Iraq gas output rises after rehabilitation of northern field

Iraq’s natural gas output has increased by 50 million cubic feet a day to 70 million cubic feet a day after the rehabilitation of Ajil, a field in northern Iraq which was destroyed by ISIS in 2015, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Wednesday.

The latest increase should bring Iraq’s gas output close to 1 billion cubic feet a day of gas. The oil ministry announced on January 1 the nation’s output had reached 900 million cubic feet a day.

The militants captured the field in 2014, torching many of its wells a year later in a bid to obstruct an offensive by Iraqi forces to retake the city of Tikrit. The militants were expelled from the field in 2017.

Ajil used to produce 25,000 barrels per day of crude that were shipped to the Kirkuk refinery, to the northeast, as well as 150 million cubic feet a day piped to the Kirkuk power station.

Luaibi said the gas newly produced from Ajil was being piped to Kirkuk’s state-owned North Gas Company which supplies the power station. He said work was ongoing to resume oil production from the field “in a short period of time” without elaborating.