（彭博社）“伊拉克内阁可能会在下个月重新启动与哈里伯顿公司在阿卡斯西部气田钻探的协议，石油部长伊赫桑·阿卜杜勒·贾巴尔告诉当地媒体。

该部长表示，与哈里伯顿达成的协议将使石油部能够获得有关阿卡斯油田生产能力的明确数据，并可能在五月初结束的伊斯兰斋月之后做出决定。

自 2017 年底巴格达从伊斯兰国武装分子手中夺回该油田以来，该油田一直闲置，如果政府决定开发该油田，则必须为该项目选择一家生产公司。

官员们一直在  与雪佛龙公司和沙特阿美公司就在该地区的投资进行谈判。阿卜杜勒·贾巴尔在接受 Al-Forat 频道采访时表示，这“将取决于我们从勘探和钻井作业中获得的数据”。

库尔德斯坦会谈

阿卜杜勒·贾巴尔表示，库尔德斯坦地区政府与石油公司签署的合同80%是正确的，其余的需要审查。库尔德地区政府对联邦政府为解决库尔德斯坦石油问题提出的一半解决方案没有异议。

阿卜杜勒·贾巴尔表示，库尔德地区每天出口 43 万桶石油。

巴格达长期以来一直寻求将库尔德生产置于其控制之下，以换取国家预算的资金。伊拉克最高法院二月份的一项裁决维护了中央政府对半自治区碳氢化合物的权利。库尔德地区政府表示，伊拉克宪法规定了其控制该地区石油和天然气的权利。

高油价

这位部长补充说，如果价格保持在目前水平，伊拉克本月可能会以平均每桶 106 至 107 美元的价格出售石油。

石油部每天提供 3000 万升汽油供当地消费，阿卜杜勒·贾巴尔称这是一个“巨大”的数字。他补充说，卡尔巴拉一家新炼油厂的建设工作因 Covid-19 疫情而推迟，但预计该设施将于 2023 年第一季度投入使用。该国将继续进口汽油直至2024年。

(Bloomberg) — Iraq’s cabinet may reactivate a deal with Halliburton Co. to drill wells in a western gas field in Akkas next month, Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar told local media.

An agreement with Halliburton would enable the oil ministry to get clear data on the production capacity of the Akkas field and it may reach a decision after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ends in early May, the minister said.

If the government decides to develop the field, which has been idle since Baghdad retook it from Islamic State militants in late 2017, it would have to pick a production company for the project.

Officials have been in talks with Chevron Corp. and Saudi Aramco about investment in the region. That “will depend on the data we get from the exploration and well-drilling operations,” Abdul Jabbar said in an interview on Al-Forat channel.

Kurdistan Talks

Abdul Jabbar said 80% of the contracts that the Kurdistan Regional Government signed with oil companies are correct and the rest need to be reviewed. The KRG has no problem with half the solutions the federal government offered to resolve the oil issues in Kurdistan.

The Kurdish region exports 430,000 barrels of oil per day, Abdul Jabbar said.

Baghdad has long sought to bring Kurdish production under its control in exchange for funds from the national budget. A February ruling in Iraq’s top court asserted the central government’s right to the semi-autonomous region’s hydrocarbons. The KRG has said its rights to control the region’s oil and gas are enshrined in the Iraqi constitution.

High Oil Prices

Iraq will probably sell its oil for an average of $106-$107 a barrel this month if prices remain at current levels, the minister added.

The oil ministry is providing 30 million liters of gasoline a day for local consumption, which Abdul Jabbar called a “big” number. Work on a new refinery in Karbala has been delayed by Covid-19 but the facility is expected to enter service in the first quarter of 2023, he added. The country will continue to import gasoline until 2024.