Why did Qatar enter the Total project: A report criticizes China’s “colonial entry” into Iraq

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[size=52]Why did Qatar enter the Total project: A report criticizes China’s “colonial entry” into Iraq[/size]

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2024-11-07
The Oil Price website, which specializes in energy and oil news, reviewed that Iraq, which continues to award major oil and gas contracts to Chinese companies, in order to achieve balance in relations with the West, granted “Qatar Gas Company” a 50% stake in part of the “Total Energies” project related to solar energy.[/size]
[size=45]The American website explained in a translated report that despite the recent visit of Iraqi Deputy Oil Minister Hamid Younis Al-Zubaie to Washington in the latest attempt by Iraq to extract more money from the United States, the Iraqi ministry continues to award most of the major oil and gas contracts to Chinese companies.[/size]
[size=45]In this context, the report reviewed a large number of oil and gas deals that were awarded to Chinese companies, including, for example, an oil concession for the Chinese company “UEG” for the Faw field, and the company “Geo Guide” for the Jebel Sanam and Zurbatiya fields, and other rights that went to companies such as “Sinopec”, “Zhenhua”, “Zongman”, “ZEPC”, the National Offshore Oil Company, “Jera Petroleum”, and others, which the Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Suwaid, said would contribute to increasing oil production by 750 thousand barrels per day and gas by 800-850 million cubic feet per day.[/size]
[size=45]According to the report, these huge deals came after 14 other major Iraqi oil and gas concessions were awarded to Chinese companies in May and dozens of other concessions before that.[/size]
[size=45]The report added that more than a third of Iraq's proven oil and gas reserves and more than two-thirds of its current production are managed by Chinese companies, according to industry figures, noting that Iraq has an estimated $145 billion in proven crude oil reserves and about three trillion cubic meters of natural gas.[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out that there are questions about the strength of China's economic recovery from the years of the Corona pandemic, noting that the Iraqi official's visit to Washington came from here in order to obtain money under the cover of potential contracts that may be granted to American companies, and the possibility of reducing the quantities of gas imported from Iran, adding that China's ability to obtain most of the prizes represented by the large oil and gas fields in Iraq has not declined.[/size]
[size=45]The report considered that the main reason for this is that China has established itself as a new patron superpower for Iraq before the United States decided to end its combat mission in the country in December 2021, noting that until that period, the Chinese treasury was still committed to throwing money at countries that it sees as important links in its project “Belt and Road Initiative”.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq, being part of the geographic heart of the Middle East alongside Iran, is well suited to this project, through its attractiveness with its “close Shiite Islamic partner,” Iran, as they together have the largest oil and gas reserves in the world by a huge margin, while the two countries also form the basis of the “Shiite Power Crescent” in the Middle East, which will provide Beijing with enormous political influence in many key countries throughout the region and beyond.[/size]
[size=45]The report stated that in the period leading up to the end of the US combat mission, China offered huge investments in Iraq in exchange for signing the “oil for reconstruction and investment” agreement in 2019, which allowed Chinese companies to invest in infrastructure projects in Iraq in exchange for oil, while the agreement was later expanded and strengthened through the comprehensive “Iraqi-Chinese Framework Agreement” in 2021, which in turn allowed China to dominate obtaining oil and gas tenders, in addition to obtaining a 10-30% discount (depending on the field) for at least five years on the value of the oil and gas it extracts from Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Baghdad has since agreed to several far-reaching infrastructure deals, including for Chinese companies to build a civilian airport to replace a military base in the capital of the oil-rich southern province of Dhi Qar. The airport project also includes multiple cargo terminals and roads linking the airport to the city and, separately, to other key oil regions in southern Iraq, which could then be expanded into a dual-use civilian and military airport.[/size]
[size=45]While the “colonial aspects of Beijing’s plans are more apparent” than ever, the West’s attempts to win new contracts there have been hampered by the culture of corruption that pervades much of Iraq’s oil and gas sector, the report continued. But it noted that after years of intense negotiations, the French company TotalEnergies was finally able to start its $27 billion project.[/size]
[size=45]For the West, the main advantage is that it reduces Iraq’s dependence on its neighbor Iran for about 40 percent of its gas and electricity supplies. This is a good start in driving a wedge, even if limited at first, between the two countries, which could be further exploited to undermine the regional influence of the “Shiite Power Crescent,” including thwarting Iran’s ongoing efforts to build a “land bridge” through Iraq to the Mediterranean coast, which Tehran could use to increase arms shipments to its armed “proxies” for use against Israel.[/size]
[size=45]The report added that another major part of the four-pronged project is the establishment of a new solar power plant project in Iraq as part of developing renewable energy capabilities in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]The report saw that Baghdad is aware of the strategic implications of allowing the West to return to major projects in the country, as China, its superpower sponsor, is doing. It added that among the attempts to allay these concerns, is the recent purchase by “Qatar Energy Company” of a 50% stake in the solar energy project.[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out that Qatar, given its precise geographical location, between Saudi Arabia to the west and Iran to the east, is able to play an equally sensitive diplomatic game between the West and the East.[/size]
[size=45]The report stated that in the period leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Qatar signed several contracts with China in order to secure long-term supplies of natural gas.[/size]
[size=45]The report added that a few weeks after the start of the invasion, the United States convinced Qatar to begin providing natural gas to Europe (especially Germany) as a vital step to ensure that the European continent remained cohesive in its efforts to punish Russia.[/size]
[size=45]The report quoted a high-level source in the field of energy security in the European Union as saying that one of the main objectives of introducing a leading Qatari company into the TotalEnergies project in Iraq is to pave the way for further expansion in this project and other similar projects in Iraq by Western companies.[/size]
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