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Two companies from Ukraine and Armenia are vying for a contract to develop Iraq’s massive Akkas gas field, an Iraqi deputy was reported on Wednesday as saying.
The field in the Western Al-Anbar, Iraq’s largest governorate, has sizable gas deposits although it was abandoned by South Korea’s state-owned Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) after it was captured by ISIS militias during the war eight years ago.
“Two firms from Ukraine and Armenia are competing for the Akkas gas field development contract instead of Kogas…..the contract will be awarded as an investment to the winning company,” said Ali Al-Mashkoor, a member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee.
Mashkoor, quoted by Aliqtisad News and other Iraqi publications, did not name the two firms apart from saying the field would be a major source for gas feedback for power facilities in Al-Anbar and other areas.
In May, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani said the state-owned Saudi Aramco aims to develop Akkas field which could produce nearly 400 million cubic feet per day. He said discussions with the Saudi giant have not yet reached a final agreement.
Discovered in 1992, Akkas field contains around 5.6 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas deposits, according to Iraqi estimates.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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