Iraq initially signs deal with S. Korea's KOGAS to develop Akkaz gas field

Iraq signed a preliminary deal with the South Korean firm of KOGAS to develop Akkaz natural gas field in the country's western province of Anbar, an oil ministry official told Xinhua on Thursday.

"The Iraqi Oil Ministry singed Wednesday a preliminary contract with KOGAS to exploit the natural gas in Akkaz field in Anbar province for 20 years," the official from the ministry's media office said on condition of anonymity.

Originally, Iraq awarded a license to a consortium grouping of South Korea's KOGAS and Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGas in an energy bidding round last October, but KazMunaiGas withdrew last month, prompting the Iraqi oil ministry to ask South Korea's KOGAS to develop the field alone, the official said.

The deal with KOGAS, which still need to be approved by the Iraqi cabinet, ended seven months of delay over disputes between Baghdad oil ministry and Anbar's provincial authorities.

KOGAS will get 5.5 dollars per barrel of oil equivalent (BOE), with a peak production of 400 million cubic feet (11.2 million cubic meters) per day.

The Akkas gas field has 5.6 trillion cubic feet (156 million cubic meters) of natural gas. The field was one of three gas fields submitted for bidding in Iraq's third energy auction which was held in Baghdad.

Iraq has proven reserves of 112 trillion cubic feet (3.13 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas, but because of the poor infrastructure of the oil and gas industries, the country is only producing 1.5 billion cubic feet (42 million cubic meters) a day.

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