TotalEnergies and its partners have launched the construction of a new gas processing facility in Iraq’s Basra region, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to reduce gas flaring and improve electricity supply.
The ArtawiGas25 project, part of the larger Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), will process 50 million cubic feet per day of previously flared gas from the Ratawi oil field.
This US$250 million facility is expected to supply local power plants, meeting the electricity demands of approximately 200,000 households in the Basra region.
Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President Middle East & North Africa, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, stated: “We are very pleased to launch the ArtawiGas25 project: it will give the Iraqi people a tangible insight into the benefits of the GGIP, which will provide more energy with less emissions.”
The GGIP, a US$10 billion multi-energy initiative signed in September 2021, aims to enhance Iraq’s natural resource development and improve its electricity supply.
The project includes a large-scale gas processing plant with an initial capacity of 300 million cubic feet per day, which will recover flared gas from three oil fields to supply 1.5 GW of power generation capacity.
ArtawiGas25 is designed to significantly reduce gas flaring at the Ratawi field by the end of 2025.
Its innovative modular design could potentially be replicated across other Iraqi oil fields.
The project is expected to create up to 160 direct and indirect jobs for Iraqi nationals during construction and 30 jobs during operation.
TotalEnergies (45 per cent) is operating the project in partnership with Basra Oil Company (30 per cent) and QatarEnergy (25 per cent).
The consortium is also planning to begin construction of a 1 GW solar project in the coming weeks, further contributing to Iraq’s energy infrastructure development.
