Deputy Oil Minister Chairs Joint Meeting with Total to Follow Up on Project Implementation

Baghdad - Al-Wasat Iraqi newspaper

Deputy Oil Minister for Extraction Affairs Nasir Aziz Jabbar today, Tuesday, chaired a joint meeting with Total to follow up on project implementation.

The ministry said in a statement that 'Deputy Oil Minister for Extraction Affairs Nasir Aziz Jabbar chaired a meeting of the Joint Management Committee, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Oil, the French company TotalEnergies, and QatarEnergy, in the presence of Deputy Minister for Gas Affairs Ezzat Saber Ismail.'

It added that 'during the meeting work stages and completion percentages were reviewed, and the requirements needed to accelerate implementation were discussed, as well as following up on the progress of joint projects and discussing technical and implementation plans and programs, contributing to achieving the objectives according to the approved schedules.'

It clarified that 'the Joint Management Committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Oil, the French company TotalEnergies, and QatarEnergy, and is responsible for monitoring the implementation of joint projects, reviewing plans, programs and completion rates, and making the necessary recommendations to address challenges and accelerate the pace of work in line with the approved objectives and schedules.'

Deputy Minister for Extraction Affairs Nasir Aziz Jabbar, according to the statement, emphasized 'the importance of strengthening joint coordination, communication and cooperation among the committee's parties, and following up on execution phases to ensure achieving the strategic objectives of the joint projects, and supporting the Oil Ministry's plans to develop the oil and gas sectors.'

He pointed to 'the importance of the Prime Minister's visit to France and his meeting with the head of TotalEnergies, and the company's expressed desire to expand its activity and investments in Iraq, as well as signing a memorandum of cooperation in the energy sector with the Ministry of Electricity,' stressing that 'these steps contribute to expanding the horizons of cooperation and partnership in the energy sector, and enhancing opportunities to implement new projects that serve Iraq's plans to develop its oil, gas and electricity systems.'

For his part, Deputy Oil Minister for Gas Affairs Ezzat Saber Ismail affirmed 'the importance of gas investment contracts and projects with TotalEnergies in supporting the ministry's plans to increase gas investment rates, reduce flared volumes, and boost national gas production.'

He stated that 'these projects represent an important addition to the national gas system and contribute to increasing the volumes available to supply power generation plants and reducing dependence on imports,' confirming 'the ministry's keenness to accelerate the implementation of gas investment projects according to approved plans and schedules, in order to achieve optimal benefit from Iraq's gas wealth.'