伊拉克石油部4月18日表示，伊拉克将于4月27日举行石油和天然气勘探合同招标。

伊拉克将在两轮许可中拍卖分布在全国各地的 30 个新石油和天然气项目，以寻求为发电站生产急需的天然气并减少给该国预算造成负担的进口。

该部在一份声明中表示，“第五+”轮包括16个项目，其中一些项目在第五轮许可中未获得许可，而第六轮将主要提供勘探天然气区块。

该国燃烧了自己的大部分天然气，这些天然气是与原油一起在其油田开采的，因为它缺乏将其加工成燃料的设施。相反，它使用伊朗进口的电力来发电。

伊拉克一直面临华盛顿的压力，要求其减少对伊朗能源的依赖。

Iraq will hold a bidding round for oil and gas exploration contracts on April 27, the oil ministry said on April 18.

Iraq will auction 30 new oil and gas projects in two licensing rounds distributed across the country as it seeks to produce much needed natural gas for power stations and cut imports burdening the country's budget.

The "fifth plus" round includes 16 projects, some of which were not awarded in the fifth licensing round, while the sixth round will offer mainly exploration gas blocks, the ministry said in a statement.

The country flares much of its own gas, extracted alongside crude oil at its fields, because it lacks the facilities to process it into fuel. Instead, it uses Iranian power imports to generate electricity.

Iraq has been under pressure from Washington to reduce dependence on Iran for energy.