Iraq plans to boost its gas output by 1,500 million cubic feet over the next five years, through its recent initiative to licence exploration operations across 10 oil and gas fields in west Iraq and 13 sites on the country's western border, stated the Minister of Oil Hayan Abdulghani.
The minister pointed out that these efforts were aimed at achieving self-sufficiency.
Abdulghani said: "Opec and Opec+ issued several decisions that not only target oil prices, but also help stabilize the global oil market, to protect the interests of both producers and consumers, as well as investors."
"The voluntary reduction in oil output will boost stability across the global energy market," he said.
On Opec Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais's recent announcement about plans to add new countries to the organisation, the Iraqi minister said that the addition of new Opec members aims to bolster efforts to ensure the stability of the global market, in addition to benefitting all member countries and investors.
Iraq's reserves total around 144.5 billion cu m of oil and over 133 trillion cu ft of natural gas, he revealed, noting that country has numerous fields that produce large amounts of oil and gas, and are managed in cooperation with several international companies.
