Shamara to provide Power for Basra Gas Plant

By John Lee.

The Basrah Gas Company (BGC) and Shamara Holding have reportedly signed a contract under which Shamara will supply electricity to the Basra Natural Gas plant.

According to The National, the contract will enable the plant to process by-product gas that would other wise be flared from the Rumaila, Zubair and West Qurna-1 oilfields for use by Iraq power stations.

The Basra NGL facility will be built in Ar-Ratawi area in west of Basra and is scheduled to complete at the end of 2020.

More here.

(Source: The National)

Iraq signs Gas Processing Deal with Honeywell

By John Lee.

US-based Honeywell has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the South Gas Company (SGC) to process 300 million cubic meters of gas per day from the Artawi field in southern Iraq.

(Source: Oil Ministry)

Basrah Gas Company to Increase Capacity by 40%

By John Lee.

Shell has reportedly announced that the Basrah Gas Company (BGC) has taken a “final investment decision (FID)” on its growth programme, which will increase BGC’s capacity by 40 percent.

According to Oil and Gas Middle East, the decision was taken with the support of all BGC’s shareholders: South Gas Company (SOC), Shell and Mitsubishi.

BGC captures flared gas from the Rumaila, West Qurna 1 and Zubair oilfields, converting it into dry gas for power generation and liquids for the domestic market and for exports.

At the heart of the new development is the Basrah Natural Gas Liquids (Basrah NGL) project; a 400 million standard cubic feet per day greenfield gas processing plant at Ar Ratawi.

More here.

(Source: Oil and Gas Middle East)

Iraq Working to make Money, not Burn it up in Gas Flares

By Adnan Abu Zeed for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.

Iraq working to make money, not burn it up in gas flares

Iraq plans to expand capacity at its oil refineries while at the same time reducing the amount of gas that is burned off during oil production. Instead of wasting the gas, the country will reap the benefits of putting it to good use.

New Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadhban announced Oct. 31 that he will pay particular attention to oil-rich Basra in southern Iraq, an area where services have been neglected and people are angry.

Iraq continues to burn off most of the gas associated with oil production in its fields because it lacks sufficient facilities to capture the gas.

Click here to read the full story.

Baker Hughes wins Iraq Flare Gas Contract

Baker Hughes, a GE company has been awarded a contract by the South Gas Company of Iraq (SGC) for fast-track solutions to help the recovery of flare gas for Nassiriya and Al Gharraf  [Garraf] oilfields. The importance of the project was highlighted by the attendance of several high-level officials, including HE Jabbar Al-Luaib, the Minister of Oil of Iraq, at the agreement-signing ceremony.

As per the agreement, BHGE will develop solutions for flare gas recovery at Nassiriya and Al Gharraf oilfields using advanced modular gas processing (NGL) technology developed in the United States and Italy. The project will utilize the modular skid-mounted Gas Processing technology to build 200 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) NGL plant and is expected to be completed by 2021.

The project will support the development of a fully integrated natural gas liquid (NGL) plant at Nasiriya that will recover 200 MMSCFD of dry gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and condensate.

The modular solution will support power plants with dry gas for efficient power generation, thus helping meet the growing demand for electricity using clean fuel. It will also contribute to curtailing the amount of gas flared in the fields of Nassiriya and Gharraf that otherwise goes to waste.

The advanced technology used to develop the plant will help produce more than 1,000 tons of LPG per day and recover more than 900 cubic meters per day of condensates, which will help to meet the domestic demand for cooking gas.

The surplus LPG and condensate will be exported, generating high revenue to the Iraqi government.  Contributing to the social and economic development of Nassiriya, the project is aligned with the vision of the Ministry of Oil and the government.

H.E. Jabbar Ali Al-Allaibi, Iraq’s Minister of Oil said, that this project is important achievement for the Ministry and marks the entry of a new phase for the sector, highlighted by time optimal utilization of flare gas, which is a major milestone in the government’s extensive efforts to drive a better future for Iraq.

H.E. also highlighted the prominence of this project for the province of Dhi Qar specifically and for Iraq in general adding that BHGE will provide it latest and advanced technologies and solutions to optimize the use of flare gas at the Nassiriya and Al Gharaf oilfields recovering 200 MMSCFD of dry gas daily.

Rami Qasem, President, MENAT & India, BHGE, said:

“As a local trusted partner to Iraq, BHGE is bringing advanced technologies and solutions that can help meet the Ministry’s goals for the industry. This contract is a testament to our continued commitment to supporting the Ministry of Oil’s strategic goals by deploying advanced flare gas solutions to build the country’s oil and gas infrastructure. The project will create more than 500 direct and indirect jobs for Iraqis, build local capabilities and strengthen the local supply chain.”

BHGE is the first and only company in the world to provide a fullstream offering covering products, services and digital solutions for the oil and gas sector, from upstream, to midstream to downstream.

BHGE has been a committed partner to Iraq for more than 50 years, with three offices in Iraq – Baghdad, Erbil and the Basra –  and more than 350 employees in country, BHGE continues to deliver its latest technology and expertise to its local customers.

(Source: Baker Hughes)

Baker Hughes to harness Flare Gas at Gharraf & Nassiriya

By John Lee.

Baker Hughes has signed a contract to harness 200 MMcf/d of natural gas from Iraq’s Nassiriya and Gharraf oil fields.

The Nassiriya field is operated by the state-run Dhi Qar Oil Company (DQOC) and currently producing around 70,000 barrels per day of crude oil, with a target of 150,000 bpd.

Gharraf is operated by Petronas and is producing around 88,000 bpd with a plateau production target of 250,000 bpd.

(Sources: Minister of Oil, Platts)

Iraq signs Memorandum of Cooperation with Kuwaiti Company

By John Lee.

Iraq’s Oil Ministry has signed a a memorandum of cooperation with the Kuwait-based company Al-Arfaj, with a view to capturing and using associated gas from Iraq’s oil fields.

Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] ending gas flaring and using the gas for petrochemical production was a priority for the Ministry.

According to a statement from the Ministry:

“The memorandum included the formation of a coordination committee between the two sides to exchange the information about the projects in the zone and the world. The memorandum included also the desire of the company to participate in the flare gas investment project and the methanol production, as well as to invite the ministry of oil to contribute in the investment of the project of building an oil refinery in India with a petrochemicals complex.”

(Source: Ministry of Oil)

US Firm to Harvest Flare Gas at Nahr Bin Umar

By John Lee.

Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi [Allibi, Luiebi] has announced an agreement with an American company to invest in the flare gas associated with the Nahr Bin Umar oil field in Basra governorate.

The Ministry names the company as “Oren”, but Iraq Oil Report identifies it as the Houston-based Orion Gas Processors.

A memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed between the company and the Basrah Gas Company (BGC) in the coming days.

Orion says its “innovative patented and patent-pending technologies extract hydrocarbons from underutilized gas streams, creating stable liquids that may be blended into the oil stream. High extraction yields combined with knowledge-based blending creates superior economics for oil producers over competing technologies.

According to the Ministry, the field produces about 40,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), and 25 MSCF of gas per day.

(Source: Oil Ministry, Iraq Oil Report)

Algeria’s Sonatrach to Invest in Iraq

By John Lee.

Sonatrach, the state-owned Algerian energy company, is to form a joint venture with Iraq to cooperate in the harvesting of associated flare gas.

The will be used for power generation, and in the production of petrochemicals and fertilizers.

The deal was agreed during a visit by Algerian Energy Minister Mustapha Guitouni to Baghdad.

(Source: Oil Ministry)

Japanese Company considers Gas Pipeline and Petchem Plant

By John Lee.

Iraq has reportedly contracted Japan’s Toyo Engineering to help build a gas pipeline to Kuwait and a petrochemical plant as Baghdad.

According to a report from Reuters, the move will help Iraq to reduce flaring and finish paying the reparations owed to Kuwait for the invasion in 1990.

The project would allow Kuwait to reduce its dependency on Qatar as a supplier of gas; deliveries could begin as early as 2019.

It would also deal a blow to Shell, which aimed to be the dominant gas player in Iraq before relations with Baghdad soured following it’s planned exit from the Majnoon oil project.

Toyo told Reuters that talks are ongoing and a final decision has not yet been made.

(Source: Reuters)