south to invest in gas and generate solar power, while the Iraqi energy sector is witnessing a strong entry of ConocoPhillips as a prominent American investment arm to develop and upgrade strategic fields with modern technologies.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stated in June 2024 that the investment rate for associated gas in Iraq had increased to more than 60 percent, and that the goal was to reach a zero percent rate for flared gas by 2028.
shafaq.com
