The UAE’s Crescent Petroleum intends to invest nearly $1 billion in Iraq under an agreement it signed with the OPEC member in early 2023, its CEO has said.

Majid Jafar said the investments cover concession areas in the Southern oil hub of Basra and the Northeastern Diayla governorate.

He was quoted by Iraq’s Aliqtisad News network on Wednesday that the Company’s preliminary evaluation of gas resources in the Kurdistan region indicate a potential of nearly 80 trillion cubic feet.

“We aim to produce 750 million cubic feet of gas per day in Basra and Diyala besides amounts of crude oil… we expect initially to invest nearly $1 billion but our investments could multiply many times during the 20-year contract,” Jafar said.

In February 2023, Crescent Petroleum signed a 20-year deal with Iraq for the development of four oil and gas fields in Basra and Diyala.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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