Seven Chinese companies win licensing contracts to invest in oil and gas in Iraq

The Ministry of Oil announced that a number of Chinese companies won bids to develop ten oil and gas fields in Iraq during two new licensing rounds. The Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the two licensing rounds, which lasted three days and ended today, included 29 projects to develop oil and gas fields. It pointed out that 7 Chinese companies, including Sinopec, UEG, Sinoc, and Anton Oil, won ten projects that include 8 oil fields and two other fields that potentially contain oil and gas, while the Iraqi company CAR won three fields. It is noteworthy that in 2019, Iraq became one of China's partners in the "Belt and Road" initiative, with the two countries signing an agreement in this regard. According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, which are among the largest crude oil reserves in the world. Source: National Iraqi News Agency