China is implementing 55% of a giant oil project in Iraq

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[size=52]China is implementing 55% of a giant oil project in Iraq[/size]

[size=45]China is more than halfway through completing its strategic oil project in Nasiriyah, in the heart of some of Iraq's largest oil and gas fields and close to the main export terminal at Al-Faw in Basra.[/size]
[size=45]According to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, the China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation (CPPEC) has now completed more than 55% of the construction of the country's largest crude oil storage facility, which is located in the city of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar Governorate (in the vital Iraqi energy hub).[/size]
[size=45]This facility will serve as a storage center and supply channel for 3 to 3.5 million barrels of crude oil, which will then be exported from Basra Port or transported via pipelines to refineries and power stations in central and northern Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]It will also serve as a logistical command center for all of China's extensive oil and gas projects in Iraq and for the construction of several non-oil projects linked to the “Comprehensive Framework Agreement between Iraq and China.”[/size]
[size=45]Even before the enormous strategic importance of the new Nasiriyah facility, China will benefit from its greatly enhanced presence there in terms of increasing its oil supplies from southern Iraq, with Dhi Qar Governorate being home to several huge fields.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Gharraf field is one of these fields, as it contains about 1.3 billion barrels of oil reserves and currently produces about 130,000 barrels per day, with plans to increase this production to 230,000 barrels per day during the next two years.[/size]
[size=45]Leading Malaysian company Petronas said last May that it wanted to sell its stake in the field.[/size]
[size=45]In the Gharraf field, the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) was awarded a US$308 million EPC contract some time ago. In addition, July 13 saw China's Zhongman Petroleum and Nature Group sign a separate engineering and construction project for Al Gharraf.[/size]
[size=45]In 2015, Zhongman also secured a US$526.6 million drilling deal for the giant West Qurna 2 oil field in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]After the United States withdrew from Iraq at the end of December 2021, the beginning of this year saw PetroChina assuming the role of the main developer in the giant West Qurna 1 oil field next door from the American company Exxon Mobil.[/size]
[size=45]This was followed just one week later by the award of a large build, own, operate and transfer contract to a subsidiary of PetroChina to develop the Nahr Bin Omar onshore gas field.[/size]
[size=45]At the other end of the development spectrum in Dhi Qar Governorate is the giant Nasiriyah oil field, discovered by the Iraqi National Oil Company in 1975, with an estimated 4.36 billion barrels of existing reserves.[/size]
[size=45]Production began in 2009 and was included in Iraq's fast track plan for the period 2009-2010, which aims to raise its production to about 50 thousand barrels per day. The first half of 2009 witnessed the submission of bids by Eni, Nippon Oil, Chevron and Repsol to develop the field on the basis of a construction contract. Engineering Procurement (EPC), with a consortium of Nippon Oil, Inpex and JGC Corporation looking to win the contract before negotiations break down again.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq approved nearly one trillion Iraqi dinars ($700 million US dollars) for infrastructure projects in the city of Al-Zubair in the Basra oil hub in southern Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Zubair's announcement came at the same time that Baghdad awarded another large contract to another Chinese company to build a civilian airport, to replace the military base in Nasiriyah, the capital of Dhi Qar Governorate.[/size]
[size=45]China announced that this airport project will include the construction of several cargo terminals and roads linking the airport to the city center and separately to other major oil regions in southern Iraq.[/size]
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