TotalEnergies and Iraq have agreed to move forward with a $27bn energy project that has been delayed for some time. The deal is expected to enhance the country’s oil and gas production and also improve its solar energy generation. The project, known as the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), will involve recovering flared gas from three oil fields to supply power plants and building a seawater treatment plant to provide water injection for pressure maintenance, increasing regional oil production.
TotalEnergies will also develop a 1-gigawatt (GW) solar power plant to supply electricity to the Basrah regional grid. The French energy company will take a 45% stake in the project, while Iraq’s state-owned Basrah Oil Company (BOC) will have a 30% stake and QatarEnergy will have a 25% interest. The investment will be made over 25 years, with TotalEnergies contributing $10bn. The project is critical to Iraq’s efforts to boost foreign investments and to reverse the exit of oil majors from the country.