Today's Newspapers Focus On Iraq Signing 4 Contracts With France's Total For The Development Of Oil And Gas Projects And The Anniversary Of The Liberation Of Mosul From ISIS
Baghdad / NINA / - The newspapers issued today, Tuesday, July 11th, focused on Iraq signing four contracts with France's Total for the development of oil and gas projects, and on the anniversary of the liberation of Mosul from ISIS.
Al-Zawraa newspaper issued by the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate said that Iraq and the French oil giant Total Energies signed, on Monday, a long-delayed agreement worth $27 billion aimed at increasing oil production and enhancing the country's ability to produce electricity through the implementation of 4 oil, gas and renewable energy projects.
The Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, said in a speech during the signing ceremony of the contracts, “Signing these contracts with the French company Total and its partners is important, as these efforts fall within the integrated south project, which includes four major and large projects for the oil and gas sectors,” noting that “ The first of these projects is the use of the sea for the purposes of reservoir support, which is one of the projects with great economic feasibility and aims to provide sea water to support the reservoir pressure in the various oil fields.
He added, “The other project is the investment of associated gas with a capacity of 600 million standard cubic feet per day, and it is divided between two phases. Each phase has 300 cubic metres,” noting that “this project comes within the projects, plans and strategy of the government and the ministry to convert it into electric energy, as all industries are linked to it as well as preserving the environment and health.
He stated that “the third project is to develop Artawi oil field and increase production from this field to more than 210 thousand barrels per day,” pointing out that “the field produces special light oil with a degree of more than forty degrees and is considered one of the excellent fuels in the region.”
He explained, "The fourth contract project represents an important addition to the renewable energy sector in Iraq, which is the investment of solar energy with a capacity of one gigawatt, or 1,000 megawatts.
He pointed out that “the fulfillment of the requirements of these fields has received a lot of work, study and discussion, and it took a lot of time and effort. The teams and groups for negotiation and training for the team representing the Ministry and the team representing Total have made a lot of effort and work, to reach a path that satisfies all parties concerned.”
He said, "These contracts have carried out with the care of the Council of Ministers, led by Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani, who was keen to follow up and focus on all concerned parties to overcome obstacles, difficulties, and procedures to fulfill the requirements of this fuel."
He added: “We will proceed with Total and with all partners to serious and fruitful cooperation in order to start implementing these contracts on the ground in order to reap the fruit of this cooperation and success and achieve the great achievement in service of the common interest, which will reflect positively on the reality of the oil and foreign industry, energy and Iraq.”
The agreement was signed in 2021 with initial investments of ten billion dollars in southern Iraq for a period of 25 years, but it was postponed.
Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of Total Energies, signed the agreement with Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani during a ceremony in Baghdad, where Pouyanne hailed the agreement, saying it was a "historic day".
The deal was reached in April when Iraq agreed to take a smaller share than it had initially asked for in the project, becoming a 30%, with Total Energies getting a 45% stake and Qatar Energy getting a 25% stake.
The Integrated Gas Development and Growth Project aims to improve the country's electricity supply, including by utilizing gas associated with oil operations to operate power plants.
Total Energies said it would also develop a one-gigawatt solar power plant to supply the Basra grid with electricity, and invited the Saudi company ACWA Power to join this project.
Al-Sabah newspaper focused on the anniversary of the liberation of Mosul from ISIS and said that on July 10, 2017, the city of Mosul was liberated three years after the desecration of its lands by the terrorist gangs of ISIS, which committed various brutal crimes, in addition to destroying its monuments, heritage, government buildings and hospitals.
It explained that the liberation battle, in which various military units participated, lasted for nearly nine months, as it began in October 2016, and liberation was officially announced on July 10, 2017, and it was called “Victory Day.”
The newspaper quoted the President of the Republic, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, as saying, in a statement: “On this anniversary, we celebrate the heroism and the heroes, the brave ones who sacrificed their blood in order to purify the dear Mosul, so they achieved victory and returned Mosul with their heads held high.”
In turn, Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani said, in a tweet on “Twitter”: “Today we remember, with pride, the sixth anniversary of the liberation of the city of Mosul from the clutches of the terrorist gangs of ISIS,” noting that “the Iraqis waged a heroic epic in which they painted the most wonderful picture of sacrifice, unity and patriotism and the response to meet the fatwa of the religious authority to defend Iraq ».
Al-Sudani reaffirmed "the government's direction to support the process of construction and reconstruction in Nineveh Governorate and all governorates of Iraq, in light of the security stability that our dear country is witnessing, thanks to the solidarity of its people."
For his part, Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, in a tweet on "Twitter", proudly saluted "the great victories, willpower, steadfastness and national unity that were embodied in the face of terrorism and darkness," recalling with pride "the sacrifices of all the heroic fighters and the righteous and wounded martyrs."
For her part, the US Ambassador to Iraq renewed her country's commitment to work through the international coalition against ISIS and other partners to help Iraq and ensure the permanent defeat of ISIS, and to support stabilization efforts to encourage the return of the displaced to their local communities.
Al-Zaman newspaper focused on the issue of al-Durra field and Iraq's share in it, and said that experts called on the government to form a technical team to conduct a geological survey in Durra field to determine Iraq's share.
The expert, Hamza Al-Jawahiri, in its international edition, said that (setting real boundaries for the field can only be done after completing exploration operations and drilling investigation wells, then the level of water and oil or water and gas can be determined).
He pointed out that (the demarcation of the borders in the waters is regulated by international laws, and with regard to Iraq, these borders should extend more so that the field is located in the middle of the region in Iraqi waters),
He stressed that (these observations are based on solid scientific foundations known to geologists and oil scientists, and what is being talked about is media confusion), calling on the government to (conduct a geophysical survey of the region and in the territorial waters and to form a technical team by the prime minister that includes border demarcation experts and geologists who have experience in exploration, reservoir and oil engineers, to be the backer before international courts to guarantee the Iraqi right, and said he is ready to be part of this team).
For his part, a source in the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that (the ownership of the natural resources in the divided submerged area, including the entire Durra gas field, is joint ownership between Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait only).
The negotiations of the Ministry of Oil and the French company Total Energies, which lasted for nearly three months, resulted in four huge projects for the development and growth of integrated oil and gas in Iraq, with an agreement worth $27 billion.
Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said in a statement yesterday that (the signing of these contracts with the French Total and its partners is important, as these efforts fall within the integrated south project, which includes four major and large projects for the oil and gas sectors)./ End
