Iraq’s oil minister also oversaw the signing of a final contract between state-firm Midlands Oil and a consortium of Chinese oil services provider Jereh (51%) and unknown local private firm ‘Petro-Iraq’ for the development of the 4.5tcf Mansuriya gas field in Diyala province. The two firms were first selected for the long-stalled development in May, signing what Midlands said at the time was a binding contract (MEES, 24 May).

Midlands previously stated that the first 18-month development phase is intended to reach 100mn cfd, rising to 300mn cfd over 4-5 years. The project’s capex investment is earmarked at $992mn for the first three years of the contract, with gas fed to the nearby 1GW gas-fired Mansuriya plant, the ministry says. Sharjah-based Crescent Petroleum is developing the nearby Khashim al-Ahmar/Injana block, also aiming to bring gas to the same plant (MEES, 30 August). (CONTINUED - 142 WORDS)