By Victor Uchechukwu
- Ratawi field’s full field development will increase production to 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) with no routine flaring
- The Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) with a 5 Mbpd capacity will help preserve the country’s freshwater resources
- All parts of the multi-energy GGIP project are now in their execution phase following the start of construction of the 300 Mcf/d gas treatment plant and the 1 GWac solar facility start of this year
- 2,700 workers, out of which 2,000 Iraqis are already mobilized on the ground, with 7,000 Iraqi workers to be mobilized at the peak of the construction
Energy Window International (Media) had gathered that, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, and Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs, President and CEO of QatarEnergy, met on Sunday, 14th of September in Baghdad, alongside Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq, and Hayan Abulghani, Minister of Oil and Deputy Prime Minister, to announce the start of construction of the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) and the full field development of the Ratawi oil field.
For both were the two last major contracts of the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), led by TotalEnergies (45%, operator) alongside its partners Basra Oil Company (30%), and QatarEnergy (25%), French oil major had told Energy Window International (Media) in an email.
With these signatures, says TotalEnergies, all four parts (natural gas, solar, oil, water) of the GGIP are now brought into the execution phase. The GGIP which according to the statement is a showcase project for the Company’s’ multi-energy strategy, targets to sustainably develop Iraq’s natural resources to improve the country’s electricity supply while contributing to its energy independence and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
The seawater treatment plant which TotalEnergies sees as a key infrastructure to preserving the country’s water resources and to be built on the coast near the town of Um Qasr is expected to process and transport 5 million barrels of seawater per day to the main oil fields in southern Iraq. The statement added further that the treated seawater would be substituted for the freshwater currently taken from the Tigris, Euphrates, and aquifers to maintain pressure in the oil wells. “The project will therefore help alleviate water stress in the region and is expected to free up to 250,000 cubic meters of freshwater per day for irrigation and local agriculture needs.”
The Ratawi redevelopment was launched in September 2023, says the Company, with Phase 1 which aims to increase production to 120,000 bpd, and may likely come on stream by early 2026.
The launch of phase 2 (full field development) will enable to increase production to 210,000 bpd starting in 2028 with no routine flaring, TotalEnergies said.
“All 160 Mcf/d of associated gas produced every day will be fully processed thanks to the 300 Mcf/d Gas Midstream Project (GMP), whose construction began early 2025. The GMP, which will also treat previously flared gas from two other fields in southern Iraq, will deliver processed gas into the national grid where it will fuel power plants with a production capacity of approximately 1.5 GW, providing electricity to 1.5 million Iraqi households. An Early Production facility to process 50 Mcf/d of associated gas will start early 2026 together with the Ratawi phase 1 oil production.”
“We are delighted today to award the two final contracts of the Gas Growth Integrated Project, in particular the seawater treatment plant which has been long awaited by the oil industry in Iraq. In less than 2 years since the GGIP effective date in August 2023, TotalEnergies and its partners have fully executed their commitment towards the people of Iraq and launched all projects included in the multienergy GGIP projet, the best showcase of TotalEnergies transition strategy. All these projects will bring a significant contribution to the Iraq economy and employ during the construction phase 7,000 Iraqi nationals,” says Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO. “Furthermore, I am proud to confirm that the first phase of the associated gas, oil and solar projects will start-up as soon as early 2026.”
TotalEnergies said that in 2023, it launched the multi-energy Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP) which was also designed to enhance the development of Iraq’s natural resources to improve the country’s electricity supply. This 4-in-1 project according to the statement, comprised the recovery of gas that’s currently flared at three oil fields in southern Iraq to supply electric power plants, the redevelopment of the Ratawi oil field, the construction of a 1 GWac (1.25GWp) solar farm and of a seawater treatment plant.