BAGHDAD: Baghdad agreed to hold a 30% stake in TotalEnergies much-delayed $27 billion project in Iraq,
The development would revive a deal that the Iraqi government hopes will aid in luring back foreign investment into the country battered by conflicts and instability.
The agreement was signed in 2021 for TotalEnergies to build 4 gas, oil, and renewables projects with a $1O billion initial investment in Iraq’s southern region over the next 25 years.
However, disagreement between Iraqi politicians over the deal’s terms delayed the deal.
Iraq’s sought a 40% share in the project, which was the main sticking point as TotalEnergies wants to hold a majority stake.
The agreement to decrease the share to 30% was struck after meetings in Iraq’s capital in the last few days, according to an industry source as reported by Reuters.
TotalEnergies is yet to respond to a comment request.
A senior Iraqi oil ministry official said that the agreement should be activated within days.
Project to include solar power plant in Basra region
The project includes the building of a network that will gather natural gas to supply local power stations via the Ratawi field’s expansion, construction of a large-scale seawater treatment facility to increase output from other fields with the help of water injection as well as a major solar power plant in the Basra region.
In addition to Iraq and TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy will also be part of the consortium and have a share in the project, according to sources who had direct knowledge regarding the matter.
QatarEnergy is yet to respond to a comment request.
A significant investment by a Gulf state in the project would also be counted as an important victory for Iraqi PM Mohammed al-Sudani, who took office in October 2022 after over a year of political upheaval and would be considered a step towards countering Iranian influence.
