Turkey expects to invest $3.2 bln in Iraqi gas

Turkey will invest nearly $3.2 billion in Iraq thanks to the bids it won this week, said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz yesterday. Companies and consortiums led by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) on Wednesday won tenders for two out of three natural gas zones in northern Iraq. Speaking at the International Energy Congress in Ankara, Yildiz said the wins mean Turkey will invest nearly $3.2 billion in Iraq and that the TPAO will extract 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas from these zones. Yildiz said revenues from natural gas extraction in Iraq will be used to finance the exploration of domestic resources. The Turkish corporation won the tender to develop the Mansuriyah gas field near the Iranian border in Iraq's Diyala province in league with the Kuwait Energy Company, which has a 30 percent stake in the partnership, and South Korea's Kogas, with a 20 percent stake. The consortium will operate the fields for a period of 13 years and has set a production target of 6.4 million cubic meters per day.