據世界石油2月22日報道，伊拉克正與哈里伯頓公司和沙特阿美石油公司談判，計劃在伊拉克西部開采石油和天然氣。

伊拉克石油部長Ihsan Abdul Jabbar在卡塔爾接受采訪時表示，巴格達正在與哈里伯頓公司討論建立技術合作伙伴關系，以開發和運營伊拉克與沙特阿拉伯邊境附近的安巴爾省的油氣儲備。他說，外交部正在最后確定商業條款和工作范圍，一旦成功，伊拉克政府將簽署合同。

這位部長說，開發的成本將由伊拉克政府承擔，如果石油巨頭沙特阿美決定投資，可能也會承擔。Jabbar說，伊拉克還在與沙特阿美就資助和開發附近的Akkas氣田進行談判。

Jabbar說，伊拉克將會消耗油田的天然氣，幫助這個國家減少用于發電的石油。天然氣是電力生產中較清潔的燃料來源。Jabbar 表示，伊拉克正與卡塔爾談判，希望卡塔爾提供液化天然氣，直到該國自己生產出足夠的天然氣。

這個海灣國家是歐佩克第二大原油生產國，計劃到2025年實現天然氣自給自足。他說，該國正在制定一項計劃，開發其巨大的天然氣田，目標是80%的天然氣產自本地，只需要在6月、7月和8月的夏季月份進口液化天然氣。在那個時期，氣溫經常達到50攝氏度(122華氏度)，對空調的需求激增。

伊拉克大約95%的國家收入來自石油銷售。盡管消費者抱怨高物價給經濟造成的困境，但也為經濟提供了一些緩解，并增加了外匯儲備。當油價在新冠流行之初暴跌時，巴格達正與國際貨幣基金組織就可能的貸款進行初步談判。由于多年的沖突、恐怖主義和不安全，投資仍然舉步維艱。

黎泱 編譯自 世界石油

原文如下：

Iraq in talks with Halliburton, Saudi Aramco to develop oil, gas in western desert

Iraq is in talks with Halliburton Co. and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco to carry out oil and gas developments in the west of the country.

Baghdad is in discussion with Halliburton Co. for a technical partnership to develop and operate oil and gas reserves in Anbar province near Iraq’s borders with Saudi Arabia, Iraq’s Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said in an interview in Qatar. The ministry is finalizing the commercial terms and scope of work and Iraq’s government will sign the contract once it takes office, he said.

The cost of the development will be covered by the Iraqi government and possibly Saudi Aramco if the oil giant decides to invest, the minister said. Iraq is also in talks with Aramco to fund and develop the nearby Akkas gas field, said Jabbar. 

Gas from the field would be consumed in Iraq and help the country use less oil to produce electricity, said Jabbar. Natural gas is a cleaner-burning source of fuel for electricity production. Iraq is speaking to Qatar to supply liquefied natural gas until it produces enough gas of its own, Jabbar said.

The Gulf nation, OPEC’s second-largest crude producer, aims to reach self-sufficiency in gas by 2025. The country is working on a plan to develop its vast gas fields with the aim of generating 80 percent of its gas locally, and it will only need to import LNG in the summer months of June, July and August, he said. Demand for air conditioning soars in that period, when temperatures often hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).

Iraq draws around 95 percent of its state revenue from oil sales. While consumers complain of the distress that high prices are inflicting, they offered some relief to the economy and boosted its foreign reserves. When oil prices plummeted at the beginning of the pandemic, Baghdad was in preliminary talks with the International Monetary Fund for a possible loan. Investments are still hobbled by years of conflict, terrorism, and insecurity.

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