The Iraqi memorandum of understanding aims to stop gas burning in the country’s oil fields (Iraqi press)
A statement by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil said on Sunday that Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding with Siemens and Schlumberger, related to investments in the gas sector.
The statement added that this step aims to "invest and process associated gas and convert it to electric power generation plants."
Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani, stressed the importance of signing the memorandum of understanding to stop burning gas in oil fields and convert it into productive and useful energy to supply electrical power generation stations.
He said, "The Ministry aims, through this memorandum and the contracts attached to it, to implement the accelerated plan to invest and process quantities of gas from oil fields, thanks to the technology possessed by the two companies."
For his part, General Manager of Schlumberger Iraq, Wissam Al-Azm, said that Siemens and Schlumberger will work to develop appropriate solutions and studies to improve the reality of sustainable energy.
Experts told Al Jazeera Net that Iraq's gas needs are much greater than the production quantities, noting that the country produces about 3 billion standard cubic feet per day, nearly half of which goes to burning, while about 1.6 billion standard cubic feet of it is invested.
They confirmed that Iraq's need for electrical energy produced through gas is constantly increasing, as the demand for this type of energy is estimated today at about 36 thousand megawatts, and the volume of demand is expected to rise to about 70 thousand megawatts in 2050.
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters