Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: The UAE-based Crescent Petroleum Company has signed initial contracts with the Iraqi government for exploration and development of three oil and gas blocks near the country’s eastern and southern borders.
The three blocks – Kilabat-Gumar, Khashim al-Hmer-Injana, and Khudhr al-Maa – are located in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala and Khudhr al-Maa in the southern province of Basra, Iraqi Contracts and Petroleum Licenses Department’s director general Abdul-Mahdi al-Amidi, revealed.
The signed contracts will be sent to Iraq’s Council of Ministers for approval before the final signing, the top officials added.
“Such contracts are an optimal investment for oil and gas wealth in these fields and exploration blocks in the border areas which have been neglected for decades," Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Luaibi said.
The blocks will commence its production within three years after the signing of the contracts, Crescent Petroleum’s executive director of exploration and production Abdulla al-Qadhi stated.
With 153 billion barrels of oil reserves, Iraq plans to increase its crude oil production to over 5 million barrels per day (bpd) from 4.35 million bpd.
