Iraq explores new partners for Nahr Bin Omar gas project

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi-led consortium is negotiating a deal for capturing and processing gas at the Nahr Bin Omar field in Basra — the latest attempt by the Sudani administration to increase domestic energy supplies and reduce the wasteful flaring of associated gas that is produced along with crude oil.

Multiple officials at the state-run South Gas Company (SGC) said they were in talks with a private Iraqi entity called the Halfaya Gas Company. One industry official and one SGC official said Halfaya Gas Company is related to an Iraqi company called Raban al-Safina. (It was not immediately clear whether Halfaya Gas Company is a subsidiary of Raban al-Safina, or whether it is a consortium in which Raban al-Safina is a leading member.)

The negotiations come as the Iraqi government last month gave the state-run South Gas Company (SGC) “authority to sign an initial agreement for development of the Nahr Bin Omar gas field,” according to a Cabinet summary of its decisions. Two SGC officials said that the prospective project is two-pronged, incorporating an initial unit capable of processing 150 million standard cubic feet per day (scf/d) of sweet gas, and a second unit of the same size for sour gas.